How the Polish Vipassana Centre got the name Dhamma Pallava

"Dhamma Pallava" means "the sprout or bud of Dhamma". This Pali name was given by S.N. Goenka in 2006 directly after the site for today’s meditation centre was purchased. To choose a Pali name for a centre, S. N. Goenka requested and carefully looked at various pictures of the area and the site and he followed strict criteria.

He also took a close look on the geographical location, the distance to the neighbouring countries and the suitability of the location for a centre in this region. Then he chose a number of Pali names and checked back with the local community if any of those names contained any possible similarity to words in the local language that might sound offending. Then he chose a name out of this list which he felt most suitable. Often he would also select a word not only because of the meaning but also because of a phonetic similarity to the local language.

In the case of Dhamma Pallava, he felt that the geographical location, being the closest centre to other Eastern European countries, had the inherent quality to blossom, grow and invite especially those from the region. Along with the phonetical closeness of the first syllable: Pol(ska) – Pol(and) and (Pal)lava, the name was found!