Vipassana Meditation Course
This is a long and personal account of my first experience at a Vipassana meditation course. Enjoy! I intend to add pictures, but the internet connection is slow and it takes forever for that function to complete.
I initially heard of Vipassana from my first traveling companion to India. I dismissed it as a crazy idea because this young woman was quite mad. When I took my Thai Yoga Massage course in Greece, during August of 2008, there were a few people who had done the Vipassana course. One intelligent, reliable and wonderful Austrian woman, Verena, gave me some more details about Vipassana. She, a very social person, enjoyed the course and looked forward to her next one. Last year, I did not feel I was ready to do such a retreat. In retrospect, it probably would have been the best thing for me, but it was still the best thing for me this time around.
Vipassana is a pure form of meditation, passed along since the time of Gauthama Buddha. It is a silent observation of one’s own breath and body. Upon arrival at the centre, you turn in all contraband (books, journals, pens, ipods, phones, etc) and surrender yourself to this form of meditation without incorporating past techniques you may have learned. In other words, no yoga, pranayama (breathing exercises), tai chi, reiki, etc., for the 10 day course. No outward communication. The daily schedule consists of meditation, meals, breaks and a video lesson. Men and women are separated for the course. We eat in separate areas, enter the meditation hall on opposite sides of the building, and sit on different sides of the room at all times. The only communication you are permitted is to request from the dhamma server (assistant to the course) any creature comfort needs, such as an extra blanket, and to have a minute long conversation with the teacher to discuss your progress most days. There is no charge for the course- you pay by donation. Nobody is meant to make a profit or livelihood from running vipassana courses. It should be accessible to all people, that all being have the chance to be happy.
For the first few days, I found my thoughts dwelling on all of the things I hate, which is basically most aspects of my school. Then I realized how much I was wasting my precious time letting anger and frustration consume me. I found sitting still very difficult until about the 6th day. My back, legs, knees, neck and shoulders all ached, which is a sign of bad feelings settled deeply in the body. By the 7th day, my body felt little pain and lightness from toe to head. Some days, I spent time making mental lists of who would find such a course to be their own personal hell. I thought of several gregarious friends who cannot sit still to save their souls and wondered how it would go for them.
As for me, despite the almost unbearable pain in my knees, I knew it was the right thing for me to do. I also had to complete the course as people had put bets on how long I would make it. I would highly recommend this course to anyone, but I realize many people would never even consider it. My friends thought the silent part would be the most difficult for me, but when you are sitting in meditation 12 hours a day, the last thing you feel like doing is talking. On the last day, you break silence. It was nice to talk again, to share the experience, and what I noticed is you feel much warmer when talking and communicating with others, and you also get more hungry.
I met some interesting people that 10th day. The person I best connected with was our Dhamma server, who was a tour guide in the Middle East for over a year. In fact, I met her colleague in Bedouin tent in Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert back in 2006. She is of Egyptian heritage and grew up in England, and now spends most of her time at Vipassana centers in India and Nepal. I stayed on another day, as I was not ready to face the real world yet. We walked around the town of Saravasti, which is a tiny town and the tourists are usually Monks and other Buddhist pilgrims. There is an incredibly beautiful park and a few temples/monasteries. Saravasti is where the Buddha gave most of his teachings, as he did not travel during the rainy season. It was a very powerful place to do a meditation course.
I plan to do more courses in the near future. It was an incredibly positive experience for me and I have never felt so peaceful before. Several people commented on how different I looked upon returning to work. I think it all quickly dissipated with the stress of work, but I am working on getting up early to meditate daily.
I initially heard of Vipassana from my first traveling companion to India. I dismissed it as a crazy idea because this young woman was quite mad. When I took my Thai Yoga Massage course in Greece, during August of 2008, there were a few people who had done the Vipassana course. One intelligent, reliable and wonderful Austrian woman, Verena, gave me some more details about Vipassana. She, a very social person, enjoyed the course and looked forward to her next one. Last year, I did not feel I was ready to do such a retreat. In retrospect, it probably would have been the best thing for me, but it was still the best thing for me this time around.
Vipassana is a pure form of meditation, passed along since the time of Gauthama Buddha. It is a silent observation of one’s own breath and body. Upon arrival at the centre, you turn in all contraband (books, journals, pens, ipods, phones, etc) and surrender yourself to this form of meditation without incorporating past techniques you may have learned. In other words, no yoga, pranayama (breathing exercises), tai chi, reiki, etc., for the 10 day course. No outward communication. The daily schedule consists of meditation, meals, breaks and a video lesson. Men and women are separated for the course. We eat in separate areas, enter the meditation hall on opposite sides of the building, and sit on different sides of the room at all times. The only communication you are permitted is to request from the dhamma server (assistant to the course) any creature comfort needs, such as an extra blanket, and to have a minute long conversation with the teacher to discuss your progress most days. There is no charge for the course- you pay by donation. Nobody is meant to make a profit or livelihood from running vipassana courses. It should be accessible to all people, that all being have the chance to be happy.
For the first few days, I found my thoughts dwelling on all of the things I hate, which is basically most aspects of my school. Then I realized how much I was wasting my precious time letting anger and frustration consume me. I found sitting still very difficult until about the 6th day. My back, legs, knees, neck and shoulders all ached, which is a sign of bad feelings settled deeply in the body. By the 7th day, my body felt little pain and lightness from toe to head. Some days, I spent time making mental lists of who would find such a course to be their own personal hell. I thought of several gregarious friends who cannot sit still to save their souls and wondered how it would go for them.
As for me, despite the almost unbearable pain in my knees, I knew it was the right thing for me to do. I also had to complete the course as people had put bets on how long I would make it. I would highly recommend this course to anyone, but I realize many people would never even consider it. My friends thought the silent part would be the most difficult for me, but when you are sitting in meditation 12 hours a day, the last thing you feel like doing is talking. On the last day, you break silence. It was nice to talk again, to share the experience, and what I noticed is you feel much warmer when talking and communicating with others, and you also get more hungry.
I met some interesting people that 10th day. The person I best connected with was our Dhamma server, who was a tour guide in the Middle East for over a year. In fact, I met her colleague in Bedouin tent in Jordan’s Wadi Rum desert back in 2006. She is of Egyptian heritage and grew up in England, and now spends most of her time at Vipassana centers in India and Nepal. I stayed on another day, as I was not ready to face the real world yet. We walked around the town of Saravasti, which is a tiny town and the tourists are usually Monks and other Buddhist pilgrims. There is an incredibly beautiful park and a few temples/monasteries. Saravasti is where the Buddha gave most of his teachings, as he did not travel during the rainy season. It was a very powerful place to do a meditation course.
I plan to do more courses in the near future. It was an incredibly positive experience for me and I have never felt so peaceful before. Several people commented on how different I looked upon returning to work. I think it all quickly dissipated with the stress of work, but I am working on getting up early to meditate daily.
posted by Granola Girl at
2:28 AM
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