In 1999, after having experienced the profound nature of the practice at Spain’s principal centre for Vipassana, Dhamma Neru, in Barcelona, a group of meditators from the Canary Islands sought wholeheartedly to realise a course on these islands, so that residents there could benefit from such a course without having to undertake the long journey and expense required by travelling from the country’s most distant autonomous region.
Finally, in 2002, a 10-day course was held, thanks to the will and enthusiasm of a few meditators in Tenerife. It was both the first course in the Canary Islands and the first course outside of the Dhamma Neru centre.
The course was located in the town of Candelaria, in a residential complex arranged to meet the needs of the course. The sole shortcoming was the limited space, given the high number of applicants, for which reason a search was made the next year for a new centre. A new space was found in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with a capacity for 100 students and a comfortable infrastructure. In this space, a ‘house of activities for a religious community’, one ten-day course was held a year from 2003 until 2008.
After 2008, it was again necessary to search for a new space for the spread of Dhamma. Lanzarote graciously opened its arms and since 2009 has been welcoming residents of the Canary Islands as well as people from around the world.
Vipassana has made its mark in the Canary Islands and has spread notably, attracting ever-larger numbers of residents from the islands.
