Śamatha Meditation Retreat: Led by Bhante Dhammadipa
Awakening of Faith in Mahayana
Śamatha Study and Meditation Retreat
September 1 – 10, 2026
Śamatha (Calm Abiding): Understanding Practice as the Gate into Non-dual Comprehension of the Buddhist Meditation -Theory and Practice
By steadying and unifying the mind, śamatha quiets distraction and conceptual thinking. As the mind settles, the usual divide between observer and observed begins to soften.
From this stability, vipaśyanā (insight) arises—not as analysis, but as direct seeing of the nature of experience.
Śamatha is called a “gate” because it opens the way from dualistic perception to non-dual comprehension.
Literature for Reference:
Kumarajiva’s Brief Introduction into the Practice of Dhyana by Bhante Dhammadipa
Samdhinirmocana Sūtra attributed to the Buddha himself
Awakening of Faith in Mahayana by Bhante Dhammadipa (Mahāyānaśraddhotpāda-śāstra)
Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra by Maitreya
Theravada Reference: Vissuddhimagga
About the Teacher:
Bhante Dhammadipa was born in the Czech Republic, where he studied Chinese literature and philosophy. He later pursued his studies in Jerusalem, Berlin and Paris, before enrolling at the Nalanda University in India to study Sanskrit and Buddhist philosophy. He then lived in Japan, Sri Lanka and Burma, studying and practising as a Buddhist monk under renowned contemporary masters of Buddhism.
One of his principal teachers was the Burmese meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw, who recognised him as his first Western disciple qualified to teach meditation. Today, he is one of the foremost teachers of Shamatha meditation.
He has taught the Dharma extensively, in both theory and practice, and led students in meditation retreats in Europe, North and South America, India, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.
Bhante Dhammadipa was instrumental in developing the outreach project, Jetavan, in collaboration with Godavari Bio-refineries Ltd and the Centre for Buddhist Studies at KJSIDS, Mumbai.
By donation | Stay and Meals at Actuals
For queries, registration & accommodation, please email: info@buddhapada.in