Vipassana

Vipassana

What, Where, How, Why, When, Which, Whether

I have done 3 Vipassana Shibirs of 10 (10+2) day each of S.N.Goenka and would like to share my experience with my friends.

I have divided my note into 3 parts

1             Info

2             Core Philosophy

3             What is there for me, a common man

1 Info

1   General Info

Vipassana Shibirs are held at 341 locations in 94 countries world over, including USA, Europe, Africa, Russia and Far East. All the courses are completely free of charge. Donations are accepted only from those who have prior completed 10 day Vipassana Course. All the Shibirs are excellently managed. Food is vegetarian and very tasty as well as healthy. Enrolment for the courses is strictly based on Online registration at this link : https://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schpattana Generally there is 3 to 6 months waiting period.

2   Formalities

After having done online registration and admission, the person should do a simple admission process before 5 pm on a day prior to the main 10 day course. All the precious belongings like money, jewellery etc and also the mobile phone have to be deposited at the office. We are not allowed to carry any religious object whatsoever on our person or with our belongings. Our regular medicines are allowed and they should be taken as prescribed by our doctor. Then at 7 pm instructions are given about the course and doubts cleared. Thereafter the noble silence starts. The course ends on a day after the 10 day main course – i.e. on the 12th day morning at 6.30 am. We can then disperse after having breakfast. There is no certificate or I card given on completion of the course.

3   Daily Routine

The day starts at wakeup at 4 am in the morning. Meditation starts at 4.30 am. It then goes on till 9 pm in the night. There are 3 breaks of Breakfast, Lunch and Evening Tea. In between 5 minute breaks are given.

4   Living Conditions

At Gorai, Mumbai Centre, we had single room with attached bathroom for each person. Simple room. Hot water. A.C. Laundry facility is also provided. There is a lush green well manicured garden in which we are allowed during the breaks. Overall atmosphere is pleasant and serene, peaceful. At Nashik Centre, they had 2 persons in one room with attached bathroom. I was lucky to have whole room for me. There are also dormitories.  Chairs are provided to students who can not sit on floor. There is no strict requirement of sitting in a particular position. One can be seated in whatever way is comfortable to him. The only condition is that he should not point his legs in the direction of the teacher (as a mark of respect). A student can also make changes in his bodily posture to relieve the physical stress.

5   Shibir Discipline

The participants must observe Noble Silence. It means not only keeping quiet and not uttering any word (except while talking with our teacher with his permission, in a very low voice and with very few words), but also not making gestures to other person, not even having any eye contact with other person. No taking down any notes. In fact pen and paper is not allowed. No newspaper or musical instruments. No mobile phones. We are also not allowed to cross the defined perimeter the Vipassana venue. We are also not expected to do any physical exercise. We can only have a stroll in the garden during breaks. We should not meditate in the open. We are also not generally allowed to leave the course midway. We must commit to complete the full course.

Don’t get scared after reading above. When you read my full note, you will understand.

2 Core Philosophy

The person has to follow 8 Shila or precepts.

Five Shila for new students :To abstain from killing any being, stealing, all sexual activity, telling lies and all intoxicants. Old student should follow additional Three Shila of abstaining from eating after midday, sensual entertainment and body decorations and from using high or luxurious beds.

Aanapana

During first four days, the student is asked to focus on the bodily sensations arising out of the breathing air touching the small area between his upper lip and nostrils. This is called Aanapana, i.e. coming and going (of breath). This practice sharpens the mind and helps make it being focused.

Vipassana

Then for the next 6 days, the actual Vipassana practice starts. It involves focusing our attention on the inner bodily sensations and just observing them in a non-judgmental way. We have to be in the ‘Witness’ mode – Sakshi Bhav and not the ‘Enjoyer’ mode – Bhokta Bhav. This is the golden key to Vipassana. During this process, our mind invariably drifts. We should be on our guard. Be alert. ‘Sajag’. As soon as we realise that our mind has drifted, we should start our ‘observation’ process again. By continuous practice, we realise the ‘perishable’ nature of this world – Anitya. We get to the root of smallest part of our physical body – the atoms and electrons. Having done that, the knots of our Karma get released and we finally attain to enlightened state and get freedom from our entanglement in the cycle of birth and death.

This seems to be very high funda and heavy headed for a common man. Read on the third part of my note and then you will realise why it is all worth it, even if you do not manage to get to the full process.

3 What is there for me ?

This is the golden question. There are several by-products of this practice. Even if you are not able to even substantially follow the prescribed practice, still you benefit a lot from Vipassana. I can guarantee you that. The only requirement is SINCERITY. One must honestly make efforts to follow the prescribed routine and follow the instructions. Even if he fails in doing it completely as prescribed, no issue. There are ample benefits on the way, even before you reach the destination.

I am specifically targeting this note to people who feel that attaining Moksha or Nirvana is not their aim in life, at least not now. All they want is peace of mind, happiness, good health and abundance. You got it. You will get all this even if you are not interested in the deeper level aims of Nirvana and also even if you are not able to implement the instructions fully.

Once you do the Vipassana course in all sincerity and honesty, you are on the Path. Sooner or later, the call of your heart will take you the goal. This is guaranteed.

I have encountered following questions from my friend whenever I talk to them of Vipassana

Can I make it? My mind is always wandering. I will not be able to remain quiet for long time. How can I manage not eating any food after the evening tea? When I close my eyes for a long time, I feel sleepy and I will dose of.

Interestingly, all of them say that they certainly want to do Vipassana at some point in their life, but not now.

Let me explain and clarify your doubts. To be honest, I myself had these doubts. I could never ever satisfy my doubting mind and had postponed my decision to do Vipassana for 10 years. Then on one day, I just decided, against all the dictates of my logical and rational mind, to jump in blindly. I thought thus. Even if I fail, how does it matter? At the most I would have wasted 12 days. That is the only cost I pay. I decided to jump in the water of Vipassana and did it ‘just like that’. And believe me that was the best part of my life. It was indeed a turning point.

It does not matter if you are not able to control your mind. Even 20% success is a good start. At least you will realise that you are slave of your mind. This understanding is enough for you to get going. The most key part of Vipassana is development of Witness State of Mind. We are able to observe the happenings around us in a witness state. Outwardly we may participate in the play, but inwardly we are only witnessing it. This tremendously helps in ANGER MANAGEMENT. At the very start of the trigger point event making us angry, we get a warning bell in our mind and we get alerted. We immediately get into ‘Witness Mode’. In Witness Mode, it is impossible to get angry. We can get angry only in ‘Enjoyment Mod’ or the ‘Bhokta’ mode.

Secondly, it is an established principle of spiritual science that energy flows in the direction of our intention. When we focus on the sensations arising inside of our body, we are directing our energy towards our physical body. This in-turn HEALS our physical body of all the bodily stress and ailments.

Thirds, when we get innerly calm and relaxed, we get attuned to the universal vibrations of peace and joy. This is the secret of ABUNDANCE. It is an established fact of spiritual science that each and every human being is endowed with abundance. The only hindrance in harvesting this resource is our blocked channels of receptions. The channels get blocked due to our CRAVING for different types of pleasures. Vipassana practice helps us in getting rid of our cravings, which in turn cleans these receptor channels. The abundance flows into our life as per our needs.

There are many more benefits. I have only listed major benefits above.