Reference

NEWS FROM THE CENTRE

5 issues per year

FEBRUARY 2026

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE !

It has already been 15 years since Dhamma Suttama was established in Montebello, a property acquired on February 15, 2011. Over 40,000 people have been welcomed here to be initiated into the Dhamma, to deepen their practice, or to develop their pāramī through service.

Meditators and servers come from across Quebec, Eastern Ontario, the Maritimes, and beyond. Six regions of Quebec now offer regular regional activities, and other regions are working to organize their own. Additionally, 3-day and 10-day non-centre courses are now offered annually in the Bas-St-Laurent region. More and more people are inspired by the Dhamma and are contributing to its growth.

What a long way we have come since the first small course given at the Schweizer Inn in Sutton in 1978! Under this momentum, the Centre Development Committee (CDC) is busy defining the future of the Centre. More specifically, the CDC has launched a consultation process aimed at creating a master plan for the development of the Montebello site. To do this, the committee surveyed teachers, long-term servers, and committee members regarding their vision and priorities for the center's future. In general, the survey results indicate a dual vision: 1) Material Transformation: Bringing Dhamma Suttama up to the standard of international Vipassana centres, with infrastructure capable of offering long courses in comfort. This includes meditation cells, ideally a pagoda, better-adapted meditation halls, improved accommodations, and healthy, renovated homes for long-term servers. 2) A Dynamic Community: A cluster of meditators settled in the region, better-supported long-term servers at the centre, and regular volunteers familiar with the centre’s needs. We imagine not just a complex of buildings, but a living, harmonious ecosystem where the practice of Dhamma flourishes through everyone’s joyful engagement in service.

In addition to the survey, semi-structured interviews with five or six key members of the centre are underway to refine the analysis of needs. The results of this consultation will allow the CDC to define priorities and draw up an initial master plan covering a period of 10 years and beyond.

Stay tuned !

DECEMBER 2025

FINANCIAL AND MAINTENANCE NEWS

It’s been 15 years since Dhamma Suttama came to Montebello and the Foundation’s debt is now less then $800 000. This represents a huge success in and of itself, and it’s all due to your contributions of time and money.

Even more impressive is the fact that this debt reduction occurred while major system upgrade projects were undertaken (such as wastewater treatment), and let’s not forget the continuous improvements for the wellbeing of meditators, course servers, and long-term servers. And recently, professionals were called in for foundation waterproofing and roof repairs.

The Maintenance Committee is now preparing a new work cycle with it’s Grand Renovation Project to diminish the carbon footprint of the Centre by meeting better thermal insulation standards, thereby decreasing electric heating costs. In order to do so, all windows need to be replaced as well as the exterior cladding, once the walls have been insulated. After that, the heating system, the ventilation system, and the air-conditioning system will be re-evaluated, adapted, and added to, to be better adapted to the climate changes of the coming years.

This project is in its initial stages of evaluations and submissions, for which the Centre hopes to qualify for government grants, both provincial and federal, as the buildings have been classified of public utility. More to follow.