Course Information

Retreat information

• The Meditation Centre is open throughout the whole year (including Christmas and New Year) with the exception of a period in August, when a meditation retreat is organised at the Benedictine Abbey of Scheyern. As long as there is space available, you can start your retreat individually.
• If you are interested in doing a basic retreat or  a following retreat, please contact us via e-mail (see “Contact/Registration”) and let us know which dates you would like to come. You will get a automatic answer with the dates of the next possible place for basic retreat. We will check for availability and get back to you.
• To register for any retreat, please send us your full name, e-mail address, telephone number and postal address and your birthday.

Retreat options

Daily schedule

Our meditation centre offers a space for seclusion and the opportunity to fully immerse yourself in and concentrate on your practice. In general, the daily schedule consists of:

• the individual meditation sessions
• a daily report with your teacher
• one hour of working meditation to help us run and maintain the centre
• the meals

You can practice in your room, the meditation hall or outside in the garden and you will be able to fit in breaks between your individual meditation sessions. However, there will be no time to pursue any leisure activities.

Liability

The “Dhammacari Vipassana Meditationszentrum e.V.” as well as the meditation teacher and the voluntary staff cannot accept any liability for physical and psychological damages, which may arise during the participation in one of the courses.

Download Flyer for Sonnenthal

Schedule of the teachers for  2024 – 2025

Please bring

• comfortable, white clothes (“fit for a monastery”, not too tight, not see-through, shoulders and knees should be covered)
• digital timer and alarm clock (mobile phone need to be deposited with house management for the duration of the course)
• slippers to wear inside the house
• towels
• bedclothes (fitted sheets, bedsheet, pillowcase)
• thermos flask
• 1 sponge,
• 1 dish towel
• flowers for the shrine/opening ceremony (white or light coloured)
• shoes and clothes for working meditation outside 

Please note that we are a mobile-phone-free-zone. Phones have to be deposited with house management at the beginning of the course.

Further, the house has a biological sewage system and we kindly ask you to only bring biologically degradable soaps, shampoos, etc.

Unfortunately, we do not have the possibility to process donations made by debit- or creditcard (cash only).

Dana

Participation in the courses is based on Dana (to translate “Dana” with “donation” does, unfortunately, not really capture the much deeper and more complex meaning of Dana).
We specifically do not give any recommendation for the amount of Dana. This is in accordance with the Buddhist tradition that the value of the teaching cannot be measured in terms of money.

Giving and generosity are active aspects of any spiritual practice. They help to maintain the teaching and to make it available to everyone.
We do not have the possibility to take donations by debit- or creditcard. Kindly bring cash with you.

“Dana” is gift and generosity.
It embraces the support of those who unselfishly and openly
give of their time and knowledge to teach the path of
silence, insight and compassion.
Dana is a way of thanksgiving:
a spontaneous grateful offering which stems from the appreciation
of that which was received.
Such generositiy cannot be forced.
It simply opens when the tree of mindfulness
blossoms and finally bears fruit.