Dear Friends and Associates,

This message is directed to all those who feel that they belong to, or wish to participate in the Sangha that has developed around the meditation center Pian dei Ciliegi, and who share the center’s aims and goals.
As you know, in recent years Pian dei Ciliegi has played an important role in the diffusion of Satipatthana Vipassana Meditation in the West, a role which we wish to maintain and develop in the future, on the basis of experience accumulated over the years, both in terms of the teaching and in the management of retreats. The Gift of the Dhamma is greater than any other gift, and we would like to preserve and consign this precious gift to future generations.

We intend to continue to make improvements, and this includes the establishment that houses the retreats. When we began about twenty years ago, the building was quite a bit run-down, and had many problems. On the basis of a contract drawn up in 1996, in exchange for a very low rent (that has remained invariant since then), the Association promised to undertake works to improve the structure, and this agreement will remain in place for as long as the Association is active. Bit by bit, with the contribution from retreats and from members, we have continued to better the center, and now we come to the “last great work” we must carry out, namely, the renovation and expansion of the bathrooms in order to provide a more modern standard of comfort for future generations of practitioners.
So if you too feel a part of the great Sangha family, if you have benefitted from the teachings and from your encounters with great Teachers, if you have grasped the inestimable value of the Dhamma and the importance of Generosity (Dana), if you are moved by an altruistic spirit and a spirit of sharing, we invite you to participate in our project, for the benefit of all those who will come into contact with this magnificent practice. It is the most proficuous means for the purification of minds, and for overcoming the conflicts and ills that afflict human beings.
So dear friends and associates, dear Sangha at Pian dei Ciliegi, we encourage you to contribute to whatever degree you are able, with a donation or with a loan, which we absolutely require for the substantial renovations we are about to undertake (the details of which will be outlined in a follow up letter), for the betterment of the center.
We at the Directive Council are committed to continue with our work for as long as we are able, honoring your trust in us, and with the hope that new energies will always be available to keep the Wheel of the Dhamma turning at Pian dei Ciliegi.

With immense gratitude and Metta
Gianni Burgazzi, Center manager

The donation or loan may be sent via bank transfer to the
Association Pian dei Ciliegi
Bank: Banca Cariparma Credit Agricole
Address: Via Vittorio Veneto 88 29028 Ponte dell’ Olio (PC) – Italy
IBAN Code: IT47F0623065420000030714189
For Transfers from Abroad: SWIFT Code: CRPPIT2P027 (n.b. the 9th character is a zero)

As for our 2017 retreat bookings, we will start accepting applications for our 2018 retreats from January 10th 2018 at 7.30 a.m. and, except for a few special cases (agreed upon), they will have to be done on-line through our website.
To join a retreat in Pian dei Ciliegi, it is necessary to follow these steps:

1. Register at our website, and log in with your user name and password
2. if you are not a member of the Pian dei Ciliegi association, apply for membership by  clicking on “apply for membership” from the User’s Menu, fill in the form and send
3. click on “book a retreat” from the User’s Menu, fill in the form and send

If you are already a member of Pian dei Ciliegi you can go directly to step 3.

Keep in mind that the retreat fee must be paid at the latest five days after your booking, and please remember to add the 15 euros of membership fee to the first bank transfer you make out, in addition to the retreat fee.
The retreat fee is inly for meals and accomodation at the centre, and is necessary to cover the expenses that the Association has to pay for the organization of the retreats. As for the teachers, since an integral part of the Dhamma is the practice of generosity, at the end of each retreat the meditators will be asked to offer them a donation (dāna).
If you’re not a member yet you can apply by clicking here. You can come back to this page and sign up for a retreat, or do so directly from the e-mail that confirms your application for membership.
As for the payment of the membership fee, you must add it to the retreat fee (by Bank transfer only) .
If you’re not registered to the website you can do so now.

Cancellation and refunds

In case the member gives notice of cancellation by February 9th, the refund is of 90% of the retreat fee. If the cancellation is comunicated at least 30 days before the beginning of the retreat the amount reimbursed is 80% of the retreat fee. If the cancellation is comunicated between 30 days and 48 hours prior to the beginning of the retreat the refund will be 50% of the retreat fee. If the retreat booking is cancelled within 48 hours prior to the retreat there will be no refund. If the amount paid is less than 100 euros there will be no refund, in any case. However, if there are serious reasons for the cancellation, a refund can be requested but will be granted at the discretion of the manager.

At one of its recent meetings, the Board at Pian dei Ciliegi has decided to establish a fund that will permit its more motivated yogis to participate in extended retreats here at Pian dei Ciliegi itself, or at other related centers such as the Panditarama Lumbini International Vipassana Meditation Center, the Panditarama Shwe Taung Gon Sasana Yeiktha in Yangon, the Santisukkarama Centre in Malaysia, the Centres that followthe tradition of di U-Janaka).
It is the feeling of the Board that the fund be comprised of donations made by meditators or supporters, in such a way as to allow them to develop the virtue of Dana (generosity) which, alongside Sila (moral conduct) and Nekkhamma (renunciation), is a fundamental aspect of the practice, and which we will never tire of underlining.

Dana, or Generosity is one of the cornerstones of Buddhist teaching and of the practice of Vipassana meditation. Along with Sila, Morality, it is both a pre-requisite and grounds for training, in so far as we develop these during our practice. Without the support of these two factors it is not possible to develop right concentration, and hence the wisdom that leads to liberation; they go hand in hand with each other, and as we grow in wisdom and in our understanding of the Dhamma, so too does the wish to develop these qualities grow spontaneously in us. As with Metta and the other Brahma-Viharas, they are innate to human beings who have exercised right effort in the cultivation of mind, rather than abandoning themselves to their more basic instincts related to the mental defilements.

Let's go on a tour around the center

photos by Roby Morleo