Started in ~1976, dhamma.org has been hosting monthly 10 day meditation retreats in almost 100 countries that provide food and accommodation on a donation basis with exclusively volunteer staff. Participants can travel the globe and expect a similar experience wherever they go, including the quality of other attendees.  How can such a large network of physical infrastructure remain functioning so successfully for so long? What is their secret sauce, and can it provide practical insights for maintaining other fulfilling network states and pop up villages?

Share your thoughts, experiences, and questions, whether you have attended a vipassana retreat or not.

Some discussion ideas:

-Rich benefactor necessary?

-Hyper-specific, difficult goal, strict rules, yet all very simple

—Does this mean it is not an “open” community?

—Difficulty and aim as natural filter

-Gracious donation culture, along with volunteering

-Many temporary “pop up” centers just for a retreat

-How does a new center start?

-Does silence help social cohesion?

“Today, Vipassana courses, in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, are held at 380 locations in 94 countries, of which about 241 are permanent Vipassana meditation centres. There are such centres in the Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and 78 centres in India.”