Day 20: Vipassa what?!?

 

Vipassana meditation is not an intellectual journey but an experiential awakening.” ― Amit Ray

At this stage of our progress I thought it might be interesting to introduce some traditional forms of silent meditation.

Today we will try out Vipassana.

Vipassana literally, means "special-seeing" and is a Buddhist term that is often translated as "insight". It is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques.

What makes it different from what we have been doing?

Disciplined, focused attention.

How to do Vipassana.

1. Sit. Close eyes.

2. Breathe normally. Think about the pathway of the breath moving from the nostrils, down into your chest, filling your lungs and abdomen.

3. Focusing on a specific part of your respiratory system, like your nostrils, lungs, or diaphragm, will help your mind to stay focused. It sharpens your attention.

4. Find a beginning, middle and end to your breath. Focus on the different sensations. It can be helpful to use simple words that support sharpening your attention like, in, out, high, low, full, empty.

5. Distractions. Whenever there is a noise, or any sort of disturbance, focus awareness toward it. Label it in your mind. One simple word is best. For the senses simply say, “Seeing, seeing…,” or, “hearing, hearing…” or, “tasting, tasting . . . .”

Sensations in the body may be labeled as “warmth,” “pressure,” “hardness” or “motion.”

Mental activity can be identified as “thinking,” “remembering,” and “planning”.

We don't want to rivet our attention on the distraction, and wrestle it to the ground. The intention is to be fully present for what ever physical, mental, emotional experience is here. We recognize it, label it, and come back to the breath.

Jack Kornfield first introduced me to labeling and I found it very helpful for acknowledging the thinking or feeling, while keeping me from getting lost in it. I have a friend who would tell a story about meditating while a Harley Davidson was revving up on the street outside. She would say to herself "Harley. Harley. Harley" to move beyond the noise. She loved Harley's so for her it was a pleasant sound, but still a distraction.

If this seems like a lot of work, it can feel like it at first. Vipassana not a cure all that will magically transform your life. It is a tool that gives us another way to shape the mind so we are better able to face the world. It is lots of focused attention that disciplines the mind like training a puppy, as Jack would say. The goal is to know your experience as clearly as possible. No zoning out.

Today let's try 20 minutes of Vipassana.

If you are interested in more Vipassana, Insight Meditation Society in Barre Massachusetts started by Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein, offers silent retreats with great teachers and affordable sliding scale fees. Since Covid they have been doing meditation retreats online which is a great opportunity.

Keep going!