Jun 11, 2011 03:15 PM
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What is Vipassana?
The literal meaning of Vipassana is To see things as they really are. This is a technique which ancient indian sages used to meditate. This is a technique which Siddharth Gautam used to attain Nirvana. During Buddha's times, he and his disciples made this technique very popular. With time, this faded away but fortunately, it stayed preserved in its original form at Burma. Mr SN Goenkaji from Burma brought it to India and started spreading it to rest of the world.
Vipassana is not related with any religion at all. That's the best part about it. You don't have to recite any words, imagine any figures. You have to see yourself, observe yourself, know yourself.(which is the toughest part)
Why the course is 10 days long?
That is the minimum duration we have to devote at least to get started. Originally, the course was 60 days long. Goenkaji trimmed it to 10 days for obvious reasons. They even tried to make it a week long but then that was too short. They are teaching this for 30+ years and the duration of the course is appropriate.
The Cost:
10 days of your life, That's it. They provide you separate room, food and environment to meditate free of charge. All Vipassana centers across the world run strictly on Donation. At the end of the course if you feel to donate, do it.
The RULES:
Now this is tough part. Before telling you about rules, just take a look at the daily routine.
4:00am Wake up bell
4:30-6:30am Meditate in the hall or in your room
6:30-8:00am Breakfast and Morning activities
8:00-9:00am Group meditation in the hall
9:00-11:00am Meditate in the hall or in your room
11:00-1:00pm Lunch and rest
1:00-2:30pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
2:30-3:30pm Group meditation in the hall
3:30-5:00pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
5:00-5:45pm Tea break
6:00-7:00pm Group meditation in the hall
7:00-8:30pm Evening discourse(These are real good, you'll not realize when those 90 minutes passed)
8:35-9:00pm Final group meditation
9:30pm Lights out(Yes, they don't serve dinner. Don't worry you don't feel hungry or angry at dinner time)
You see, too many hours for meditation in a day. Now to do this effectively, you have to maintain'Nobel Silence'. That means No communication of any kind, including verbal communication, non-verbal communication(gestures), physical contact, or eye contact. There are 2 times each day when you can ask an assistant teacher questions if necessary. This is absoulte necessity to disconnect yourself from outer side.
You can't carry any reading material, writing material, Mobile phones, music systems, cameras etc, cigarettes, alcohols, tobaco etc. They even discourage physical exercises, yoga etc during these 10 days. And yes, there are different sections for males and females to eat, to meditate and to stay. There is a complete isolation with opposite sex.
Tough, isn't it? It helps if you know the rules in advance and go there with mental preparation.
Something about the technique:
Well, I will not go in much detail here because words are not enough to describe. You've to go through it. This is like Matrix; it can't be explained, one has to experience it.
The first 2-3 days, you have to concentrate only on your breathing. This is to focus your mind and sharpen your mind. You'll be surprised how difficult it is. If you're at peace with yourself you would be able to tame your mind. For next couple of days, you have to focus on sensations on your face. Later, you'll scan your entire body for such sensations. The sensations are always there but we never pay attention to it.
Now, you may ask why do I need to observe sensations. That's the whole point.
The Most Important question, Why this course?
Modern science can't explain the relation between Body and Mind. However, this technique works on its relationship and how you can control your subconscious mind.
The main purpose of Vipassana Meditation is to undo your “conditioning”, and free yourself of all the things in your subconscious mind that are controlling the way you are, so that you can become your real unconditioned self. The sensations are nothing but physical form of various emotions. You have to observe them without any prejudice. You would be surprized with your thought process, all random thoughts with no inter-connection will attack you. Eventually, you will be having a better control on your thoughts, your mind, your reactions etc.
I feel everyone will benifit from this course. Container's depth decides how much it can gather. Similarly it depands on you, how much you can take from this retreat.
Generally, when we are going through rough phase in life, we explore such things to ease our pain. Definitely, Vipassana will help you in having peace with yourself and with rest of the world. However, if you are going through smooth phase, you are suggested even more to attend this retreat. A peaceful mind would be easy to tame and hence, you'll gain much more.
I suggest Vipassana retreat to everyone. It is not attached with any religion. You just have to follow their instruction only for 10 days, you yourself would experience and hence would be doubt-free. If you do decide to go, make the commitment to yourself to stay for the entire 10 days, NO MATTER WHAT.
After finishing this retreat, I wished I would have attended this course earlier. You would definitely become a better person. Feel free to contact me if you require further information or you can visit dhamma(dot)org.
MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY
