The Brahmavihāras in Early Buddhism
Theory and Practice
Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā & Helena Pauptit
Sunday, November 30th, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Amsterdam Time)
Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā
Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā was born in Italy in 1980 and has been practicing meditation since 1996. She went forth as a monastic in the Theravāda Buddhist tradition of Sri Lanka in 2012 and started teaching it internationally since 2017.
She is the co-founder (with Bhikkhu Anālayo) and director of the Āgama Research Group (established in 2012) and serves as an associate research professor in the Department of Buddhist Studies of the Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts in Taiwan and as a visiting professor for Buddhist Studies at the University of California at Berkeley. Her main research interests are the early Buddhist discourses and Vinaya texts, as well as the development of the theories, practices, and ideologies of Buddhist meditative traditions.
Having lived and worked in the UK, Nepal, Burma/Myanmar, Japan, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka, Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā has now been based in Italy for a few years. In 2024 she was appointed as a registered Buddhist minister with the Italian government through the Italian Buddhist Union.
Helena Pauptit
When Helena came into contact with Buddhism, she felt like coming home. She finds meditation and study to complement each other in a valuable way. The resultant joy and inner peace, motivates her, among other things, to share the Dhamma. She is grateful for the guidance on teaching she has received from Nynke Humalda and Jotika Hermsen.
Helena started out with studying Theravadan texts. In the last five years, she finds inspiration for sharing the Dhamma mainly in early Buddhist texts. In her teaching, she uses contemporary life situations and examples, to support applying the Buddhist teachings in meditation and daily life in a practical way.
She has taken courses and retreats with Dutch and international teachers. For her studies on the early Buddhist teachings, she has contact with Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā.
Since 2017, Helena has been teaching introductory courses vipassana meditation and occasionally an ongoing meditation group. Now, she mainly teaches study groups and various courses, and occasionally online retreats.
The Schedule
All times are shown in the Amsterdam time zone.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 10:00–10:10 | 👋 Welcome |
| 10:10–11:00 | 💬 Talk & short discussion |
| 11:00–11:10 | ☕️ Break |
| 11:10–12:00 | 🧘 Guided meditation |
| 12:00–13:00 | 🍽️ Lunch break |
| 13:00–13:50 | 💬 Talk & short discussion |
| 13:50–14:00 | ☕️ Break |
| 14:00–14:50 | 🧘 Guided meditation |
| 14:50–15:00 | ☕️ Break |
| 15:00–15:50 | ❓ Group discussion & Q&A |
| 15:50–16:00 | 🙏 Closing |
Costs and donation
For technical support and facilitation of this Daylong event, 30NOW requests a reduced fee of EUR 15. This amount will be used to cover the costs incurred in offering this retreat, to be paid upon registration. The teachings themselves are offered freely, in the spirit of dāna (generosity).
Dāna from the teacher / Dhammadana
The teachings of the Buddha are passed on and offered as a free and priceless gift of the Dhamma. Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā and Helena Pauptit offer this daylong retreat free of charge as a gift of the Dhamma.
Donation
If you found this daylong retreat supportive and helpful, you may wish to consider a donation. Your donation will be used as a contribution to Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā’s livelihood (She is an alms mendicant in the Theravāda tradition). In this way, you are indirectly supporting Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā in continuing to share the Buddha’s liberating teachings. You can find the information on how to give a donation here.
We are grateful for your generosity!
The brahmavihāras are not merely lofty ideals; they are modes of conduct to be developed and practiced in daily life.
– Bhikkhu Bodhi
Sign up
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After logging in, you can sign up here.
- Registration is open until Saturday, November 29, 2025.
- The fee of €15 will be used to cover the costs for organising and facilitating the daylong retreat. Teachings are offered on dana base (generosity).
- If it is challenging for you to meet the financial requirements, please contact Team 30NOW so we can explore a personalized solution together. We believe finances should never stand in the way of joining the retreat.
- After payment, you will receive immediate access to the retreat’s homepage.
- Live sessions are not recorded.
