The International Meditation Centre at Splatts House in Heddington, Wiltshire, is the United Kingdom branch of the U Ba Khin tradition. The center was established in the late 1970s by Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin, two of U Ba Khin's senior students, with funds raised by the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust. Splatts House is a Georgian country house on grounds in the rolling chalk downs of north Wiltshire, an hour west of London. The building was renovated to serve as a residential meditation center while preserving its original architecture. IMC UK runs the standard ten-day vipassana course in the U Ba Khin tradition continuously through the year, alongside shorter weekend introductions, three-day refresher courses for old students, and occasional longer programs. The teaching method is exactly that taught at the founding center in Yangon: three days of anapana, six days of body scanning, and a closing day. Course leaders are senior students personally trained by Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin during the founding years. The center has hosted thousands of yogis from across Europe and beyond since its opening. The atmosphere is quintessentially British retreat: quiet country house, formal grounds, vegetarian English cooking, structured schedule. The contrast with the founding center in Yangon is part of the appeal for European yogis who want the U Ba Khin curriculum in a setting they can travel to easily. Courses fill quickly. Old students often return for refreshers, and the trust's broader network includes sister centers in Austria, Switzerland, the United States, India, and Australia, all running the same curriculum. Splatts House also serves as the European administrative seat of the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust. The center is closely linked to the Yangon center and to its sister branches across the trust network, with course leaders and senior students rotating across the network on long retreats and teacher-development programs.
The course follows the same form as the founding center in Yangon. Day one to three: anapana at the small triangular area beneath the nose, observing the natural breath without manipulation. Day four onward: body scanning, sweeping attention systematically from the top of the head down through the body, observing sensations as they arise and pass with equanimity. The closing day brings metta and a transition back to social activity. Three of each day's sittings are designated sittings of strong determination, in which yogis are asked not to change posture for the full hour. The schedule starts at four-thirty in the morning and runs until nine at night, with alternating sittings, walks, meals, and rest periods. Group instruction is given in the meditation hall. Individual interviews with the course teacher are scheduled to check progress and answer questions. Silence is held continuously from the opening evening of day zero to the morning of day ten. Books, phones, writing material, and external communication are stored at the office for the duration. The course closes with the formal lifting of the precepts and a final talk before lunch on day ten.
IMC UK sits within the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust network, with all teaching deriving from U Ba Khin (1899 to 1971), the Burmese civil servant and meditation master who founded the original IMC in Yangon in 1952. Mother Sayamagyi (Daw Mya Thwin) and Sayagyi U Chit Tin established the UK center as her senior students. The line traces back through U Ba Khin to Saya Thetgyi and Ledi Sayadaw, into the broader Burmese Theravada tradition. The trust network preserves the curriculum exactly as taught by U Ba Khin, with course leaders trained personally by his successors.
Practitioners across Europe who want the source curriculum without traveling to Burma, taught by senior students in the lineage.
Old students from any branch of the trust network (Yangon, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Australia, India) who want to maintain regular ten-day practice in the UK.
First-time vipassana yogis curious about the body-scan method as taught in the original lineage rather than the Goenka adaptation.
Yogis arrive on day zero in the late afternoon. After registration in the main house, phones and reading material are stored in the office. 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 English countryside is quiet, but the schedule is demanding for those new to long sitting. Day three or four often produces the strongest physical and emotional reactions as the body scanning begins. The course closes mid-morning on day ten with breakfast in silence, a final talk, and the lifting of the precepts.
Accommodation is in single rooms within Splatts House and the adjoining residential block, with shared bathrooms on each floor. A small number of double rooms are available for couples on request. Food is English vegetarian, plentiful and home-cooked, with two meals before noon (breakfast and lunch) and a light tea in the afternoon, in line with the eight precepts kept during the course. Walking grounds run across the surrounding fields and gardens of the property. The climate is mild and damp; warm clothing is needed even in summer mornings.
The course is free of charge, supported entirely by donations from past students. There are no fees for tuition, lodging, or food. At the close of the course, yogis are invited to make a donation in support of future students. The trust does not publish suggested amounts. Donations cover the running of the center and the broader trust network. Travel to and from Splatts House is the yogi's own responsibility, though pickup from the nearest train station can sometimes be arranged on application.
A Wiltshire country house holding a Burmese curriculum exactly as it was taught.
S.N. Goenka was a senior student of U Ba Khin and adapted the ten-day course for worldwide distribution using audio and video instruction. IMC UK 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 very close. The teaching style and atmosphere differ in tone.
Through the IMC UK website, where the year's course schedule is published. Applications open several months in advance and popular dates fill quickly. Old students have a window of preferential booking before each course opens to new applicants. The application asks about background and any health considerations relevant to the schedule.
The full ten-day schedule applies to all yogis from day one. Beginners sometimes struggle with the early mornings and long alternating sittings. Course leaders adjust posture guidance and provide chairs for those who cannot sit on cushions. The strong-determination sittings are demanding for beginners and not all newcomers complete every one. The schedule is non-negotiable.
Yes, but the course asks yogis to set aside other techniques for the duration and follow only the form being taught. Mixing techniques during the course is discouraged. After the course, yogis return to whatever practice they keep at home. Many practitioners attend IMC courses periodically while maintaining a different daily form between them.
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