Last August, the deep tone of a Burmese gong echoed through the forest on Vancouver Island, calling students to the first residential course at Dhamma Modana (“Joy of Dhamma”). The center is located in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia.
This is where the Vancouver Island Vipassana Association purchased a property of 134 acres (54 hectares) in 2006. The land is gently sloping, with stands of second-growth Douglas fir, western red cedar, red alder and western hemlock. Coho salmon, and rainbow and brown trout swim in the creeks on the property, and Roosevelt elk, deer and black bears roam the woodland.
The Association has had to keep its plans modest but it has succeeded in crossing important hurdles. These include rezoning of 13 acres (5.3 hectares) for public assembly, and subdivision and sale of a lot to a meditator. The Association also built a bridge and cleared a road, and brought in electricity to the area where the center buildings will stand. Plans are in place for a facility that will eventually accommodate 75 people. Volunteers built a temporary meditation hall seating about 30 people, heated by a wood stove.
After this work, the Association considered how to continue. It did not have the money to start constructing residences. It decided instead to begin with three-day courses, asking participants to bring their own tents. In preparation, the Association built a small kitchen measuring 100 square feet (9.3 square meters). It also bought a 400- square-foot (37-square-meter) storage container. With these additions, Dhamma Modana was ready to offer its first three-day residential courses.
There was still much work to be done: purchasing tables and chairs, as well as dishes and cooking equipment; putting up dining canopies; building gates; installing temporary toilets, sinks and showers, and trucking in the water to run them; and constructing a bear fence. Many meditators pitched in for these tasks.
By August 1, 2014, all was ready for the first three-day course for men. A small tent city blossomed next to the meditation hall. The weather was very hot, reaching 40° C (104° F) in the afternoons. But the participants felt that they were fortunate to have this opportunity.
Two days after the men’s course ended, a three-day course for women began. It was equally successful.
In 2015, the Association aims to run four three-day courses during July and August. It will also explore other projects that do not require substantial outlays of funds.
(Source: International Vipassana newsletter Vol. 42 No. 1 March 2015)