IMC Australia at Sunnyside, near Bowral in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, is the Australian branch of the U Ba Khin tradition. The center was established by Mother Sayamagyi (Daw Mya Thwin) and Sayagyi U Chit Tin, two of U Ba Khin's senior students, after they founded the UK center at Splatts House. The Australian property sits on rural land south of Sydney, in a quiet country setting, and serves the Australian and broader Pacific sangha within the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust. The center hosts the standard ten-day course in the U Ba Khin tradition through the year, alongside shorter weekend programs and refresher courses for old students. The teaching follows the form taught at the founding center in Yangon: three days of anapana, six days of body scanning, and a closing day of metta. Course leaders are senior trust members trained by Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin during the founding years of the network. The Australian sangha is smaller than the UK one but tightly connected to the broader trust system through teacher rotation and old student networks. Sunnyside provides a quiet rural alternative for Australian and New Zealand yogis who would otherwise need to travel to the UK or Burma to practice in this lineage. The center's calendar accommodates Australian working schedules, with courses offered around major holiday periods and at intervals through the year. Old students return regularly. New students often come on the recommendation of a sangha contact or after reading about U Ba Khin's tradition through trust publications. The center maintains close ties with the trust's other branches in the UK, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, India, and the founding center in Yangon. Course leaders rotate across the network for retreats, and senior students often travel between centers for longer practice. The Australian center is run by a board of trust members and a small resident staff who maintain the property and support the course schedule.
The course follows the same form as Splatts House and the founding center in Yangon. Day one to three: anapana, observing the natural breath at the small triangular area beneath the nose. Day four onward: body scanning, sweeping awareness systematically through the body to observe arising and passing sensations with equanimity. The closing day brings metta and a transition back to social life. Three sittings each day are sittings of strong determination, where yogis are asked not to change posture for the full hour. The schedule starts at four-thirty and runs to nine at night, with alternating sittings, walks, and meals. Group instruction is given by the course teacher in the meditation hall. Individual interviews check progress and answer questions about technique. Silence is held continuously from the opening evening to the morning of day ten. Phones, books, writing material, and external communication are stored in the office for the duration. The course closes with a final talk and the formal lifting of the precepts on day ten morning.
IMC Australia sits within the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust, founded after U Ba Khin's death in 1971 by his senior students. Teaching derives directly from U Ba Khin (1899 to 1971), the Burmese civil servant and meditation master who established the original IMC in Yangon in 1952. Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin were among his senior successors and personally trained the founding course leaders for the UK and Australia. The line traces back through U Ba Khin to Saya Thetgyi and Ledi Sayadaw within the broader Burmese Theravada tradition.
Practitioners across the Pacific region who want the source curriculum without traveling to the UK or Burma, taught by senior students in the lineage.
Old students from any branch of the network who want to maintain regular ten-day practice while based in Australia.
First-time vipassana yogis curious about the body-scan method as taught in the original lineage rather than other adaptations.
Yogis arrive at Sunnyside on day zero in the late afternoon. After registration in the main building, phones and reading material are stored. Rooms are assigned, the schedule is explained, and the opening session begins that evening with the formal taking of refuge and precepts. The first morning starts at four-thirty. The Southern Highlands countryside is quiet, with cool nights and warm days through most of the year. The schedule is demanding for those new to long sitting. The body scanning that begins on day four often produces strong responses. The course closes mid-morning on day ten.
Accommodation is in single rooms within the main residential block, with shared bathrooms on each floor. A small number of double rooms are available for couples on request. Food is Australian vegetarian, plentiful and home-cooked, with two meals before noon and a light tea in the afternoon, in line with the eight precepts kept during the course. Walking grounds run across the rural property. The climate in the Southern Highlands is cool, with frosts possible in winter and warm summers; warm clothing is recommended at any time of year for early mornings.
The course is free of charge, supported entirely by donations from past students. There are no fees for tuition, lodging, or food. Yogis are invited at the close of the course to make a donation in support of future students, in line with the dana custom. The trust does not publish suggested amounts. Donations cover the running of the center and the broader trust network. Travel to and from Sunnyside is the yogi's own; the nearest train station is Bowral, about an hour and a half south of Sydney by rail.
A quiet country property carrying a Burmese tradition into the Southern Hemisphere.
S.N. Goenka was a senior student of U Ba Khin and adapted the ten-day course for worldwide distribution using recorded instruction. IMC Australia teaches the same core curriculum with live in-person teaching from senior students personally trained by Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin. The form, technique, and schedule are close. Style and atmosphere differ.
The center publishes a yearly schedule on its website. Courses are typically offered around Australian school holiday periods and at regular intervals through the year. Old students have a preferential booking window before new applications open. Popular dates fill quickly. The center recommends booking three to six months in advance for new students.
The nearest railway station is Bowral, on the Southern Highlands line about an hour and a half south of Sydney Central. From Bowral the center is a short taxi ride. Driving from Sydney takes approximately two hours depending on traffic. International yogis usually fly into Sydney and take the train down on the day of arrival.
Yes. The center provides cushions, benches, and chairs in the meditation hall, but yogis are welcome to bring their own setup if they have one that suits their body. The hall is heated in winter, but mornings can be cold; a shawl or blanket is recommended. Posture varies through the course as the body adjusts to long sitting.
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