Panditarama Forest Meditation Center

Located about forty miles north of Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) on over 100 acres of landscaped forest, the Panditarama Forest Meditation Center has all the requisites to support your meditation practice. In a beautiful, natural setting, the center offers:

Separate meditation halls for men and women
Dining halls
Interview rooms - where you receive instructions from your meditation teachers
Comfortable, well-constructed cabins for single accommodations
Ample space for walking meditation.

This region of Burma has a special connection with Sayadaw U Pandita’s early spiritual training. He first studied as a young monk at the nearby Mahabodhi Forest Monastery. For many years, Sayadaw U Pandita thought of building a forest meditation center in this area, and due to generous donations from Sayadaw’s local and international devotees, Panditarama Forest Meditation Center has become a major practice center for both foreign and Burmese yogis.

The meditation center is open year-round for meditation practice.

From December 1st to January 31st, the Forest Center conducts the annual Sixty Day Special Retreat which hosts over 100 meditators from around the world for a silent, intensive meditation retreat.

>> Find out more about the Special Sixty Day Meditation Retreat

Accommodations & Meals

The Panditarama Forest Meditation Center is a rustic, but wonderful place to practice. In December and January, the nights and early morning can be chilly with temperatures in the high 50s. Afternoon temperatures range from 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. There is little or no rain. The stillness, clean air, freshwater springs, and fertile land create almost perfect conditions for a meditation center.

Each yogi will be provided with an individual room or a small cabin both with an adjoining bathroom. Each room has a bed, foam mattress, pillow, blanket, and mosquito net. A bucket for washing your own clothes will also be provided. The faucets in the rooms and cabins only have cold water.

Burmese food is served for breakfast and lunch. It typically consists of white rice with assorted vegetables, eggs, tofu, meats, and seasonal fruit.

Meditators Eating The monastery also serves vegetarian dishes, but yogis should not count on fulfillment of other special food needs. Purified drinking water is available at all times and a thermos of hot water is provided daily.

Participants will be expected to abstain from eating after 12PM until sunrise of the following day. Juices without pulp are permitted after 12PM and are served in the late afternoon.