What are the charges/fee for a Vipassana course?
Charges?! Dhamma is priceless! There is no fee and there can never be a fee charged for teaching Vipassana. Vipassana courses are completely free of charge. Earlier, for a short time, some small actuals were charged for boarding and lodging expenses. Fortunately, that has been removed. So one does not have to pay anything to attend a Vipassana course.
Why are there no fees charged for doing a Vipassana course?
Answer: One reason, as I said, is that Dhamma is priceless. It cannot be valued in money. Another reason is that a student taking a Vipassana course practices renunciation from the householders' responsibilities, for the duration of the course. He or she lives like a monk or a nun, on the charity of others. This is to reduce the ego, a big cause of one's misery. If one even pays a small token fee, then the ego gets built up, and one may say, "Oh, I want this. This facility is not to my liking", "I can do whatever I want here", and so on. This ego becomes a big hindrance in progressing on the path of Dhamma. This is another reason why no fee is charged. This has been the Dhamma tradition for millennia. The Buddha did not charge any fee for distributing this invaluable gem of Vipassana!
How are expenses met for a Vipassana course, since no fee is charged from students?
Answer: The expenses are met from voluntary donations (dana) from students who have completed at least one Vipassana course. The donation, in money and voluntary services, is given with the Dhamma volition that, "As I benefited by getting this wonderful technique due to the generous dana of others, may others also benefit ". Most important is the volition with which the dana is given. Even a handful of fertile soil given with a pure Dhamma volition, is far more beneficial than a bag of gold given with ego, or with no Dhamma volition. The dana given with a pure mind gives benefits to the giver.
However, this does not mean that somebody will go around at the end of the course, asking every student if he wants to give a donation. A table is put in a quiet corner, and whoever wishes to give dana goes there and gives it, that's all.
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No fees are paid to assistant teachers/teachers conducting Vipassana courses (from 10-days to 60-days duration) on behalf of the Principal Teacher Sayagi U Goenka. All teachers are required to have an independent means of livelihood, source of income, to support their voluntary Vipassana service.
Charges?! Dhamma is priceless! There is no fee and there can never be a fee charged for teaching Vipassana. Vipassana courses are completely free of charge. Earlier, for a short time, some small actuals were charged for boarding and lodging expenses. Fortunately, that has been removed. So one does not have to pay anything to attend a Vipassana course.
Why are there no fees charged for doing a Vipassana course?
Answer: One reason, as I said, is that Dhamma is priceless. It cannot be valued in money. Another reason is that a student taking a Vipassana course practices renunciation from the householders' responsibilities, for the duration of the course. He or she lives like a monk or a nun, on the charity of others. This is to reduce the ego, a big cause of one's misery. If one even pays a small token fee, then the ego gets built up, and one may say, "Oh, I want this. This facility is not to my liking", "I can do whatever I want here", and so on. This ego becomes a big hindrance in progressing on the path of Dhamma. This is another reason why no fee is charged. This has been the Dhamma tradition for millennia. The Buddha did not charge any fee for distributing this invaluable gem of Vipassana!
How are expenses met for a Vipassana course, since no fee is charged from students?
Answer: The expenses are met from voluntary donations (dana) from students who have completed at least one Vipassana course. The donation, in money and voluntary services, is given with the Dhamma volition that, "As I benefited by getting this wonderful technique due to the generous dana of others, may others also benefit ". Most important is the volition with which the dana is given. Even a handful of fertile soil given with a pure Dhamma volition, is far more beneficial than a bag of gold given with ego, or with no Dhamma volition. The dana given with a pure mind gives benefits to the giver.
However, this does not mean that somebody will go around at the end of the course, asking every student if he wants to give a donation. A table is put in a quiet corner, and whoever wishes to give dana goes there and gives it, that's all.
***
No fees are paid to assistant teachers/teachers conducting Vipassana courses (from 10-days to 60-days duration) on behalf of the Principal Teacher Sayagi U Goenka. All teachers are required to have an independent means of livelihood, source of income, to support their voluntary Vipassana service.
Likewise Vipassana students who have taken three or more 10-day courses gain multi-fold benefits by offering voluntary services needed for a Vipassana course. Dhamma Service is an essential part of progress in Vipassana.
"Never make Vipassana a business/livelihood "
- Sayagyi U Goenka.
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"Never make Vipassana a business/livelihood "
- Sayagyi U Goenka.
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