News and Updates
We are excited to share stories from our past and present with you. Please check in again soon for more updates, or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn for more news.
Newsletter AND PRESENTATIONS
Periodically we will be sending out a community newsletter and/or giving presentations to keep you up to date on some of our most recent activities. If you would like to review our past newsletters or presentations, please feel free to explore our archive below.
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In the first 2023 newsletter, we look back on all our achievements over the last year and dive into the news about the new Dhamma Films Fund and Vipassana Prison Trust Partnership.
Please click here to read the full newsletter.
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This presentation about VCF was given at the 2022 International AT Meetings.
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We deliver annual reports to our stakeholders as part of our annual reporting process. We want to share the report with anyone interested to be as transparent as possible.
Latest Blog POsts
๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ข ๐๐๐ง๐ค๐
Thanks to old student volition, VCF has started supporting courses for Tamil-speaking populations in Northern Sri Lanka. Here is a photo of a Tamil-English course recently offered at Dhamma Sobha in October. Students in attendance included 18 Tamils, 6 Sinhalese, a Buddhist monk, several Buddhist nuns, as well as individuals from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. As noted by the conducting teachers, โThe course represented the nonsectarian nature of our tradition, and everyone completed the course with joy.โ
We are excited to announce that there will be an additional 10-day Tamil course at a non-center location in December, as well as a Tamil course for over 500 children who are already registered. The idea is to establish a corpus that will help fund courses for the Sri Lankan Tamil population in the long term. If you are interested in learning more, please email us at info@vcf.dhamma.org.
Thank you for supporting Dhamma Atala
We would like to again extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed dana to Dhamma Atala. Thanks to your generosity, they have made so much progress already, and we look forward to seeing more in the near future.
To see more of the progress they have made so far, please click here.
Groundswell of Gratitude for the Support to Dhamma Atala (Italy)
We are deeply touched to announce that over 180 old students from all over the world have rallied to support Dhamma Atala with their relief flood efforts! As a result, this week, we will be sending a sizeable grant that will go towards rebuilding the tract of road that leads to the center, as well as reinforcing the land around the Dhamma Hall that got hit by a mudslide.
Dhamma Atala personally writes to all of you that have contributed: โWe are really happy and surprised by how generously old students responded to our appeal. This international solidarity is a great demonstration of how dhamma has no borders. Many thanks to you all!โ
Thank you, everyone, dhamma truly works.
Supporting Prison Courses Worldwide through the Vipassana Prison Trust
VCF has recently partnered with the North American Vipassana Prison Trust (VPT) to help support prison courses globally. Dana generously comes from VPT, while VCF plays a role in the logistics of administering the funds.
As part of this partnership, we are excited to announce our first grant to support a ten-day course at the Igarassu Penitentiary in Recife, Brazil. Funds are going towards supplementing food and buying t-shirts, trousers, and mattresses for the inmates.
This first course just ended (July 2nd)! And we hope to fund future courses in Recife and additional courses in Sri Lanka.
Please let us know if you have information about other parts of the world that could also benefit from offering Vipassana courses to inmates. Otherwise, we will update you again soon about this powerful partnership in bringing Dhamma to more prisons globally.
๐๐ฑ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ข๐ญ๐'๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐
In January 2022, based on old student volition, VCF awarded Dhamma Mudita a grant to help break ground on the first Vipassana center in Austria.
We are excited to share an update; Dhamma Mudita has used the grant resources to buy six building site containers. These containers are now in use as female and male dining halls, as well as female and male bathrooms. These structures, and a self-built wooden provisional Dhamma Hall, mean that the new center can now offer 1-day and 3-day courses for up to 40 meditators!
VCF will share more information about the vision and master plan for the center soon, as well as upcoming projects that will allow for 10-day courses at the center. In the meantime, we are sharing this exciting update on how the first center in Austria is blossoming through the volition and support of old students.
If you would like to learn more about Dhamma Muditaโs future plans, please click here.
๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ: ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ
Dhamma Atala (Italy) suffered severe damage during the recent floods that wreaked havoc in central Italy in late May. On day nine of a course, local officials ordered Vipassana students to evacuate the center due to the hazardous conditions. As students left the center on foot and then by helicopter, they left behind cars and personal belongings as torrential rains caused rivers to rise and break their banks, flooding large areas. Landslides and mudslides also caused roads to be blocked or even washed away.
In the aftermath of the floods, Dhamma Atala has now begun to survey the damage incurred. Sadly, the center has suffered extensive damage with landslides on the slopes near the Dhamma Hall and several walkways covering or compromising the center's structures. The access road to the center has also been destroyed.
The Dhamma Atala center has served old and new students since 2008, standing on the side of a remote valley in a hilly area of Lutirano, Marradi. Some twenty 10-day courses, plus Satipatthana, short, and children's courses, are held annually. All future courses have been canceled, and the center is still determining when they will reopen.
If you would like to support Dhamma Atala with their recovery please click here.
New Grant Alert: Dhamma Gutti, Medellin, Colombia
We are thrilled to announce that Dhamma Gutti recently received formal title to their property in the name of their Trust! As a result, based on old student volition, VCF has now gotten approval to provide support for the centerโs multi-year master plan โ to build out a multifunctional meditation center for up to 100 students, short and long-term servers, as well as spaces for teachers and administration.
Additionally, Dhamma Gutti intends to continue serving as a long-course center (which is very needed in Latin America) โ with optimal conditions that provide individual rooms and cells for the best possible environment to receive dhamma.
With construction already completed to date, Dhama Gutti has already been running 20-day courses and ran its first 30-day course in February of this year! The dana from this grant will primarily go towards constructing individual rooms with attached baths on the female side. Beyond this grant, Dhamma Gutti is also looking to raise additional dana for individual rooms on the male side, meditation cells, and build-out of the Pagoda. If you are interested in learning more about Dhamma Gutti and its ongoing work, please get in touch with us.
Grant Update: Construction Started for the first Center in Colorado (Dhamma Sela)
We have some exciting news from our grantee in Colorado. In May 2021 VCF awarded a grant to the Rocky Mountain Vipassana Association for the construction of a new center, Dhamma Sela, in Pali, Colorado. In early March of this year, construction for Dhamma Sela officially began!
So far, funds from generous old student dana have been spent on breaking ground on a new water treatment system, architecture plans for new buildings, and excavating ground for new construction. Ongoing work/projects include: completing construction for a new dhamma hall which accommodates up to 27 students, 2 servers, and 2 Assistant Teachers.
If you would like to learn more about VCFโs work around the world or learn how you can donate to support projects such as Dhamma Sela, please click here.
๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฅ๐
VCF is now able to provide grants for non-center courses throughout the world!
On that note โ based on the volition of several old students โ VCF just awarded a grant to support a ten-day course in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, that occurred in early April of this year. Funds contributed to the accommodation expenses of the 92 students and course servers.
Without a permanent center to host courses, the Vipassana community in Guatemala is continuing to work to find affordable and appropriate accommodation for their bi-annual courses โ which they have been organizing since 2007. After moving from their previous retreat location due to rising costs, this grant helped ensure the continuation of Vipassana Guatemalaโs bi-annual courses for 2023!
If you would like to learn more about how to support Guatemala specifically and/or VCFโs work around the world, please click here.
Film Fund Announcement, April 2023
From Myanmar to the World is a three-part series that tracks the phenomenal spread of Vipassana meditation in our lifetimes. The first two films โ "Overland to India" and "Caves to Pagodas" โ have been completed. This third film (working title โTo the Multitudesโ) is the story of how and why Goenkaji introduced Vipassana to people worldwide: business leaders and laborers, the highly educated and the illiterate, followers of every major religion and of no religion, and people of every age and background on every inhabited continent. For this task, Goenkaji would have to draw on all his inner strength and apply all his skills, knowledge, and wisdom. It was the challenge of a lifetime.
If you are interested in learning more about this project or contributing to the film fund, please visit the page on our website by clicking here.
Philippines Update, March 2023
In 2022 Dhamma Phala in the Philippines experienced a total shutdown as their buildings were deemed unfit for use due to building foundation issues and severe termite damage.
To help reopen the center and fix structural issues in their center buildings, Dhamma Phala and VCF partnered to establish the Philippines Fund. With the help of generous old student support โ Dhamma Phala has now rebuilt the dormitory buildings and bathroom blocks where steel frames replaced the previously wooden structures to avoid future damage. The remaining dana was used to buy new beds and interior fixtures that also suffered termite damage.
Additionally, Dhamma Phala and VCF are excited to announce that in early January of 2023, Dhamma Phala held its first ten-day course after a hiatus of 3 years (due to COVID and the termite infestation). And since then, courses are now regularly being offered once per month.
Thank you to all of you who contributed to make this possible. And if you would like to learn about how to get involved in continuing to help the Philippines here.
Sri Lanka Fund Update, March 2023
Since last year, Sri Lanka has been deeply impacted by economic and political crises. In September of 2022 โ to support the Vipassana Community in Sri Lanka during these difficult timesโ VCF set up the Sri Lanka Fund. To date, over 70 old students have contributed dana to the fund, which in turn has supported center and non-center courses, as well as food and medicines for the Sri Lankan sangha.
Thanks to the generosity and volition of this dana, Vipassana continues to transform the lives of so many people. And we are honored to share one such powerful story from the Kandakadu Rehabilitation Center in Sri Lanka (one of VCF's non-center grantees). A former participant at Kandkadu is now ordained and gives credit to Vipassana courses as the source of his transformation.
If you would like to learn more about the Sri Lanka Fund and ways to get involved, please click here.
Update from Mozambique, March 2023
Associaรงรฃo de Meditaรงรฃo Vipassana in Mozambique has been supporting the spread of dhamma since 2015, hosting 10-day and three-day courses throughout the country. Like in many places, COVID deeply impacted their ability to run courses. So via the volition of an old student โ VCF awarded the association a grant to help contribute to running courses in 2023. We are excited to announce that this past month (February), the dana was successfully used towards three courses held in Bilene, Mozambique: one 10-day for 41 students, one 3-day for 28 students, and two childrenโs courses. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to email us at info@vcf.dhamma.org, or you can also contribute to future Africa courses here:
https://vcf.dhamma.org/africa.
BLOG UPATES COMING YOUR WAY
We're excited to announce we've been working on more ways to keep you updated about the empowering work in which VCF is involved in helping support the spread of dhamma. Thanks to your dana and generosity, we have reached so many Vipassana centers and communities in all corners of the world. We can't wait to share with you the positive impact this has had on the Vipassana centers and the many lives they touch. Stay tuned here or give us a follow on Facebook at @vipassnacommunityfoundation for some additional content coming your way soon!