Global Vipassana Pagoda Stock Photo

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is a Meditation Dome Hall.nThe center of the Global Vipassana Pagoda contains the world`s largest stone dome built without any supporting pillars. The height of the dome is approximately 29 meters, while the height of the building is 96.12 meters, which is twice the size of the previously largest hollow stone monument in the world, the Gol Gumbaz Dome in Bijapur, India. The external diameter of the largest section of the dome is 97.46 m and the shorter sections are 94.82m. The internal diameter is 85.15 m.[6] The inside of the pagoda is hollow and serves as a very large meditation hall with an area covering more than 6000 m2 65,000 ft2. The massive inner dome seats over 8000 people enabling them to practice the non-sectarian Vipassana meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka and now being practiced in over 100 countries. An inaugural one-day meditation course was held at the pagoda on 21 December 2008, with Goenka in attendance as the teacher.nnTen-day vipassana meditation courses are held free of charge at the Dhamma Pattana meditation center that is part of the Global Vipassana Pagoda complex.