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Ontario Vipassana Centre
A serene sanctuary for transformative meditation and inner peace through the Vipassana technique.
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A serene sanctuary for transformative meditation and inner peace through the Vipassana technique.
Ontario Vipassana Centre offers 10-day silent meditation retreats based on the Vipassana technique as taught by S.N. Goenka. Located in Egbert, this non-profit center provides a peaceful environment for individuals to learn and practice meditation, with all services funded by donations and run by volunteers. The retreats focus on self-observation and mindfulness, helping participants achieve profound personal insights and lasting mental clarity in a supportive, well-organized setting.
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An intensive residential meditation retreat teaching the Vipassana technique through guided instruction, group sittings, and noble silence.
Advanced courses and shorter retreats for students who have completed the initial 10-day course to deepen their practice.
Serve as a volunteer to support course operations, from kitchen work to facility maintenance, as part of the dāna (donation) tradition.
Regular meditation sittings for old students to maintain and strengthen their practice in a supportive community setting.
Opportunities to contribute through donations or service to help sustain the center and make courses available to future students.
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Overall rating
Mark Pellegrini
This retreat centre holds a very special place in my heart. After experiencing incredibly profound realizations about the nature of the human experience, I have reframed my perspective and not seek to continue to live a life with a strong foundation and will. I look forward to volunteer and giving back as so many wonderful people served during my time there.
Joshua .C
This is a very safe and quiet centre where you can learn the specific technique of meditation taught in the course. After completing a 10-day course I already feel lighter. Retreats like this are valuable whether you are starting your practice or looking to go deeper, and it's also nice to have a break from my phone. Everything is very well organized and the amazing part is that everything is provided without a cost, the daily meals, the housing, the services are all given by volunteers and donations. Thank you for this valuable experience.
Judy Huynh
the 10-day course experience is beyond my expectation. - The technique could be one the biggest gift to me in this lifetime - The center is well-organized, clean, neat, they make sure the new students can get the best experience. Thank you so much for everything
Nick Shaw
Attending the 10-day retreat as a new student was undoubtedly the most important thing I’ve done for myself—and by extension the people around me—in my adult life. The fact that there is no cost to attend, because previous students volunteered their time and/or money for you to be there, hit me in a profound way around day 7. This place exists and continues to exist because people genuinely believe in the power of this incredibly simple yet challenging meditation technique. Thank you to the volunteers that cleared the way for me to focus on one thing: get established in Vipassana so I can enjoy a peace I’ve never experienced before and thought impossible before coming here. 🙏 To the new students reading this, some helpful advice an old student gave me before we started noble silence: (1) be coachable. the technique will seem at times almost stupidly simple and you’ll get bored, have your doubts, and/or want to mix in your own practices. Don’t. Dedicate these 10 days to learning the technique and putting it into practice. When in doubt, look around you—taste the food you’re eating, feel the seat you’re in, feel the bed you’re laying in—and remember that all this is literally a gift from past students. They practiced the technique, saw the benefits, and donated for you to be there. There is no wealthy foundation, government, or corporate sponsor with maligned intentions paying your way, only the donations large and small or money or time from past students from all ages, religious and ethnic backgrounds who want you to see the benefits they expericed practicing this simple technique in its unaltered form. (2) When offered the option, don’t meditate in your room. More than 2/3 of the time students are given the option to meditate in their rooms instead of in the meditation hall. Resist the temptation! The bed is just too tempting. Sometimes you’ll need to go back. For example I found myself at times drawn to my room by a subconscious need for privacy because I needed to let out a big cathartic cry/sob/laugh. I let it out then returned to the hall.
Preeti Pratap
Incredibly beautiful place and experience. The kind volunteers who run this place with earnestness, the thoughtful managers who go over and beyond in caring for everyone’s needs, the clean cabins and residences, the simple but wholesome and delicious food, the palpable positive energy of the place, the serene forest trails, the perfect meditation hall with numerous back support cushions/seaters for anyone in need and last but not the least - the inspiring assistant teachers of Goenka ji who guide you as they would a child that’s just learning to walk - heartfelt gratitude to Dhamma Torana for my initiation into the wonderful path of dhamma through my first 10-day Vipassana. It was nothing short of being life-changing. Hoping to return soon 🙏 Bhavatu sabba-maṅgalaṃ