Aug 5, 2012

Way to Global Vipassana Pagoda, Mumbai, India

All are most welcome to visit the Global Vipassana Pagoda, and to start experiencing the immeasurable benefits from accurate and ardent practice of Vipassana meditation - and to understand the true purpose of human life.
 
Visiting the Global Pagoda is free of charge. There is no entry fee. No charges for the tour guide.
Timings: 9.00 am to 7.00 pm. The Global Vipassana Pagoda is open all days, including Sunday.
(The last ferry leaves Gorai jetty to the Global Pagoda at 5.25 pm)
* Vipassana students - those who have taken one or more 10-day Vipassana courses taught in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin - are permitted to meditate inside the main dome Dhamma Hall of the Global Pagoda.

* Simple food facilities are available in the Global Pagoda premises.

* Safe drinking water and clean toilet / wash-room facilities are available in the Global Pagoda premises.

* Non-commercial photography is permitted in the Global Pagoda. There can be no copyright to any image of the Global Vipassana Pagoda - visuals are to be made freely available to all for non-commercial use.

* For any clarification / questions, please contact Global Vipassana Foundation, Mumbai, India, Telephone: 91 - 22 - 33747501; Email: pr@globalpagoda.org

How to reach Global Vipassana Pagoda, Gorai / Borivali, Mumbai, India:

The Global Pagoda can be reached overland by car, as well by ferry. Pre-paid taxi services are available at the Mumbai domestic and international airports. Ask for "Esselworld", if "Global Vipassana Pagoda" draws a blank stare. The Global Pagoda is adjacent to Esselworld Park.
Reaching Global Vipassana Pagoda by Road from Mumbai City / Domestic Airport / International Airport / Railway Stations in Mumbai
  1. Reach Western Express Highway and go North towards Dahisar/Borivali/Ahmedabad.
  2. Cross the Dahisar Toll Booth and keep going straight.
  3. When you reach the Mira-Bhayandar crossing, turn Left towards Mira-Bhayandar. The crossing has a statue of Shivaji Maharaj positioned at the centre.
  4. Keep going straight till you reach Golden Nest Circle. At the Golden Nest Circle, take a left turn and stay on the main road.
  5. Keep going straight till you take a hard right turn at the end of the road. This point will come after Maxus Mall, which comes on your right. After the hard right turn, take a left at the T point junction.
  6. Keep following directions to Esselworld or Global Vipassana Pagoda from this point forward.
  7. When you reach the Esselworld Parking Lot, go ahead a few metres and take a right turn towards Esselworld. Tell the guard at the security post that you want to go to the Pagoda.
  8. Keep going straight till you reach the Helipad. At the Helipad, take a right turn to the Global Pagoda Road through the Sanchi Arch.
The Pagoda is about 42 km from the Domestic Airport Terminal.
Hiring a car for airport pick-up to Global Vipassana Pagoda:
Private taxis and vehicles can also be hired from many car rentals in Mumbai, besides the airport pre-paid taxi service. Rates may vary. Many Vipassana students make use of the services of private taxi operator Mr Jagdish Maniyar. Contact : Tel (Res): 91-22-26391010 or cell phone 09869255079. As of February 2011, Mr Maniyar charges Rs 800 ( approx US $17, 13 Euros) for airport pickup to Global Pagoda (inclusive of road taxes). From Mumbai airport to Dhamma Giri Vipassana centre, Igatpuri, he charges Rs 2,550 (approx US $56).

From Borivali Railway station:
From Borivali Station (Western Railway, Mumbai) please use the western exit gates of the station (for the train from Churchgate, the exit is on the left). One can take Bus number 294 or hire an auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk) to Gorai Creek. The bus fare is Rs. 6 and auto rickshaw fare is approx Rs. 25 (approx US $0.50) to Rs 35.
For the auto-rickshaw, please take one heading to your right, after crossing the road from the western exit of the railway station. The Gorai jetty is approximately 10-15 minutes-ride from Borivili station. Please take the ferry for Esselworld from Gorai Jetty. The return fare for the ferry is Rs. 35/- per person.
On arrival at Esselworld, you will see signs guiding to take you to Global Pagoda (which anyway is too big to be missed !).
The Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre is less than five minutes walking distance from the Esselworld Jetty gate.

Other Bus Numbers to Gorai: From Kurla railway station (West) - 309 L; From Mulund station (West) - 460 L;From Ghatkopar Bus Depot - 488 L (please re-confirm before boarding bus)

Wishing you a very happy and most beneficial visit to the Global Pagoda.
For any further details and assistance, please contact:
Global Vipassana Pagoda
Telephone: 91 22 33747501 (30 lines)
Email: pr@globalpagoda.org
Pagoda Address:
Global Vipassana Pagoda
Next to Esselworld, Gorai Village,
Borivali (West), Mumbai 400091
For sending any post/courier, please use this address:
Head Office Global Vipassana Foundation
2nd Floor, Green House, Green Street, Fort
Mumbai – 400 023
Telephone: +91 22 22665926 / 22664039
Fax: +91 22 22664607
Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre
Inside Global Vipassana Pagoda Campus
Next to Esselworld, Gorai Village,
Borivali (West), Mumbai 400091
Tel: [91] (22) 3374 7519
Fax: [91] (22) 3374 7518
Email: info@pattana.dhamma.org

* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for beginners' 10-day residential Vipassana courses
* Dhamma reasons why there are no fees are charged for Vipassana courses - including for boarding and lodging
* One-day Vipassana courses at Global Pagoda (for those who have completed a 10-day Vipassana course)

Jul 25, 2012

The Most Important Work in Human Life - Proper, Strong Effort in Vipassana


Viriya, the pāramī of correct effort


(from the Vipassana Research Institute newsletter, dated October, 1990) 


From time to time, because of the ingrained habit pattern of the mind, the meditator is inundated by waves of craving, aversion, sloth and torpor, mental agitation and doubt. These are nothing but the reaction of one’s own mental defilements trying to stop the process of purification one has begun. The wise student persists in the struggle, using all his or her energy to fight these enemies. You thereby strengthen yourself in the pāramī of viriya.


 Pāramīs are virtues—that is, good human qualities. By perfecting them, one crosses the ocean of misery and reaches the stage of full liberation, full enlightenment. Everyone who is working to liberate oneself, or serve others in Vipassana, has to develop the ten pāramīs. They are needed to dissolve the ego and to reach the stage of egolessness. A student of Vipassana who aspires to attain the final stage of liberation joins a Vipassana course in order to develop these pāramīs.

Little by little, you develop these pāramīs in every Vipassana course. They should be developed in daily life in the mundane world as well. However, in a meditation course environment, the perfection of the pāramī can be greatly accelerated.

 
The Venerable Webu Sayadaw (1896-1977). 
His viriya, or great effort in meditation, was so strong that it is said he never slept lying down. He remained alert even at night by taking rest in a slightly reclining position.

A human life is of limited duration, with limited capabilities. It is important to use one's life to the best purpose. And there is no higher purpose than to establish oneself in Vipassana, in the path of Dhamma, which leads us out of defilements, out of the illusion of self, to the final goal of experiencing the ultimate truth. Therefore, no effort is more worthwhile for a human being than the exertion of all one’s faculties to take steps in Vipassana practice.

In a Vipassana course, a meditator makes best use of effort and time by developing the faculties of sati (awareness) and of paññā (insight). The student strives to become aware of everything that is happening within, from the grossest to the subtlest level.

At the same time, one strives to observe dispassionately whatever reality may manifest at this moment, with the understanding that this experience is impermanent. This will also change.

These two faculties, in proper combination, will lead the meditator along the path to full liberation, full enlightenment.

 From time to time, because of the ingrained habit pattern of the mind, the meditator is inundated by waves of craving, aversion, sloth and torpor, mental agitation, and  doubt. These are nothing but the reaction of one’s own mental defilements, trying to stop the process of purification one has begun. The wise student persists in the struggle, using all his or her energy to oppose these enemies. You thereby strengthen yourself in the pāramī of viriya.
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Questions and Answers


Student: Aren’t there any chance happenings, random occurrences without a cause?

Goenkaji: Nothing happens without a cause. It is not possible. Sometimes our limited senses and intellects cannot clearly find it, but that does not mean that there is no cause.

Student: Are you saying that everything in this life is predetermined?

Goenkaji: Well, certainly our past actions will give fruit, good or bad. They will determine the type of life we have, the general situation in which we find ourselves. But that does not mean that we are helpless - and whatever happens to us is predestined, ordained by our past actions, and that nothing else can happen. That is not the case. Our past actions influence the flow of our life, directing them towards pleasant or unpleasant experiences. But present actions are equally important. Nature has given us the ability to become masters of our present actions. With mastery of the present moment, we correct past mistakes and change our future for the better.

Student: But surely the actions of others also affect us?

Goenkaji: Of course. We are influenced by the people around us and by our environment, and we keep influencing them as well. If the majority of people, for example, are in favour of violence, then war and destruction occur, causing many to suffer. But if people start to purify their minds, then violence cannot happen. The root of the problem is in the mind of each individual human being, because society is composed of individuals. If each person starts changing for the better, then society will change for the better. War and destruction will become rare events.

Student: We’ve talked quite a bit about anicca, impermanence. What about the teaching of anattā, which is ordinarily understood as “no self” and “no abiding self?” Ordinarily we think that we need a self in order to function in the world. We have expressions like “self-esteem” and “self-confidence”, and we believe that “ego strength” is a measure of a person’s ability to cope with daily life. What does this “no-self” teaching mean?

Goenkaji: For those who haven’t experienced the stage of “no-self,” it is true that in the apparent world there must be an ego, and this ego must be stimulated. If I don’t crave anything, I won’t get the stimulation I need to function. During Vipassana courses, whenever I say that craving and attachment are harmful, people say, "if there were no attachment, no craving, what would be the fun of living? There would be no life. We would all be like vegetables".

Being a family man and someone who was a businessman in the world, I can understand their concern. But I also understand that when you work with Vipassana and reach the stage where ego dissolves, the capacity to work increases many-fold. When you lead a very ego-centred life, your whole attitude is to do as much as possible for yourself. But this attitude makes you so tense that you feel miserable. When, as a result of doing Vipassana, the ego dissolves, then by nature the mind is full of love, compassion and goodwill. You feel like working, not only for your own benefit, but for the benefit of all. When the narrow-minded ego-stimulation goes away, you feel so much more relaxed, and so much more capable of working. This is my own experience, and the experience of so many people who have walked on the path.

This technique does not make you inactive. A responsible person in society is full of action. What goes away is the habit of blind reaction. When you work with reaction, you generate misery. When you work without reaction, you generate positive feeling.
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