African Wisdom.
A Path of Mindful Living.
Afro-Dhamma, also known as Afro-Dharma, is a culturally grounded dialogue between the Buddha’s Dhamma and African wisdom, dedicated to ethical living, healing and awakening.
Pioneered by Bhante Buddharakkhita, Ph.D., Afro-Dhamma draws on his doctoral research into African wisdom, right mindfulness and intergenerational trauma. It seeks to cultivate wisdom and compassion while addressing inherited and present suffering.
Rooted in Theravāda Buddhism, Afro-Dhamma takes the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path as its guiding framework. African traditions contribute living sources of ethical reflection, cultural identity and communal understanding, inviting mutual learning and responsible practice.
Clarity of Teachings
Distinguishing Buddhist teachings from cultural interpretations and contemporary applications, with clarity about their sources.
Respectful Dialogue
Honouring diverse African traditions without assuming that African and Buddhist concepts are identical.
Learn with purpose. Build a brighter future.
Pan African Buddhist Peace Institute (PABPI)
Discover an education that brings Buddhist wisdom into conversation with African values and practical learning. Our certificate and diploma courses connect personal development with skills for work, enterprise, and service to the community.
- Buddhist & Afro-Dhamma Studies
- Vocational Skills
- Agriculture & Poultry
- Business & Computing
- Languages
Learning that connects the mind, hands, and heart.
Cultivating Wisdom. Living with Compassion.
Our purpose is to support the flourishing of individuals, communities and the natural world. Through ethical living, mindful practice and compassionate service, we seek to address inherited and present suffering, contribute to healing intergenerational trauma, and keep liberation from greed, hatred and delusion at the heart of practice.
I am because you are,
and you are because I am.
Putting Our Purpose Into Practice
D.E.E.P.S expresses our mission through five commitments: Dhamma, Education, Environmental Protection, Preservation of African Indigenous Wisdom, Culture and Heritage, and Service. Our learning path helps future leaders and teachers carry these commitments forward.
Dhamma
Learn and practise the Dhamma (Truth): ethical living, concentration, mindfulness, compassion and wisdom, following the early Buddha’s teachings in dialogue with African wisdom.
Explore Teachings →Education
Educate children, communities and future teachers for compassionate leadership, healing and awakening, through learning, practice and shared reflection.
Ask About Learning →Environmental Protection
Protect land, water, wetlands and biodiversity through mindful stewardship and communal responsibility, caring for the natural world that sustains us.
Explore Our Mission →African Wisdom & Heritage
Preserve and thoughtfully engage African indigenous wisdom, culture and heritage: languages, proverbs, philosophies and knowledge systems that support dignity, peace, healing and well-being.
Explore Our Approach →Service
Serve communities with compassion, support vulnerable people, and contribute to personal and collective healing, including the healing of intergenerational trauma.
Connect With Us →Student to Teacher
Begin as a student, grow into a leader and prepare to teach when ready. Study, meditation, discussion and reflection support each stage of the learning journey.
Ask About the Course →
Rooted in Uganda. Learning Across Africa.
Afro-Dhamma draws on teaching and community life at Uganda Buddhist Centre, connecting Buddhist practice with African wisdom and lived experience.
The doctoral research of Bhante Buddharakkhita, Ph.D. included fieldwork in Katwe, exploring African wisdom and right mindfulness in relation to intergenerational trauma.
Monastics, teachers and lay learners come together to study, reflect and practise. Participants are encouraged to share proverbs and experiences from their own cultures, helping the group learn across communities and borders.
Meditation & Awareness
Developing mindful awareness through practice and reflection.
Learning & Reflection
Listening, asking questions and explaining what we understand.
Obuntu in Practice
Expressing our shared humanity through care and mutual respect.
Sharing Across Cultures
Learning from the proverbs, values and experiences of others.
These values need to be practised in daily life. — Bhante Buddharakkhita
Rooted in Wisdom. Expressed Through Care.
WISE CARE names the eight values that guide Afro-Dhamma. Its future depends on practitioners and teachers who embody these principles, communities that sustain the practice, and institutions that serve with accountability. Its development remains open to evidence, dialogue and correction.
Wisdom
Develop understanding through the Dhamma, African wisdom and inquiry.
Integrity
Practise truthfulness, ethical conduct and accountability.
Service
Put compassion into action for the benefit of others.
Environmental Stewardship
Protect land, water and all living beings.
Compassion
Respond to suffering with kindness and care.
Awareness
Cultivate mindfulness in thoughts, words and actions.
Respect
Honour human dignity and African cultural diversity.
Engagement
Live Obuntu through participation, mutual care and communal responsibility.
Reflections from Our Learning Community
Excerpts from the edited Afro-Dhamma introductory session, sharing the teacher’s and participants’ reflections on learning, practice and community.
First, we are students. We receive the teaching and build our understanding. Second, we become leaders who can facilitate learning and share what we have understood through knowledge, experience and proverbs.
We are learning from one another; that is why we call ourselves students. I am also a student.
These examples encourage us to look carefully at what we experience, rather than stop at the ordinary name of an object. With water, we can look at qualities such as temperature and texture.
We learn through listening, reflection and the experiences we share.