Sep 8, 2012

How to reach Global Vipassana Pagoda, Mumbai, India

All are most welcome to visit the Global Vipassana Pagoda, to experience the immeasurable benefits from practice of Vipassana meditation - and in the process, 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.

* The Food Plaza in the Global Pagoda premises serves good quality food at economical prices.

* Drinking water and clean toilet / wash-room facilities are available.

* 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" or "Global Vipassana Pagoda". 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

Aug 8, 2012

Time is Now

 
"When you can grasp this Dhamma opportunity [to practise Vipassana and serve in Dhamma], grasp it. If you don't take this opportunity and with life being as short as it is, you may die and not meet with such a chance again. You lost it."


Bimbisara, King of Magadha, offering half his kingdom to the ascetic Gotama. "Kingdoms are not for me. I have already walked away from one," replied the former prince Siddhattha. He was steadfast against all temptations, unshakeable in his renunciation - in his urgency of supreme efforts to serve all beings, in the purest, most beneficial way. The ascetic Gotama went on to re-discover Vipassana, and become a Sammasambuddha.

If you like something there is lobha; if you dislike something there is dosha; you live between the two.

In order to struggle yourselves free of these you have to concentrate in the way of the Buddha, and when you know anicca or when you have samādhi, you are free.

But this is quite difficult. The debts of akusala (unwholesome) kamma we have are very large, and because we can't pay them back, we keep turning round in saṃsāra (round of rebirth).

There is only one time period when it is possible to pay back these debts, and that is when the sāsana (era of teaching of the Buddha) shines and the emergence of a period of vimutti [liberation from all impurities of the mind].

When you can grasp this opportunity, grasp it. If you don't grasp this opportunity and with life being as short as it is, you may die and not meet with such a chance again. You lost it.

Therefore, you should use this opportunity as much as possible and understand the Dhamma according to your capabilities wherever you are. 

I want to give you a warning, however; sīla should be the sīla the Buddha taught, samādhi should be the samādhi the Buddha taught and paññā should be the paññā the Buddha taught.

Only then can you meditate to understand these three trainings clearly and develop in the Dhamma.

Whoever meditates developing in these three trainings of sīla, samādhi and paññā, understanding clearly their purpose, will in this time of patipatti (practice of the teaching) and vimutti attain the magga (path) and phala (fruition) states of nibbāna.

* * * 
The Buddha said in the Kālāma Sutta:

Do not believe what you have heard;
do not believe in the traditions, because they had been handed down for generations;
do not believe in anything because it is rumoured and spoken by many;
do not believe merely because a written statement of some old sage is produced;
do not believe in conjectures;
do not believe in that as truth to which you have become attached by habit;
do not believe merely the authority of your teachers and elders.
But after observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and gain of one and all, only then accept it and live up to it.
Do not, therefore, blindly believe the theoretical issues until and unless you are convinced of the truth, either as a sequel to proper reasoning, or by means of a practical approach.

To abstain from evil;
To do good;
To purify the mind:
These are the teachings of all the Buddhas.

This extract taken from the Dhammapada gives in brief the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. 
It sounds simple but is so difficult to practise. 
One cannot be a true follower of the Buddha unless he practises the doctrine of Buddha.

The Buddha said:

You, to whom the truths I have experienced have been made known by me, make them your own; practise them, meditate upon them, share them; in order that the pure Dhamma may last long and spread for the good, the benefit, and welfare of all beings.
(from Vipassana Research Institute Newsletter, March, 2011) 

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* Rare opportunities to earn and share merits in participating in Global Vipassana Pagoda projects
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Across countless aeons and endless time, may every moment of benefit from Vipassana practice go for the liberation of all beings.  
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