Vipassana Research Institute (VRI)

Vipassana Research Institute (VRI) is a non-profit body established in 1985 to conduct research into the sources and applications of Vipassana meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. The institute works in four areas: tracing the sources of Vipassana in the Pali Tipitaka, running Pali language study programmes, researching how the technique is applied in daily life, and publishing books, recorded discourses and newsletters. VRI published the complete Pali canon and its allied commentaries in Devanagari script and issued the collection on CD-ROM with search and script-conversion software. VRI also coordinates Anapana meditation courses for children and teenagers, conducted since 1986 at Vipassana meditation centres, schools and other institutions. Through MITRA Upakram, a joint initiative with the School Education Department of the Government of Maharashtra, Anapana sessions are offered in state primary and secondary schools. The institute additionally runs Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses in Buddhist Studies and Vipassana in collaboration with the Department of Philosophy, University of Mumbai.