Thursday, January 18, 2007
Vipassina
Hey People of the world....Peace and Goodwill to each and everyone of you man!
I arrived back to Delhi last night from Jaipur having finished the Vipassina course 2 days ago so Im feeling a bit blissed out. Vipassina was uncomfortable, painful, hard-work, mentally disturbing at times and boring at times too. It was also insightful, inspirational, challenging, interesting and very worthwhile.
Vipassina is the meditation technique taught by Buddha and the translation means 'seeing things as they really are'. Its a personal journey into understanding the nature of reality; that things are in a constant state of flux and change and that we fill our lives with an endless cycle of Craving and Aversion. Life is full of suffering. We crave for things we cannot always have which leads to suffering (I want a higher salary/a better car/an exotic holiday/more friends); when we get the things we crave for, we either want more and/or are anxious not to loose them which leads to more suffering and we put a lot of effort and worry into avoiding things we do not like.
The process of Vipassina teaches us to observe things as they are and not to attach likes and dislikes to them, therefore trying to irradicate craving and aversion which lead to suffering. The process invloves 10 days of meditaion focussing on sensations cropping up natrually within the body and really being aware of the body. When sensations such as itching, tingling, pain, numbness etc do crop up, it teaches us to simply observe the phenomina with an equanimous mind, not liking some sensations and disliking others. With practice and a calm mind, the aim is to be able to sit in one position without moving for up to 2 hours maintining an alert and attentive mind observing these sensations with an objective eye. It really surprised me how much one can control the mind and ones reaction towards pain. As time went on, I began to witness for myself how much my mind exagerates responses to stimuli, automatically judging stimuli and adopting preferences and aversions. After about 5 days I was actually able to sit cross legged in a meditation position for 1.5 hours without moving a muscle despite experiencing intense pain, cramping, itching and dead legs by just observing the sensations. Amazing. Im not for one minute pretending it was easy. On the 5th night I cried myself to sleep because I didnt think I was strong enough to deal with the pain. I couldn't sleep due to the intense acheing of my knees and I began to worry about any permanent damage I may be causing my body. But the pain and long hours - 10.5 hours a day of mediating starting at 4.30am was forgotten when I experienced periods of true awareness and concentration during meditaion.
On the 10th day, you are allwed to speak with others on the course, although males and females are always segregated. It was great to talk to others about their experiences and compare notes after 9 days of silence.
I think the experience has made me realise how much anger I have inside, and how often I can react to situations from a position of anger rather than compassion. I want to make a commitment to myself to try to deal with this anger and intend to use the Vipassina technique in my mediation practice. Since leaving the center, I have been able to maintain a level of awareness over my reactions and feel better able to choose how to react to stimuli. This feels good and I really want to maintain this state.
If anybody is intersted in Vipassina, there are centers all over the world. To find out about one nearest to you, visit www.dhamma.org. As long as you are willing to put a lot of time and effort in and have an understanding of what it invloves, I would definately reccommend it.
I arrived back to Delhi last night from Jaipur having finished the Vipassina course 2 days ago so Im feeling a bit blissed out. Vipassina was uncomfortable, painful, hard-work, mentally disturbing at times and boring at times too. It was also insightful, inspirational, challenging, interesting and very worthwhile.
Vipassina is the meditation technique taught by Buddha and the translation means 'seeing things as they really are'. Its a personal journey into understanding the nature of reality; that things are in a constant state of flux and change and that we fill our lives with an endless cycle of Craving and Aversion. Life is full of suffering. We crave for things we cannot always have which leads to suffering (I want a higher salary/a better car/an exotic holiday/more friends); when we get the things we crave for, we either want more and/or are anxious not to loose them which leads to more suffering and we put a lot of effort and worry into avoiding things we do not like.
The process of Vipassina teaches us to observe things as they are and not to attach likes and dislikes to them, therefore trying to irradicate craving and aversion which lead to suffering. The process invloves 10 days of meditaion focussing on sensations cropping up natrually within the body and really being aware of the body. When sensations such as itching, tingling, pain, numbness etc do crop up, it teaches us to simply observe the phenomina with an equanimous mind, not liking some sensations and disliking others. With practice and a calm mind, the aim is to be able to sit in one position without moving for up to 2 hours maintining an alert and attentive mind observing these sensations with an objective eye. It really surprised me how much one can control the mind and ones reaction towards pain. As time went on, I began to witness for myself how much my mind exagerates responses to stimuli, automatically judging stimuli and adopting preferences and aversions. After about 5 days I was actually able to sit cross legged in a meditation position for 1.5 hours without moving a muscle despite experiencing intense pain, cramping, itching and dead legs by just observing the sensations. Amazing. Im not for one minute pretending it was easy. On the 5th night I cried myself to sleep because I didnt think I was strong enough to deal with the pain. I couldn't sleep due to the intense acheing of my knees and I began to worry about any permanent damage I may be causing my body. But the pain and long hours - 10.5 hours a day of mediating starting at 4.30am was forgotten when I experienced periods of true awareness and concentration during meditaion.
On the 10th day, you are allwed to speak with others on the course, although males and females are always segregated. It was great to talk to others about their experiences and compare notes after 9 days of silence.
I think the experience has made me realise how much anger I have inside, and how often I can react to situations from a position of anger rather than compassion. I want to make a commitment to myself to try to deal with this anger and intend to use the Vipassina technique in my mediation practice. Since leaving the center, I have been able to maintain a level of awareness over my reactions and feel better able to choose how to react to stimuli. This feels good and I really want to maintain this state.
If anybody is intersted in Vipassina, there are centers all over the world. To find out about one nearest to you, visit www.dhamma.org. As long as you are willing to put a lot of time and effort in and have an understanding of what it invloves, I would definately reccommend it.
Friday, January 05, 2007
Happy New Year!
A Happy New Year to each and every one of you!
We arrived in Delhi from a 2 week break in Southern India last night. We spent 3 days travelling by train, bus, taxi and boat to Gokarna in Karnataka from Delhi on the 20th Dec. There we spent Christmas on a beach soaking up the sun and meeting lots of Western travellers who had the same idea. My partner had planned on coming out to meet us, but he couldnt get any cheap deals so it was just me and Vicki. Although I was gutted not to see him, we made the most of it and got into the spirit.
After spending Christmas on a beach, we headed for Mumbai which in my opinion is a horrible, stinking cest pit full of rich middle class, loutish perverts and I never want to step foot there again! Our experience here was a stark contrast to Delhi and we culdnt wait to get out of it. The men are vile, constantly making comments and staring. I duely publically humiliated one who pinched Vicki's bum, by screaming 'Eve Teaser' while skipping round him and pointing at him and making sure everyone on the busy highstreet knew exactly what we thought of him and that it certainly was NOT ok to act in such a manner. I think thats what I hated the most about being there, I didnt feel good about myself. I felt continuously aggressive and defensive most of the time, ready to pounce on the next creepy sorry excuse for a man and actaully felt like physically assaulting some of them. Its far from being the helpful Buddhist English Teaching Volunteer persona that Ive enjoyed for the last 3 months; rather a Psychopathic, Feminist Warrior ready to take on any unsuspecting male who even bats an eyelid in my direction! It put it all into perspective when we read that a Western foreigner was mobbed by a gang of Indian drunken youths on New Years Eve in the heart of the city and had her skirt ripped off. The police were not able to do anything at the time but are now appealing for help with the matter. Disgusting. If Mumbai is a sign of things to come in India I am truely very, very sorry.
Anyway, tomorrow I embark on a train journey to Jaipur to start a 10 day Vipassina retreat. Boy do I need it! Im crapping my pants a bit as the thought of getting up at 4am every morning, not eating after midday and doing 10 hours of meditation a day doeant sound like fun, and not being able to talk for 10days might just kill me. But Im told its a worth while experience and truthfully, Im looking forward to it.
We arrived in Delhi from a 2 week break in Southern India last night. We spent 3 days travelling by train, bus, taxi and boat to Gokarna in Karnataka from Delhi on the 20th Dec. There we spent Christmas on a beach soaking up the sun and meeting lots of Western travellers who had the same idea. My partner had planned on coming out to meet us, but he couldnt get any cheap deals so it was just me and Vicki. Although I was gutted not to see him, we made the most of it and got into the spirit.
After spending Christmas on a beach, we headed for Mumbai which in my opinion is a horrible, stinking cest pit full of rich middle class, loutish perverts and I never want to step foot there again! Our experience here was a stark contrast to Delhi and we culdnt wait to get out of it. The men are vile, constantly making comments and staring. I duely publically humiliated one who pinched Vicki's bum, by screaming 'Eve Teaser' while skipping round him and pointing at him and making sure everyone on the busy highstreet knew exactly what we thought of him and that it certainly was NOT ok to act in such a manner. I think thats what I hated the most about being there, I didnt feel good about myself. I felt continuously aggressive and defensive most of the time, ready to pounce on the next creepy sorry excuse for a man and actaully felt like physically assaulting some of them. Its far from being the helpful Buddhist English Teaching Volunteer persona that Ive enjoyed for the last 3 months; rather a Psychopathic, Feminist Warrior ready to take on any unsuspecting male who even bats an eyelid in my direction! It put it all into perspective when we read that a Western foreigner was mobbed by a gang of Indian drunken youths on New Years Eve in the heart of the city and had her skirt ripped off. The police were not able to do anything at the time but are now appealing for help with the matter. Disgusting. If Mumbai is a sign of things to come in India I am truely very, very sorry.
Anyway, tomorrow I embark on a train journey to Jaipur to start a 10 day Vipassina retreat. Boy do I need it! Im crapping my pants a bit as the thought of getting up at 4am every morning, not eating after midday and doing 10 hours of meditation a day doeant sound like fun, and not being able to talk for 10days might just kill me. But Im told its a worth while experience and truthfully, Im looking forward to it.
