For a Vipassana meditator, continuity of practice is the secret of success - this means being continuously aware of bodily sensations arising and passing away (anicca), with equanimity. This continuous experience of anicca (impermanence) purifies the mind.
Anicca must be experienced. If not, it is merely a theory. And the Buddha was not interested in mere theories. Before and during the time of the Buddha, there were teachers who taught that the entire universe is impermanent (anicca). This was not new. What was new from the Buddha was the experience of anicca; and when you experience it within the framework of your own body, at the level of arising, passing sensations, you have started working at the deepest level of your mind.
The Buddha’s teaching helps us to disintegrate the solidified apparent reality preventing us from seeing the actual truth. At the actual level, everything in the universe is mere vibrations. At the same time, there is the apparent reality of solidity. For example, this wall is solid. This is a truth but it is an apparent truth. The ultimate truth is that what you call a wall is nothing but a mass of vibrating subatomic particles. We have to integrate both the apparent and actual truths through proper understanding.
Understand that the work to purify the mind is done by you alone; but you must also be prepared to work with your family, with society as a whole. The yardstick to measure whether pure love, compassion and goodwill are truly developing within you is whether these qualities are being exhibited towards the people around you.
The Buddha wanted us to be liberated at the deepest level of the mind. And that is possible only when anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering) and anattā (egolessness) are experienced. This experience anicca, dukkha, anattā deconditions the mind from its negative habit patterns.
By deconditioning the mind, layer after layer of the mind gets purified, until the mind is totally free from past conditioning. Purity then becomes a way of life. You will not have to consciously practice mettā (compassionate love) as you do now at the end of your one-hour sitting. Later, mettā just becomes a part of your life. All the time you remain suffused with love, compassion and goodwill. This is the aim, the goal.
Vipassana works at the deepest level of one's mind
The path of liberation is the path of working at the deepest level of the mind. And the deepest level of the mind is constantly in contact with bodily sensations.
Divide, dissect and disintegrate the entire structure to understand how mind and matter are interrelated. If you work only with the mind and forget the body, you are not practicing the Buddha’s teaching. If you work only with the body and forget the mind, again you are not understanding the Buddha properly.
Anything that arises in the mind turns into matter, into a sensation in the material field. This was the Buddha’s discovery. People forgot this truth, which can only be understood through correct practice of Vipassana. The Buddha said, "Sabbe dhammā vedanā samosaraṇā:, anything that arises in the mind starts flowing as a sensation in the body.
The Buddha used the word asava, which means flow or intoxication. For example, when you generate anger a biochemical flow of very unpleasant sensations starts. Because of these unpleasant sensations, you start reacting with more anger. With more anger, the flow becomes stronger and the intensity of anger intensifies. The habit-pattern of generating anger then becomes stronger, more deeply entrenched in the mind.
In the same way, when passion arises, a particular type of biochemical substance starts flowing in the blood. A vicious circle starts which keeps repeating itself. There is a flow, an intoxication, an addiction at the depth of the mind. Out of ignorance, we become addicted to this particular biochemical flow. Although it makes us miserable, yet we become addicted: we want these sensations again and again. So we generate more passion - more misery.
We become addicted to impurities we generate in the mind. Saying that someone is addicted to alcohol or drugs is not true. The real addiction is the addiction to particular sensations produced by alcohol or drugs.
The Buddha teaches us to observe the inner reality of the arising, passing sensations. We overcome addiction to anything when we objectively experience sensations arising, passing, with this understanding: "Anicca, anicca. This is impermanent." Gradually we stop the habit of blind reaction.
Dhamma is simple, scientific, the universal laws of nature applicable to everyone. Whether calling oneself a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, American, Indian, Burmese, Russian or Italian makes no difference. Human nature is human nature. And Vipassana is the pure, natural science of studying mind and matter, and mind-matter interaction. Do not allow it to become a sectarian or philosophical belief. This will be of no help.
The Buddha, the Fully Enlightened Super Scientist, worked to find the truth about mind and matter interaction. And discovering this truth, he found a way to go beyond mind and matter. He explored the path to the ultimate reality not to satisfy his curiosity but to find a way to be free from all suffering. There is suffering in every family, society, every nation in the world. The Enlightened One found and shared the way for everyone to come out of all suffering.
Each individual must come out of misery, out of all suffering.
There cannot be world peace just because we want world peace: "There should be peace in the world because I am agitating for it." This does not happen. We cannot agitate for peace. When we become agitated, we lose peace of mind. No agitation. Purify your mind. Then your actions will add to peace in the world.
May you come out of misery. May you enjoy real peace, real harmony, real happiness.
(from the Vipassana Research Institute article: Work out your own salvation)
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