Dhamma Pajjota

09/01/2026

08/12/2025

Invitation to the Service Periods:
December 2025 & January 2026

Dear all,
As 2025 slowly comes to a close, we look equanimously at the cycle of ending and beginning, and look forward to the birth of a new year.

This time of transition is a wonderful opportunity to prepare our centre for 2026 together, and we would be very happy if many old students joined us to help.

The upcoming service periods will take place:

21-26 December 2025 & 7-13 January 2026

During these days, we will come together to work at the centre, meditate, and connect with each other and we’d be delighted to have you with us.

In Pajjota’s garden, the following tasks are planned:

Replanting bushes.
Pruning tree branches that lean outside the property (chainsaw skills welcome).
Reusing the trimmed branches to reinforce and strengthen the fences.
If you have experience with chainsaws or simply enjoy gardening, our garden team would be grateful for any support.

If you’d prefer to stay warm indoors during the winter months, our housekeeping team would be happy to have your help with various cleaning or small maintenance tasks in the buildings. For the upcoming serving periods, they are looking for someone who can help to

Clean and paint some used shelves.
Assemble some new plain shelves for the female accommodation.
Mount a coatrack in the female manager’s room.
Or you might enjoy supporting our kitchen team and helping prepare meals for the other servers.

Whatever you enjoy doing, you are warmly invited to join for as long as you can: one, two, three or more days, or even just a few hours.

Alongside the work, you’ll join the regular group sittings, and in the evenings there’s the opportunity to watch videos on Vipassana and Dhamma.

The service periods are a great chance to grow in Dhamma while actively supporting the centre.

Are you interested?


You can find more information about Dhamma Service in the old students’ section at
www.pajjota.dhamma.org.

17/11/2025

Dhamma Pajjota Committees and Trust Meeting
29th and 30th of November 2025
Trust Weekend

Dear all,
All old students are warmly invited to join the meetings at Dhamma Pajjota. During such meeting weekends the different committees and the Pajjota trust come together. In each Vipassana Centre, the committees discuss and manage the different aspects of the Centre, such as kitchen, household, garden, construction & maintenance, finance and course organization. Such a weekend is a good opportunity to learn more about the way the Vipassana organization is working.

Linked you can find the program for this weekend. You can find the minutes of the previous trust meetings on the Dhamma Pajjota website

You can offer, find, or request a ride to the centre on the Dhamma Pajjota Ride Share Board.

If you plan to come, please inform the office at info@pajjota.dhamma.org.

11/10/2025

Invitation to join the Sit & Serve period
November 2025

Dear all,
The cold season is approaching quickly, and there is plenty to do at Dhamma Pajjota.

For the upcoming service period from 2nd to 7th November 2025 we are in need of your support and look forward to receiving your applications.

From 2nd to 6th November, a group of developers of the European course registration system CALM will be meeting at Dhamma Pajjota for an intensive workshop.

We are looking for many helping hands to take care of the participants’ well-being during the workshop. If you are interested in helping in the kitchen and preparing meals for the group, you are warmly invited to join us. You can support for the full period or just for a few days – every bit of help is welcome.

In addition, a 20-day course will begin at Dhamma Pajjota on 7th November, and the centre needs to be prepared for this long course.

There will be plenty of work in the garden. The lawn needs mowing, bushes and trees need trimming, and the paths must be cleared of autumn leaves. If you enjoy working outdoors, our garden team will be happy to have your support.

Our housekeeping team also appreciates any hands-on help with cleaning and repair work in and around the buildings.

Alongside your service, you’ll participate in the regular group sittings, and in the evenings, there will be the opportunity to watch videos about Vipassana and Dhamma.

The service periods are a great opportunity to grow in Dhamma while actively supporting the centre.

Interested?

For more information about Dhamma Service, please visit the Old Student section at www.pajjota.dhamma.org

27/09/2025

CALM workshop 2025, Dahmma Pajjota, Belgium
Tech
Dear all,
This is to inform you that the Dhamma Pajjota trust is hosting a workshop for CALM developers from Sunday 2nd till Thursday 6th of November 2025.
CALM is the online course registration system used in Europe, Australasia and parts of Asia.

The workshop is divided into 3 parts:

2,5 days for programmers with specific skills; not only the current developers but also newcomers are welcome.
The last morning (Thursday 6 Nov) a session with legal and security experts on the implications of the sensitive data we process.
The last afternoon a session for experienced registrars, legal experts, teachers involved in special handling, administrators, trust members and newcomers to meet with the development team. This session can also be attended online.
If you are interested in participating at the centre or online on 06/11 afternoon please apply via the Pajjota online schedule and please indicate your interest under ‘Anything you wish to add?’

Servers are also welcome to help organising the workshop like cooking, tech support, cleaning, etc.

The daily program will include the morning chantings, three group sittings and servers metta.

If you like to attend you are expected to fulfil the requirements for service.

For any questions write to info@pajjota.dhamma.org.

The workshop will be immediately followed by a 20-day course from 07th till 28th of November.

With metta,

The CALM team

23/09/2025

Dhamma Pajjota Committees and Trust Meeting
4th and 5th of October 2025

Dear all,
All old students are warmly invited to join the meetings at Dhamma Pajjota. During such meeting weekends the different committees and the Pajjota trust come together.
In each Vipassana Centre, the committees discuss and manage the different aspects of the Centre, such as kitchen, household, garden, construction & maintenance, finance and course organization. Such a weekend is a good opportunity to learn more about the way the Vipassana organization is working.

You can offer, find, or request a ride to the centre on the Dhamma Pajjota Ride Share Board.



Vipassana vzw, Driepaal 3-5, BE 3650 Dilsen-Stokkem, info@pajjota.dhamma.org, 0464.797.967|RPR Tongeren
Download Dhamma.org Mobile App

23/09/2025

Dhamma Pajjota Committees and Trust Meeting
4th and 5th of October 2025

Trust Weekend
Dear all,
All old students are warmly invited to join the meetings at Dhamma Pajjota. During such meeting weekends the different committees and the Pajjota trust come together. In each Vipassana Centre, the committees discuss and manage the different aspects of the Centre, such as kitchen, household, garden, construction & maintenance, finance and course organization. Such a weekend is a good opportunity to learn more about the way the Vipassana organization is working.

Linked you can find the program for this weekend. You can find the minutes of the previous trust meetings on the Dhamma Pajjota website (Username: "oldstudent"; password: "behappy").

You can offer, find, or request a ride to the centre on the Dhamma Pajjota Ride Share Board.

If you plan to come, please inform the office at info@pajjota.dhamma.org.


Vipassana vzw, Driepaal 3-5, BE 3650 Dilsen-Stokkem, info@pajjota.dhamma.org, 0464.797.967|RPR Tongeren
Download Dhamma.org Mobile App

13/09/2025

Course for boys (age 8-18): 19 – 21 September 2025

Dear all,

“Children are, by nature, active and enthusiastic with an eagerness to learn, to explore anything and everything they come across in their day-to-day life. At this age, it is so appropriate to offer them an opportunity to explore themselves and their mind with all its hidden faculties, latent abilities and subtle complexities. This wholesome seed of Dhamma sown can, sooner or later, grow and open an entirely new dimension of life.”
S.N. Goenka

From Friday the 19th to Sunday the 21th of September 2025, three children's courses will take place in Dhamma Pajjota simultaneously: one for German speaking, one for French speaking and one for Dutch speaking boys. These courses are open to all boys age 8-18 who are interested in meditation. During these courses the children and teenagers learn Anapana meditation in a special 2-day program.

Old students who would like to serve on these courses are welcome. Application is necessary both for servers and for the children who would like to participate. To apply go to: https://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schpajjota .

N.B: We need male servers for this course!

For more information visit https://pajjota.dhamma.org/en/courses/childrens-and-teenagers-courses/ or contact childrens-courses@pajjota.dhamma.org

There are still places available for the one-day course for children and young people on October 19 in Brussels. Registration via the Dhamma Pajjota website.

23/08/2025

Invitation to the September/October
Service Periods

Dear all,
Summer is drawing to a close, and it's time to prepare our centre for the colder season. That’s why we’re looking for many helping hands during the upcoming service periods:
15–23 September 2025 & 06–15 October 2025

During these service periods, old students come together to carry out essential maintenance work in various areas of the centre, while also meditating together several times a day.

You are warmly invited to join us!

There will be plenty to do, especially in the centre’s garden:

Removing several large dead trees
Helping to finish the grounds after applying a new top layer to the garden paths
Preparing the garden for winter: including larger pruning tasks, tidying flowerbeds, further weeding, trimming hedges and lavender, and mowing lawns.
If you enjoy working outdoors, our garden team would be the perfect place for you.

If you prefer indoor work, feel free to join the household team. You could help with cleaning, sewing, or doing small maintenance jobs in the accommodation buildings.

Or bring your skills to the kitchen and help prepare meals for all the helpers on site.

You’re welcome to join for as long as you’re available – one, two, three days or more, or even just for a few hours.

Alongside your service, you’ll take part in the regular group meditation sessions, and in the evenings, there’s the opportunity to watch videos about Vipassana and Dhamma.

The service periods offer a wonderful opportunity to grow in Dhamma while making an active contribution to the centre.

Interested in participating?
Please apply with a Dhamma servers’ application via the online schedule, click here.
For more information about Dhamma service, visit the old student section
of www.pajjota.dhamma.org.

We look forward to seeing you!

23/07/2025

This was the Open Day 2025

Dear all,

2025 is a very special year: Dhamma Pajjota was founded 25 years ago, and since then, thousands of meditators from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and many other countries have attended Vipassana courses here and experienced the benefits of this meditation technique.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of countless volunteers, our centre has steadily developed, expanded, and become more beautiful over the years.

We had the joy of celebrating this special occasion on June 15, 2025, with an Open Day. In beautiful summer weather with pleasant temperatures, we welcomed around 200 guests— meditators and their families, interested newcomers, curious visitors, people of all ages, young and young at heart, old friends and new ones.

Guided tours of the centre, numerous films about Vipassana, conversations with our volunteers and teachers gave visitors insight into the centre, its history, and the practice of Vipassana meditation. For our younger guests, there was a playground with special activities. Homemade cakes, snacks, and drinks ensured everyone was well taken care of.

Our visitors and the 35 volunteers made this Open Day a truly special event that did full justice to the occasion.

We look forward to seeing you at the next Open Day in June 2027!

14/07/2025

Dhamma Pajjota Committees and Trust Meeting
2nd and 3rd of August 2025
Trust Weekend

Dear all
,
All old students are warmly invited to join the meetings at Dhamma Pajjota. During such meeting weekends the different committees and the Pajjota trust come together. In each Vipassana Centre, the committees discuss and manage the different aspects of the Centre, such as kitchen, household, garden, construction & maintenance, finance and course organization. Such a weekend is a good opportunity to learn more about the way the Vipassana organization is working.

Linked you can find the program for this weekend. You can find the minutes of the previous trust meetings on the Dhamma Pajjota website.

You can offer, find, or request a ride to the centre on the Dhamma Pajjota Ride Share Board.

If you plan to come, please inform the office at info@pajjota.dhamma.org.

30/05/2025

25 Years of Dhamma Pajjota

Dear all,
On 21 June 2000, an active group of Vipassana students from Belgium and the Netherlands purchased a plot of land and several buildings in Dilsen-Stokkem. They managed to do so with some financial support from the German Vipassana community. The aim was to establish a Vipassana meditation centre. The centre was named Dhamma Pajjota, meaning 'light' or 'torch of Dhamma'.

Three days after the purchase, a three-day meditation course was held, followed immediately by the first ten-day course for around thirty participants.

A lot has changed in the last 25 years. Thanks to the hard work of all the volunteers, the centre has grown now into a fully-fledged meditation centre. Since 2023 more than 2000 students can attend a ten-day retreat each year. Still, there are often waiting lists for participation, especially for new students.

We will celebrate our 25th anniversary on June 15 with an Open Day.
Everyone is welcome between 1:30 and 5 pm.

Feel free to bring your family, friends, or acquaintances to learn about this beautiful technique and see this place. Or perhaps you yourself have taken a course at Dhamma Pajjota in the past, helped in different ways and you are curious to see how the centre looks now. Again, you are most welcome!

Program:
Tour of the centre
Video’s about Vipassana meditation
Opportunity to ask questions to a teacher
Information booth
Childcare playground
Drinks and snacks
Do you need more information about this day? See our website or contact us at info@pajjota.dhamma.org.