 |
 |
||||
|
|||||
| |||||
|
What is Vipassana? About 2500 years ago, the technique of Vipassana meditation was
rediscovered by Gotama, the Buddha. Through its practice,
he first achieved enlightenment himself and then for next forty-five
years helped countless people reach the final goal of full enlightenment.
About 300 years after the Buddha, Emperor Ashoka, after testing
the fruits of Dhamma himself, sent emissaries to various countries
for spreading Dhamma. Among them were two fully enlightened monks,
Sona and Uttara, who went to Burma (then called Swarnabhumi). Since
then the practice remained alive in Myanmar (Burma) in the hands
of devoted teachers who passed it from generation to generation
in its unadulterated form. Unfortunately, the technique of Vipassana
meditation disappeared from India five centuries after the Buddha. Laws of physical science are universal and govern the material world. Whether one accepts the law of gravitation or not, it is there and its works everywhere - transcending the superficial boundaries of religions, beliefs, countries and continents. The nature of the mind-body complex of all human beings is same - governed by same universal scientific laws that run the universe. For example, when anger rises in the mind, one cannot say that the anger is a Hindu anger, a Muslim anger, a Chinese anger or an American anger. Anger is just anger. Similarly, love and compassion are not restricted to any particular community, sect or nationality - these are universal human qualities emanating from a pure mind. Likewise, the path of purification of mind cannot be the monopoly of any one community - it should work equally effectively on all human beings. Hence, Vippasana centers are open to all - irrespective of race, caste, faith or nationality. The Buddha himself taught the Dhamma (the truth, the way, the path) and never called his followers "Buddhist"; he referred to them as "Dhammist" (those who follow the path, the truth). A 10-Day Vipassana Meditation Course Other Vipassana Course One-day and three-day courses are organized for any one who has taken at least one 10-day course. It is now very common for Vipassana meditators in different towns to sit together for morning and evening hourly meditation. Meditating in groups helps maintain regularity of practice. Serious Vipassana meditators who practice regularly and have taken at least three 10-day courses, can join an eight-day Satipatthan course. As they progress further, they can progressively join 20-, 30-, 45-, and 60-day courses. Currently, the 60-day course is offered only at Dhamma Tapovan at Igatpuri. Children's Courses For children in the age group 8-14, shorter duration courses of 1, 2 or 3 days are offered. However, they are taught only the technique of Anapana meditation - i.e., observation of natural respiration. Discipline in these courses is not as stringent as in regular Vipassana courses. Studies have shown extremely positive benefits for the young participants in terms of inculcating moral values and self-discipline. Funding All Vipassana meditation courses, throughout the world, are run solely on the basis of freely offered donations - no fee is charged from the participants. Vipassana courses as well as Vipassana centers are funded solely on the contribution of old students who, out of compassion, wish to propagate benefit of Vipassana meditation to others. Old students also offer voluntary service (called Dhamma Service) during the courses. The voluntary contribution, monetary or otherwise, by meditators out of the wholesome volition of gratitude and generosity, keeps the teaching free from any taint of commercialism. Vipassana and Society The current social environment in the world has evolved following an illusory principle - more riches and more material possessions mean more happiness to the human beings. It is good logic, but the fallacy lies in the fact that desire (craving, greed) is a bottomless pit that can never be filled. Fulfilling one desire immediately presents one with another, and fulfilling even that presents yet another desire, and it goes on.... As a result, a person keeps chasing desires and leads a life remaining slave to craving, which unfortunately is endless. Practice of Vipassana meditation reveals this secret at the experiential level in the most insightful way. In fact, the crux of Vipassana meditation lies in recognizing the cravings and aversions at the experiental level and trying to maintain equanimity of mind. Equanimity, in its perfection, is both the means as well as the goal of the Vipassana meditation. It brings real peace and real harmony, first within the meditator and then around him or her. Vipassana in Prisons The story of transformation of the notorious legendry killer, Angulimal, by the Buddha, is well known around the world. From a dreaded merciless killer, he transformed himself into a saintly person full of compassion and finally achieved full enlightenment by practicing Vipassana meditation. It was 2500 years ago. The first-ever Vipassana course in a prison was organized in 1975 in Central Jail in Jaipur, India. Encouraged by the results, it was followed by another course in 1976 in the same Jail. Then the experiment was tried in Central Jails in Ahmedabad and Vadodara in the Gujrat State of India. Again, the results were highly encouraging. In 1993, a Vipassana course was organised in Central Jail, Tihar in New Delhi, which is among the largest prisons in Asia. Then in 1994, a very large Vipassana course for 1000 inmates was organized at Tihar. This was an extra-ordinary moment in the history of jail reformation. Now there is a fully developed Vipassana center for inmates and jail - staff inside the Tihar - called Dhamma Tihar - where Vipassana courses are regularly organized. By now Vipassana courses have become a rountine feature in several prisons across the country, not just at Tihar. Experience of Vipassana courses in jails in different countries points to the universal principle - that (self) experience is the best teacher. After taking Vipassana courses, scores of hard-core criminals have become transformed through self-realization of wrongness of their past actions, performed in ignorance. The law of nature, i.e., truth, works in the same way irrespective of whether a person is inside a prison or outside it. Any person who breaks the law of the country goes to the physical prison. But, in fact, a so-called free person also leads full life remaining imprisoned - in the prison of his own habit pattern formed by likes-and-dislikes or cravings-and-aversions. Irony is - he does not even know about this lifelong self-imprisonment! Only the insight gained through Vipassana meditation can demolish the walls of this invisible prison, and lead to true freedom and true liberation. A Historical Belief Historically, there has been a belief among the Burmese Vipassana teachers that 2500 years after the Buddha, the technique of Vipassana would go back to the land of its origin, India, and from there it would spread to the entire world. Vipassanacharya Shri Goenkaji's teacher, Sayagii U Ba Khin had declared some decades ago that "The clock of Vipassana has struck". Surprisingly, this belief appears to have become a reality already. Practically every major city in India now has a Vipasana center nearby; more are coming up regularly. A look at the list of International Vipassana Centers points to a similar trend worldwide. How surprising is it that the ancient Indian tradition of establishing Tapovan (orTapobhumi), devoted to spiritual practices is seeing revival in this highly materialistic age, cutting across the barriers of popular religious and social beliefs.
|
|||||
