Vipassana Meditation

Bootcamp for the Mind – this is my experience.

Ten days of no speaking, no touching, no communication at all – yes this includes phones, internet and writing, no meat, no sex, no eye contact no meals after four pm.

Welcome to Vipassana.

Vipassana means ‘to see things as they really are’ it is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques. Gautama Buddha rediscovered this technique more than 2500 years ago whilst sitting for a very long period under the Bohdi Tree. Once he had gained realization he knew he had to teach it every day to anyone who crossed his path until the day he died. In this way they too would have the chance to experience enlightenment and find peace within themselves, and end suffering the way that he had.

Vipassana aims to get rid of ‘mental impurities’ or as they say on the course ‘cravings and aversions.’ In doing so it will result in the highest form of happiness and self liberation. Like anything in life, it is no easy path. Firstly you must understand the benefits of the change, then, you must be prepared to make the change, then it is up to you alone to be the change. Vipassana helps you to recognize these values, the meditation will let you see the values, the continuity of practice will help you realize the values at the deepest levels.

Noble silence begins on the first night after dinner.

Time to get to know myself.

(the view from my solitude meal times)

Day 1

Eager chitter chatter of all the participants to this ten day course. Men and women are separated immediately. There are many different people attending Vipassana for their very own reasons. I notice that some are already quiet and withdrawn, some are happy to tell of their previous Vipassana experience, some are nervous and believe they will probably be climbing the walls within hours. Then there is me, not really knowing what I am getting myself into, yet always happy to dive in blindfolded and see what eventuates.

All of the new students are housed in a either a dorm or a double bedroom. My room was right at the end of a cold dark corridor. I waited excitedly to see who my roommate would be for the next ten days. She never came. Admittedly I was overjoyed at this news, a room to myself.

After dinner we made our way to the large meditation hall and found our sitting positions for the next ten days. The meditation hall is separated into men on the left and women on the right and in grid style. From memory I was row E and five across. I immediately related this grid to a Battleship Board game.

With a blanket wrapped around me I noticed people grabbing cushions and back rests to make themselves more comfortable. I thought all of them to be weak, for surely we were all here to meditate and pass through the pain. I would live to regret those thoughts.

Over the course of the ten days we would listen to and watch a discourse given by Satya Narayan Goenke (Goenkeji). This was the same discourse given to every single participant of Vipassana the world over.

During our first of ten discourses given by Goenkeji , who was worlds leading lay teacher in Vispassana, we were told to make our way back to our rooms, shower and sleep for we would be woken by a bell at four am to be in the meditaion hall for our first two hour meditation the following morning.

Day 2

Bong…..bong…..bong… was to become a not so enchanting sound to my ears at four o’clock each morning. Not being able to function without a shower in the mornings I always made sure I was first to the bathrooms to languish in the hot water for the most stretched out three minutes imaginable.

Off to the meditation hall. So cold up in the mountains, but the shining bright stars in the pre-dawn sky made the short journey worthwhile each morning.

I sit down silently and wait for everyone else to dwindle in. Most people unshowered and looking bleary eyed, I sit and close my eyes and wait for the start the audio guide from Goenkeji to help us on our way.

‘Students are encouraged to examine and test their own experience at the experiential level by observing themselves with equanimity, and examining the results. The technique involves adherence to a moral code and the observation of sensations.’

Hmmm ok, but what does that mean?

After a brief introduction and some very loud chanting we were told to focus on our breathing, feel it in our nostrils, and do so for the next two hours. Sound easy? Not so. I very quickly came to understand the term ‘Monkey Mind’ with my own mind, just like a monkey grabbing branch after branch with a new thought. For those of you who have not meditated before, try now to sit and focus only on your breathing, see how long it takes for your mind to wander.

For the following ten hours of meditation that day that is all we had to do, focus on the breathing.

(a mushroom family that engaged my attention daily)

Day 3

Concentrate only on the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. Exactly the same process as the first two days. What? At this point, having not been familiar with meditation before in my life I decided that I was the only person in the whole hall who was doing it wrong. Sure there was more to this than just breathing.

As with my mind wandering, there was no improvement there. I would take a sneak peak around the room and everyone seemed tuned in except me. Oh dear!

Day 4

Ah, finally something different. Now I must concentrate on the sensations I feel in and around my nostrils. Fantastic, what a nice change.

It was explained by Goenkeji that it takes three days, three very long days, to train the mind to focus only on the breathing, they were not wrong about that. That equates to 30 hours of sitting cross legged, without moving and concentrating on the breath and the nostrils – and nothing else.

They say that day four is the breaking point. They say that day four is the hardest. People on the fourth day choose to leave, although you are strongly encourage NOT TO LEAVE. On the fourth day you start questioning your own sanity.

I was feeling it today. I dreaded the bong, bong in the morning, my only respite was eating at meal times very quickly and quickly running off into my trail in the bush where no-one else seemed to come. I would sit alone, cherishing the sun on my face, watching the birds and feeling the air touch my face even erecting a temple for the ants!! In these moments, alone, I knew happiness…… hey maybe this Vipassana was working out for me after all.

Day 5

Health update. Knees aching in the joints from sitting crossed legged, lower back aching, upper back aching, and lucky me a migraine that showed no sign of leaving. Pain was my new worst enemy. I was beginning to loathe ten hours a day of silent meditation.

We were also told on this day to start experiencing reality in it’s true characteristics….hmmm….I needed to meditate on that thought.

At this point I should add that I had a love hate relationship with the discourses at the end of each day. I loved them because it seemed as if Goenkeji anticipated my every question and he answered them very precisely raising my level of awareness with myself that I had never experienced before in my life.

The hate or dislike because we had to sit up straight watching the discourse for a very long and stretched out hour and a half. I was already exhausted from the intense focus from the previous ten hours of meditation. I struggled each night to stay focused. If we lay down we were told to sit back up. I was silently starting to despise all of those who had cushions and back rests – which is NOT in the Vipassana spirit of remaining equanimous at all.

Day 6

Time to ‘drop’ into Vipassna meditation, time to ‘Feel the sensations from the tip of the head to the tip of the toes‘ Wow this was getting exciting!!

I was very easily able to feel a light energy sensation whilst focusing on my head, and in time i was able to create a rhythmic flow throughout my body.

I was happy that I could do this. I doing so without my mind wandering all the time too. Although I do remember at one point distinctly believing and even having a conversation with a family of Beavers camping on my upper lip. Cheeky little buggers.

Day 7

Getting on with the heavy stuff now, still feeling the sensations from the tip of the head to the toes, really feeling it big time too. Trying not to get excited about the fact that I seemed to be getting it right, that’s not the point, just accept it all, the positives, the aches, the pains, the small victories. None of it mattered. That was hard to grasp, I enjoyed the small celebrations within my sensation filled body.

Day 8

Time to get in touch with ‘Observing’ sensations and not reacting to them. Knowing that I have deep pain between my shoulders caused from sitting down too much, yet being able to move through it. There were long moments where I was sweeping the sensations throughout my body and I was pain free, ahhh if only i could hold on to that thought of not holding onto any thought!!

The sweeping through my body became much more easy, only getting blocked by the intense and seemingly out of control pain in my back and shoulders.

Day 9

Another day filled with sweeping sensations through my body. Learning to see my body being made up purely of sub-atomic particles rising and falling. Realizing that all we are is millions upon millions of these particles rising and falling to create our reality. Finally I understand that thoughts and feelings are but simple manifestations within our brains and if we remain totally equanimous then we shall no longer feel anything.

Day 10

Last Meditation, the end is in sight, we would be allowed to talk after our mid-morning hour and a half long meditation

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk.

Goenkeji was giving his last discourse. I was going to miss him.

(my ant temple erected in solitude and deep thought)

What did I achieve?

This account is quite abridged as I talk only of the physical side of the meditations. During the ten days I felt waves of emotions pass within me. Memories from a distant past seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Issues that I had not fully dealt with presented themselves right in my minds eye. I was able to accept everything within myself without judgement.

I learnt much about my being, my strengths and my weaknesses, what was important to me and what was now OK for me to let dissolve back into the universe. I knew very well the benefits of remaining equanimous and being able to observe and see things as they really are.

A very big factor for me was seeing and understanding what my true values and ethics are. More so to see clearly the path that I have chosen for myself and to promise that I shall remain on this path for the rest of eternity. The only gain being to myself a better person each day who is just a little bit more honest and pure. If one starts there, everything else falls into place.

Clarity for my own being stays with me daily after Vipassana, not a day passes where I do not think about or act upon all all of the benifits that this Ancient Meditation offers.

Vipassana was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced in my entire life, and yes I have done a great many thing. Some say Vipassana is not for everyone, I disagree though. One can truly only benefit from learning the art of silence and stillness and getting to know one’s true being.

As Socrates said, ‘Know Thyself’, I believe that once one really does know himself, his true intentions, what he wants, what his true priorities are, where he wishes to go then and only then he will find his own peace.

I cannot recommend a better place to start ‘Knowing Thyself’ than within Noble Silence attending a Vispassana Meditation.

Vipassana has so many levels and each will get their own unique journey out of it. My only thought is that once started it will be hard to ignore the path to the original truths again.

The Vipassana Centre I attended in Australia

http://www.bhumi.dhamma.org/about.htm

Introduction to Vipassana

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS1PhpbLvGw

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–71jSYMMqg

Vipassana in Prison

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA8XFEyeMi8