Namo Dhammaha Namaskaram
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Salutation to the blessed one, the worthy one and the fully enlightened one, Buddha. Namaskaram. We are going to see my individual journey on the path on Dhamma or nowadays we call it the journey of Vipassana. I’ve been introduced to the Vipassana almost 12 years back when I was a seeker trying a philosophy and naturally when you grow up in a very traditional Hindu Indian family you’ve been introduced to a different tradition, different sect, different philosophical practices. So in 2004, almost 20 years back, I was reading a magazine, a magazine named Aha Jindagi. It was a very popular magazine in Hindi language. So this magazine published a yearly article on different spiritual practices and the gurus in India. I was turning the page, reading, and I was like, okay, I know this, I tried this, I’ve been very familiar to this particular practice. And I was turning the page and there was a one sage sitting. He was not a sage like but sage in the sense very peaceful, calm. He was ascend going calm
with the Mataji. Then first time I read the word Vipassana and something clicked in me very strongly. And I was like, okay, I should try this. Then it was there written that Vipassana I said, okay, I should try this. Then it was not easy journey because when you are new in spirituality you are not used to sit for 10-12 hours a day. But then I did it and I was like, wow this is something different. Different at what level? Not only at the physical level but at the very core, at the mind level. First time I realized that there is a way we can see what is happening inside outside. That’s a literal meaning of the word vipassana. Vipassana, vishyati literally meaning to see and the prefix v, vishyashena vishyati means to see what is happening inside outside and developing the witness attitude to see the things as they are arising, passing, staying. So Vipassana actually a whole teaching but very small part is meditation and as we know that Buddhism or the Dhamma is a way of life. Vipassana actually comes from Anapanasati Sutta, Satipatthana practices. There are four foundations in mindfulness.
In Buddhism we call it, there are four foundations. First, the body, the feeling, the mind and the dhamma. So Vipassana is three practices together. Normally we call it the Samta Bhavna, Vipasana Bhavna and Metta Bhavna. So when you go to the Vipasana for ten days, first we learn how to concentrate the mind. By how? Withdrawing all the senses, means no contact with the outer world. Remember, concentration is not going to happen. Nowadays we just go and sit and do meditation. At the same time we are allowing the senses to go here and there, but it’s not going to work. So the first step is to less stimulation from the outer world. So you withdraw your senses and you are not allowed to talk or disturb your senses, unnecessary here and there. Then only you can go inside. So the journey starts with Anapanasati, focusing on the breath, in and out breath, naturally breath. So then what happens? Mind calms down. And then on the fourth day introduced to the Vipassana. Now with the attitude of equanimity, I scan my body parts. What do you mean by scanning the body parts? Whatever the sensations are arising, Simply, mindfully I develop witness, witness attitude, equanimity. And then what happens? We are living in the present moment. You may have heard many times people say live in the present moment, but how?
This is how. When the mind is very much focused on the breath, you are also aware of the senses, you are very much in the present moment. You are not thinking much about the past, no worry about the future, you are in the moment and when the mind stay in the present moment, mind get purified and only through the purification of the mind we go deeper into know thyself. Also in Buddhism we say in Vipassana there are three characteristics Anicca, Anatta, Dukkha. Means everything is changing. Gautama Buddha says life is suffering. Four Noble Truth in Buddhism. Life is suffering, there is a cause of suffering, there is an end of suffering and that is Nirvana. And the fourth, there is a path, the practice that leads to end of suffering. So Vipassana is a part of practice to end the suffering by first aware of your body, the breath, the feeling, the emotions, the mind and develop drashta bhava, means equanimity, mindfulness, witness. But remember during the Vipassana training also we have to follow the vows means not killing, not lying, truthfulness, not using of intoxicants. So all those things help us really to understand calm the mind. Now what are the main practices? Concentration with equanimity and following the vows or we call it the sila. So the point is not allowing the senses to go out and go inside and focus on it. Then what? Then you continue your life very mindfully. Also there are many misconceptions about Vipassana. It says this is the part of Buddhism, it is different than Yoga. But no! Remember, Yoga, Buddhism and Jainism come from the same tradition.
We call it the ascetic tradition or shaman tradition. Practices are same. To live in a nature, in a serenity, purify the mind and enter in a very disciplined life. We call it a shaman tradition. And from the same word, the word come ashrama. Shaman, ashrama. Shaman means the one who’s striving for moksha, nirvana or Thaivalya. An ashram is the place where we practice the meditation. So for Vipassana, the website is dhamma.org. You can go and check the details. And what are the prerequisites? Yeah, mainly the challenges we face during the meditation is to wake up early in the morning. Imagine your day starts at 4 o’clock and your days end in the night around 8, 30, 9 o’clock. I mean throughout the day you are meditating. So the first challenge, wake up early in the morning. Second challenge, sitting and meditation. Because body is not very used to sit and do the meditation for a longer period of time. That’s exactly where we need the yoga asana and the pranayama practice. So what are the things you are going to do before joining the Vipassana? Practice the asana. So all the numbness, the pain, the stiffness that we have in the body, it’s removed. So the nadis can purify it. And with the practice of pranayama, the mind becomes very lighter and very much focused. And now it’s time to do the Vipassana. So Vipassana is not different than a yogic meditation. Yoga is not different than the Gautama Buddha’s teaching the dharma. Because at the end what is the goal? To know the body, the mind, the senses and realize the self. Remember whenever the thoughts comes like Dukkha, Buddhism it talk about lot of Dukkha, Dukkha means suffering. Yoga also talk about the suffering but remember this is not a pessimistic view to see the light but to identify the root cause the root cause of suffering that is our own ignorance.
Ignorance of what? Ignorance is not to know your true self and how? By knowing that what the self is not. So Vipassana meditation help us to understand there is no self. And remember this is the journey towards insight. So Samta Bhavna and Vipasana Bhavna means concentration and insight meditation. So we wish you all the best on this journey to realize the self, the journey of dhamma, the teaching, the vipassana, the yogic journey. My name is Sadhu Sri. I am a teacher at Himalayan Yoga Association. Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa you
