Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre

The Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre (MIMC) is a great example of one man's vision turning into reality. Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena established the Mahabodhi International Meditation Center in 1986 to offer both spiritual instructions as well as desperately needed humanitarian services to impoverished people in the remote land of Ladakh. A dedicated team of social workers, teachers, doctors, monks, nuns, community leaders and care-providers have created an integrated community at Devachan in Ladakh which provides comprehensive care to all segments of society: children, elderly, special needs individuals, monks & nuns, the sick, as well as those seeking spiritual development. The community has become a model for the region through sustainable, ecological development. With the support of our sponsors we hope to be able to contribute our part to this goal by serving the people of Ladakh. You are most welcome to join us in this effort. Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena was born in the remote Himalayan region of Ladakh - an ancient state located in the far north west of India, high on the Tibetan plateau. He was brought up within a deeply religious family, amongst people who followed the ancient Buddhist traditions and believed in peacefulness, humility and innocence as the natural way of life. At the age of seventeen he joined the Indian Army, where he developed a strong sense of personal discipline and responsibility. 1977 was a particularly significant year in his life, for this is when he felt the inner spiritual call and decided to leave the army. He left the mountains of Ladakh far behind him and became a committed disciple of the renowned Buddhist scholar and celebrated monk, Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita Mahathera, the abbot of the Mahabodhi Society Vihara, Bangalore, South India. In 1986 Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena founded the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre (MIMC) in Ladakh. For the past 25 years Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena has tirelessly and selflessly worked to provide high quality education and safe shelter for underprivileged children, first-class healthcare for the sick and needy, empowerment and literacy programmes for women and other socially disadvantaged groups, a caring home for the aged and destitute, and many other humanitarian services. The site for much of Venerable Bhikkhu Sanghasena’s humanitarian and spiritual service work has been the 200 acres of moon-like desert that now form the impressive backdrop to the main Mahabodhi Devachan campus in Choglamsar, Ladakh.