An Introduction to Vipassana Meditation

by Graham Gambie

The following introductory article was written in 1981.

Vipassana meditation is the personal purification of the mind. It is the highest form of awareness - the total perception of phenomena in their true nature here and now. It is the refuge of the real, the choiceless observation of things as they are.

Vipassana is the meditation the Buddha developed after trying all other forms of bodily mortification and mind control and finding them inadequate to free him from the seemingly endless round of birth and death, pain and sorrow.

It is a technique so valuable that in Burma it was preserved in its purity for more than 2,200 years.

Vipassana meditation has nothing to do with the development of supernormal, mystical or special powers, even though they may be awakened. Nothing magical happens. The process of purification that occurs is simply an elimination of negativities, complexes, knots and habit energies that have clouded pure consciousness and blocked the flow of mankind's highest qualities - pure love (mett±), compassion (karuº±), sympathetic joy (mudit±) and equanimity (upekkh±). There is no mysticism in Vipassana. It is a science of the mind that goes beyond psychology by not only understanding, but also purifying, the mental process.

The practice is an art of living which manifests its profound practical value in our lives - lessening and then eliminating the greed, anger and ignorance that corrupt all relationships, from the family level to international politics. Vipassana spells an end to day-dreaming, illusion, fantasy - the mirage of the apparent truth.

Like the sizzling explosion of cold water being thrown on a red-hot stove, the reactions after bringing the mind out of its hedonistic tendencies into the here and now are often dramatic and painful. Yet there is an equally spectacular feeling of release from tensions and complexes that have for so long held sway in the depths of the unconscious mind.

Through Vipassana anyone, irrespective of race, caste or creed, can eliminate finally those tendencies that have woven so much anger, passion and fear into their lives. During the training a student concentrates on only one task - the battle with his own ignorance. There is no guru worship or competition among students. The teacher is simply a well-wisher pointing the way he has charted through his own long practical experience.

With continuity of practice, the meditation will quiet the mind, increase concentration, arouse acute mindfulness and open the mind to the supramundane consciousness - the "peace of nibb±na (freedom from all suffering) within."

As in the Buddha's enlightenment, a student simply goes deep inside himself, disintegrating the apparent reality until in the depths he can penetrate even beyond the wheeling of subatomic particles into the absolute.

There is no dependence on books, theories and intellectual games in Vipassana. The truth of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and egolessness (anatt±) are grasped directly with all the enormous power of the mind rather than the crutch of the intellect. The illusion of a "self", binding the mental and physical functions together, is broken. No more the madness of cravings and aversions - the endless grasping of "I, me, mine" that has caused so much suffering and disappointment.

The prattle of conditioned thinking and the action of blind impulse stop their bitter struggle. By his own efforts the student arrives at his own truth.

The foundation of Vipassana meditation is s²la - moral conduct. The practice is strengthened through sam±dhi - concentration of the mind; and the purification of the mental processes is achieved through paññ± - the wisdom of insight. We learn how to observe the interplay of the four physical elements within ourselves with perfect equanimity, and find how valuable this ability is in our daily lives.

We smile in good times, and are equally unperturbed when difficulties arise all around us, in the certain knowledge that we, like our troubles, are nothing but a flux, waves of becoming without finality, mind and body movements arising with incredible speed, only to pass away with equal rapidity.

Although Vipassana meditation was developed by the Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. There is absolutely no question of conversion - the technique works on the simple basis that all human beings share the same problems, and a technique that can eradicate these problems will have a universal application.

Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Roman Catholic and other Christian sects have all practised Vipassana meditation, and have reported a dramatic lessening of those tensions and complexes that affect all mankind.

Leading priests and nuns of the Roman Catholic faith have taken courses and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.

There is a feeling of gratefulness to Gotama, the historical Buddha, who showed the way to the cessation of suffering, but there is absolutely no blind devotion.

The Buddha repeatedly discouraged any excessive veneration paid to him personally. He said, "What will it profit you to see this impure body? Who sees the teaching - the Dhamma - sees me."

The Ten-day Course

Students wishing to learn Vipassana meditation undergo a minimum ten-day course, during which time they take precepts not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct, not to speak lies, and to refrain from intoxicants. For the entire ten days they live within the course site, and do little else but sleep, eat, wash, and meditate. After three days' concentration of the mind by observing the inhalation and exhalation of the breath (Anapana) and the consequent sensations arising, students are shown how to penetrate their entire physical and mental makeup with the total clarity of pure insight. Each day's progress is explained during an hour's discourse in the evening.

The course closes on the last day with the practice of loving-kindness meditation (metta-bh±van±), the sharing of the purity developed during the course with all beings.

The work of controlling and purifying the mind is given top priority during the course. The results are allowed to speak for themselves. Philosophical and speculative conversation is discouraged.

Each day begins at 4:30 a.m., and continues until nine at night, with the student aiming for at least ten hours of meditation (with breaks).

There is no charge whatsoever for the teachings. As for costs of board, lodging, return airfare for the teachers, and other minor expenses, these are met by the donations of grateful students of past courses who have experienced the benefits of Vipassana, and who wish to give others an opportunity to experience them. In turn, having completed a course, if one feels benefited by it and would like others also to benefit from the practice of Vipassana, he or she may give a donation for future courses.

The rate of progress of a student depends solely on his own p±ram²s (previously acquired merits), and on the operation of five elements of effort, viz., faith, health, sincerity, energy, and wisdom.

More than 20,000 students from about eighty countries have already attended courses in India and abroad, and have found little difficulty in conforming to the course discipline. The vegetarian menu is designed to aid meditation as well as to suit most tastes.

The Teacher

S.N. Goenka was authorized by the late Sayagyi U Ba Khin of Burma to teach Vipassana meditation. Since 1969, he has conducted Vipassana meditation courses around the world. He is also spiritual director of the Vipassana International Academy, Igatpuri, India.

Mr. Goenka studied Vipassana for fourteen years at the International Meditation Centre in Rangoon, under the guidance of U Ba Khin. He has given more than 200 courses of ten days to people from all over the world, and has been invited by such groups as Roman Catholic seminaries and colleges, universities, Jain monks and the Dalai Lama to conduct meditation courses throughout India. He was also invited to conduct courses at the famous Nalanda Buddhist University for the staff and students, as well as at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Mr. Goenka was also at the centre of an innovative plan by the government of the State of Rajasthan to give a meditation course to 120 convicted murderers being held in prison. Following the dramatic success of this course, the government arranged a second course for senior police officers. Both these courses were subjected to scientific evaluation by university psychologists, social workers and police officials.

Mr. Goenka is a married householder with a large family. He stresses that meditation is not to encourage people to withdraw from society, but rather to face all the ups and downs of life in a calm, balanced way. 

Graham Gambie was a senior assistant teacher to S.N. Goenka. He passed away in June 1986.

Jo upaje so bhaªga ho,
Vipaœyan± se dekha.
Kais± maªgala œuddhi patha,
rahe na dukkha k² rekha.

Whatever arises passes away;
observe this through Vipassana.
What a pure path of happiness!
Not a trace of suffering remains.

- Hindi doha of S.N. Goenka