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from a Vipassana meditator who had served for many years under the direct guidance of the Principal Teacher of Vipassana Sayagyi U Goenka |
Vipassana, he often said, is the path of self-dependence to make us self-dependent. The teacher is merely the guide. The student has to practice on his or her own. Vipassana has nothing to do with blind beliefs, dogmas, cults and any organized religion.
As a wealthy businessman in Burma (Myanmar) and a leader of the local Hindu community, Goenkaji had to himself overcome his suspicions and doubts about Vipassana before he took his first 10-day course. But as the course progressed, doubts dissolved through direct experience.
"I found Vipassana very rational and logical, practical and scientific. There was no place for blind belief in it," Goenkaji said after successfully completing his first Vipassana course. "There was no insistence on a belief just because my teacher had said it or the Buddha had said it or it was given in the Tipiṭaka. One understood the teaching at the intellectual level, then at the level of experience, and only then accepted it. One did not accept without knowing, without understanding and without experiencing."
Like his teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin before him, as Principal Teacher of Vipassana Sayagyi U Goenka never asked anyone to blindly believe and accept whatever he said. He was genuinely open to questions, discussions, suggestions, even to criticism made directly to him. He discussed important decisions with senior teachers and senior meditators.
Unlike any self-centered cult leader, Sayagyi U Goenka established a very de-centralized organization. New Vipassana centres are started only by the initiative of local Vipassana meditators in an area, not by some "central authority". Each Vipassana centre across the world serves independently according to universal guidelines and not under any central headquarters. During his lifetime, the Principal Teacher of Vipassana Sayagyi U Goenka allowed appointment of assistant teachers without consulting him or without him having to personally interview them. He was detached and trusted others to make the right decisions using an established process. He followed the same process. Even when he himself decided to appoint someone as assistant teacher or teacher, he informed senior teachers and waited to see if there were any objections.
Sayagyi U Goenka was humble in dealing with others. I never saw him angry or use harsh words when speaking or writing to others (From circa 1997 to February 2007 I assisted with his English correspondence and Vipassana literature in English). When mistakes in drafts were made that had to be corrected, he never ordered corrections. Instead, he would politely say, "it seems that this is incorrect". After a repeated mistake or I made a blunder out of ego, there would be a slight frown on his brow. No angry words. But he did take strong action when he decided.
Sayagyi U Goenka is the personification of selfless compassion. He was never dogmatic and dictatorial. He was open to changing his mind if he felt he made a wrong decision. Or if the time was not ripe to implement a decision and it cannot be forced upon others. For example, he told me that he was against Reiki and other energy-manipulating practitioners being allowed to take even one Vipassana course. This was because of the dangerous threat they pose to corrupting Vipassana that is completely opposite to energy-manipulating practices such as Reiki. India lost Vipassana millennia ago after it was corrupted and mixed with other techniques. And he was very concerned about Vipassana again being corrupted by selfish, vested interests. He said he unwillingly decided to allow Reiki and other energy-manipulating practitioners to take one course since some assistant teachers insisted such practitioners be given the chance to take one Vipassana course. Then such Reiki practitioners etc can decide to either practice Vipassana or the energy-healing method - but not both. (To me it seemed such assistant teachers had false compassion like the Buddha's cousin and assistant Ananda).
Unlike cult leaders, Sayagyi U Goenka was not interested in his students showering personal adulation or making exhibitions of reverence to him. He even disapproved of meditators wasting their time and his by visiting him just to "pay respects". A long-time serving assistant teacher in Dhamma Giri once sought an appointment to see him. "If she has any specific matter to discuss she can meet me, otherwise not," he instructed.
He had no hangers-on, did not seek personal publicity and was completely detached from fame and fortune. He could have become a world famous billionaire if he had publicly exhibited his super-normal powers of the mind, or misused them for personal gain - the supra normal powers (abhijñā) that I realized from direct experience that he had: ceto-pariya-ñāṇa (the ability to read the thoughts of others) and dibba-cakkhu (to be aware of happenings far away, even thousands of kms away). Misusing such naturally opened up powers of the mind is never the wrong choice of a Vipassana teacher in the lineage of the sammāsambuddhas.
The Most Compassionate Sayagyi U Goenka is only interested that we work hard to purify the mind, develop in Dhamma, gain all benefits and share this ultra-pure path of Vipassana with others - so more beings can be liberated from all suffering. Our genuine gratitude and real respect to him is to grow in Dhamma, and not create hindrances in any way for others to benefit from Vipassana.
Better to avoid frightening even one person away from Vipassana by using inaccurate terminology that may promote misconceptions of Vipassana being a cult. This includes using words such as "disciples" and "Buddhist practice", terminology that give a false impression of Vipassana being linked to some religion or being a personality-based cult. Never mind whoever in the past has used misleading terms in reference to the self-dependent path of Vipassana, the Principal Teacher and Vipassana centres. Use paññā (experiential wisdom).
More accurate terminology to share Vipassana
Some refer to Vipassana centres as ashrams. Vipassana meditation centres are not ashrams. A Vipassana centre is an academy (with beneficial rules and discipline) for purification of the mind, through self-dependent efforts using the non-sectarian, universal practice of Vipassana.
We are not against any ashrams, but Vipassana centres are not ashrams or for people to escape from worldly responsibilities. Vipassana centres are learning centres teaching - without fees - a timeless, ancient, unique practical science to clean the mind and live a happier life beneficial to oneself and others.
Vipassana centres are universities for self-study of this mind-matter phenomenon called 'I' and experience truths of nature. Our Vipassana centres worldwide in this tradition of purity have nothing to do with gurudom or ashram-dwellers. In fact, the Sammāsambuddha Gotama had stricter rules for ashram dwellers to be admitted to the sangha. Householders were ordained immediately but he instructed a three-month waiting period for ashram dwellers. This was due to their then record of laziness, indiscipline, wasting time, idle chattering, gossiping and worse.
Sayagyi U Goenka never referred to Vipassana centres as "ashrams" - not once in discourses, recorded talks to Dhamma workers, detailed talks to assistant teachers on the pure transmission of Dhamma, in Vipassana literature and in replies to thousands of letters he dictated to me. The world's largest meditation center the VIA (Vipassana International Academy, India) - has the 'A' standing for 'academy', not 'ashram'.
Pagoda of Dhamma Giri, Vipassana International Academy, Igatpuri, Maharashtra, India. Vipassana centres in this tradition of pure Vipassana are unique academies to purify the mind - not "ashrams"
The "Guru-ji" in a path that has no gurudom
Similarly, Vipassana students (including teachers) referring to Goenkaji as "Guruji" in the presence of non-meditators, or worse "pujya Guruji", seem to be unaware of the damage they unintentionally cause. People yet to take a Vipassana course are left to wonder if this another guru-based cult. This has been experienced - the silent or voiced disquiet many a time from non-meditators hearing Vipassana meditators talk about a "Guruji".
Sayagyi U Goenka has often said there is no "gurudom" in Vipassana. Then why call him "Guruji"? "Gurus" are the bane of India who mostly hit news headlines with scandals. Who knows how many (those with weaker paramis) have been scared away from Vipassana by hearing meditators talking about "guruji" and "ashrams" when referring to Goenkaji and Vipassana centres in this tradition of pure Vipassana.
I preferred to use the term "Sayagyi" (Burmese word for teacher) when talking to him, the Myanmar-born Principal Teacher Mr Satya Narayan Goenka, and when referring to him. Vipassana meditators may also use "Acharya", "Pramukh Acharya", "Principal Teacher", "Goenkaji" or "Mr Goenka" in public places and when talking to non-meditators or talking in presence of non-meditators.
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Photograph of Sayagyi U Goenka from his Burmese passport,
in his younger days as a globe trotting millionaire-businessman
Years later when he arrived in India in 1969 as Vipassana Teacher
he introduced himself as "U S.N. Goenka" ("U" means "Mr" in Burmese).
Excerpt from Early years, of the first 50 years. Vipassana returns to India (1969 - 2019), a chronicle of the 50th anniversary of Vipassana returning to India, and the world.
"Bhavatu sabba maṅgalaṃ.
May all be happy, peaceful, liberated."
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