Right, Continuous Effort - Viriya

The existence of the Global Pagoda in Mumbai, and all beings benefiting from Vipassana owe an infinite debt of gratitude to Venerable Webu Sayadaw (1896-1977), the respected monk teacher of Burma. Webu Sayadaw was the first to strongly exhort Sayagyi U Ba Khin to teach Vipassana, in July 1941, an instruction that U Ba Khin immediately followed.

 
Soon, the happy, liberating light of Dhamma began glowing worldwide after Sayagyi U Ba Khin's devoted student Sayagyi U S.N.Goenka started teaching Vipassana in Mumbai, India from 1969.

To gain real benefits of Dhamma, Webu Sayadaw stressed much on Viriya, or Right Effort of proper, continuous, untiring practice, and to get rid of laziness and wasting time. He taught Anapana meditation - objectively observing the natural in-coming, out-going breath. Anapana is the preliminary practice to develop Samma Samadhi, or right concentration, needed for Vipassana.

Ven Webu Sayadaw meditating under the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya, India

 The Vipassana surgery of the mind progressively removes all deep-rooted defilements. The pure mind experiences true happiness and becomes base for practice of Metta Bhavana (the third part of Vipassana), to share the benefits thereby gained, with all beings.

Below is one of Venerable Webu Sayadaw's well-known discourses, "To light a fire", translated from Burmese (by R.Bischoff).

Venerable Webu Sayadaw: You have taken the moral precepts, now practice them. Only when your practice of morality (sila) is perfect can you fulfill your aspirations for awakening. Having perfected yourselves in morality, you have to perform various other meritorious practices, and these can take you to the pinnacle and the fulfillment of your aspirations.

The teachings of the Buddha are enshrined in the Tipitaka. These teachings were not given by the Buddha just to be preached and studied. You are good people; you have to practice the teachings with unwavering effort from the time you obtain them in order to escape from this suffering.

Do not get confused about the teachings. We don't have to know many techniques, only one; but that we should know clearly. If we establish one technique with strong effort and get rid of all doubts then, without asking anyone else, we shall find the answers.

Choose one technique and practice it.

(In Anapana) if you focus your mind at the small spot where the air touches when you breathe in and out, then there will be no wanting, no aversion or delusion, and as these three are absent, you are immediately out of suffering.

So, for a short moment Your mind is pure. Now, if your last mind-moment came up at this time and you died, would there be anything to be worried about or to be afraid of?

The benefits accruing to you from this practice don't last for just a short moment or one life-time. This short moment of purity will bring benefits for the remainder of the cycle of birth and death. And why can you accomplish this? Because the time is right, your form of existence is right, and you are putting forth right effort.

Students of the Buddha took the practice from the Teacher and worked with unwavering perseverance. Therefore, they achieved the awakening they had aspired for.

How did they work? In the same way as a man who wants to light a fire with a fire stick, as in the olden days. They rubbed two pieces of wood together, and heat was produced. Eventually the wood started to glow, and then they could light a fire. So, if a man wants to start a fire in this way, and rubs two pieces of wood together, does he count: "One rub, two rubs, three rubs..."?

Meditator: No, sir, that wouldn't work very well.

Sayadaw: How would he have to do it then?

M: He would have to rub continuously until he got a flame.

S: Yes, when they wanted to start a fire in those days, this was the only way to do it. They had to rub with strong determination and without taking breaks. Now, if one were to rub two pieces of wood together in this way, how long would it take for the fire to start?

M: When it gets hot enough, the fire will start, sir.

S: Will that take long?

M: Not very long, sir.

S: No, if this man works with determination, it doesn't take long. It is just the same with this practice here. You want fire. You know that if you rub these two pieces of wood together you can have it. Now, if you count, "One rub, two rubs..." it will become a little bit hot. And then you take a rest for a while. Will you start a fire?

M: No, sir.

S: OK, so you start again, once, twice, three times... and again heat is produced. Then you lay back again and take a bit of rest. Will you start a fire?

M: No, sir. .

S: And if you continue in this way for a whole month?

M: We won't get fire.

S: And if you continue for a whole year?

M: It will just get warm, sir, but there will be no fire.

S: Now, what if you were to work like this for one hundred years?

M: It will just become warm, sir.

S: In that case, there is no fire in these two pieces of wood?

M: There is fire, sir, but effort and perseverance are not sufficient.

S: It is just the same with our work. You have to work as the fire maker does, without taking rest. Soon, before long, a fire will start. Only then will you be able to use the fire in the way you want. You should all make the right effort to fulfill your aspiration for awakening.
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Viriya, The Pāramī of Proper Efforts

by Sayagyi U S. N. Goenka

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 has to develop the ten pāramīs. They are needed to dissolve the ego and to reach the stage of egolessness. A student of Dhamma who aspires to attain the final stage of liberation joins a Vipassana course in order to develop these pāramīs.

[ The ten pāramīs are:  morality (sila), renunciation (nekkhamma), wisdom (pañña), effort (viriya), tolerance (khanti), truth (sacca), strong determination (adhitthana), compassionate goodwill (metta), equanimity (upekkha), donation dana).]

Little by little, one develops these pāramīs in every course. They should be developed in daily living as well. However, in a meditation course environment, the perfection of the pāramī can be greatly accelerated.

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

In a Vipassana course, a meditator makes best use of his energy and of the time at his disposal by developing the faculties of sati (awareness) and of paññā (insight). The student strives to become conscious of everything that is happening within himself, 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 scepticism. 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. One thereby strengthens oneself in the pāramī of viriya.

(From Vipassana Newsletter, October, 1990)

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Sayagyi U Ba Khin's meeting with Webu Sayadaw, July, 1941
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One-day Vipassana Course at Global Pagoda on May 17, Buddha Purnima

A special one-day Vipassana course will be conducted at the Global Vipassana Pagoda in presence of Sayagyi U S.N. Goenka on 17 May 2011, Tuesday, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.

Registration for the course is to be kindly done in advance (in order to make prior arrangements for lunch etc for students).

(One-day courses are only for students who have already taken a 10-day Vipassana course as taught by Sayagyi U S.N.Goenka *)

Contact for registration for May 17 one-day course at Global Pagoda: 
Mobile no.: 98928-55692, 98928-55945;
Tel: (022) 2845-1170, 3374-7543, 3374-7544
Email registration: oneday@globalpagoda.org

Online registration: http://www.vridhamma.org/1-Day-Course

May all beings sitting and serving this Vipassana course experience all the infinite benefits of Dhamma, be happy, peaceful and be liberated from all suffering.

For more details on one-day courses at Global Pagoda with Sayagyi U Goenka: http://www.vridhamma.org/1-Day-Course-At-Pagoda

* Please Note: [One-day courses are only for students who have already taken a 10-day Vipassana course as taught by Sayagyi U S.N.Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. New students may kindly contact a convenient Vipassana meditation centre worldwide to register for a residential 10-day Vipassana beginner's course.]
* One-day course is also held every Sunday in the main dome Dhamma hall of the Global Pagoda, for Vipassana students.

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Healing balm of Mettā

The Practice of Mettā-Bhāvanā  

by Vipassana Research Institute

The practice of mettā-bhāvanā (meditation of compassionate loving kindness) is the closing part of the technique of Vipassana meditation. We practice mettā by radiating pure compassion and goodwill towards all beings, deliberately charging the atmosphere around us with the calming, positive vibrations of pure and compassionate love. The Buddha instructed us to develop mettā so as to live more peaceful and harmonious lives and to help others to do so as well. The practice of mettā gives us a way to share with all others the peace and harmony that we are developing. 

The commentaries state that mettā is the quality that inclines one to a friendly disposition—Mijjati siniyhatī’ti mettā. It is a sincere wish for the good and welfare of all, devoid of ill will. Non-aversion is mettā—adoso’ti mettā. The chief characteristic of mettā is a benevolent attitude. It culminates in the identification of oneself with all beings—a recognition of the fellowship of all life. 

Mettā is not a prayer nor is it the hope that an outside agency will help. On the contrary, it is a dynamic process producing a supportive atmosphere where others can act to help themselves. Mettā can be directed towards all beings or towards a particular person. We must eliminate egotism and open our minds to practise mettā.

Intellectually, it is easy enough but it is far harder to develop such an attitude in oneself. To do so, some practice is needed, and so, we have the technique of mettā-bhāvanā, the systematic cultivation of goodwill towards others. To be really effective, though, mettā-bhāvanā must be practiced along with Vipassana meditation. So long as negativity such as aversion dominates the mind, it is futile to formulate conscious thoughts of goodwill, and doing so becomes a ritual devoid of inner meaning. However, when negativity is removed by the practice of Vipassana, goodwill naturally wells up in the mind; and emerging from the prison of self-obsession, we begin to concern ourselves with the welfare of others.

For this reason, the technique of mettā-bhāvanā is introduced only at the end of a Vipassana course, after the participants have passed through the process of purification. At such a time, meditators often feel a deep wish for the well-being of others, making their practice of mettā truly effective. Though limited time is devoted to it in a course, mettā may be regarded as the culmination of the practice of Vipassana.

Nibbāna can be experienced only by those whose minds are filled with loving kindness and compassion for all beings. Simply wishing for this state is not enough; we must purify our minds to attain it.

By the practice of Vipassana, we become aware that the underlying reality of the world and of ourselves consists of arising and passing away every moment. We realize that the process of change continues without our control and regardless of our wishes. Gradually, we understand that any attachment to what is ephemeral and insubstantial produces suffering for us. We learn to be detached and to keep the balance of our minds in the face of any experience. Then we begin to experience what real happiness is: neither the satisfaction of craving nor the forestalling of fears but rather liberation from the cycles of craving and fear. As inner serenity develops, we clearly see how others are enmeshed in suffering, and naturally this wish arises, “May they find what we have found: the way out of misery, the path of peace.” This is the proper volition for the practice of mettā-bhāvanā.

In order to practise mettā, the mind must be calm, balanced and free from negativity. This is the type of mind developed by the practice of Vipassana. A meditator knows by experience how anger, antipathy, or ill will destroys peace and frustrates any efforts to help others. Only when hatred is removed and equanimity is developed can we be happy and wish happiness for others. The words, “May all beings be happy” have great force only when uttered from a pure mind. Backed by this purity, they will certainly be effective in fostering the happiness of others.

We must, therefore, examine ourselves before practising mettā-bhāvanā to check whether we are really capable of practising mettā. If we find even a tinge of hatred or aversion in our minds, we should refrain at that time and relax or lie down until the impurity or unpleasantness goes away.

However, if the mind and body are filled with serenity and well-being, it is natural and appropriate to share this happiness with others: “May you be happy, may you be liberated from the defilements that are the causes of suffering. May all beings be peaceful! May all beings be happy! May all beings come out of their misery!”

In Vipassana, no verbalization, visualization or imagination is allowed. But while practising mettā-bhāvanā, all of these are allowed.

We can use our imagination especially with those who are near and dear, we can visualize their faces and give mettā: “May you be happy, may you be happy.” As we experience the vibrations, which are characteristic of arising and passing, we can say to ourselves, “These vibrations are vibrations of mettā, of love, of compassion.” When one is alone, one can even verbalize, “May all be happy, may all be happy”. When we are in a group, we can recite mentally to ourselves, “May all be happy, may all be peaceful, may all come out of misery.”

This loving attitude enables us to deal far more skilfully with the vicissitudes of life. Suppose, for example, one encounters a person who is acting out of deliberate ill will to harm others. The common response—to react with fear and hatred—is self-centeredness, which does nothing to improve the situation and, in fact, magnifies the negativity. It would be far more helpful to remain calm and balanced, with a feeling of goodwill for the person who is acting wrongly. This must not be merely an intellectual stance, a veneer over unresolved negativity. Mettā works only when it overflows spontaneously from a purified mind.

The serenity gained in Vipassana meditation naturally gives rise to feelings of mettā, and throughout the day, this will continue to affect us and our environment in a positive way. Thus, Vipassana ultimately has a dual function: to bring us happiness by purifying our minds, and to help us to foster the happiness of others by preparing us to practice mettā. What is the purpose of freeing ourselves of negativity and egotism unless we share these benefits with others? In a retreat, we cut ourselves off from the world temporarily in order to return and share with others what we gained in solitude. These two aspects of the practice of Vipassana are inseparable.

In these times of violent unrest and widespread suffering, the need for such a practice as mettā-bhāvanā is clear. If peace and harmony are to reign throughout the world, they must first be established in the minds of all the inhabitants of the world.

May all beings be liberated, be happy !

For original article in Vipassana newsletter: http://www.vridhamma.org/en2008-08

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Viriya - Right Effort

The following has been adapted from Sayagyi U S.N. Goenka’s discourse during the Satipatthāna course: 

 There are seven bojjhangas (factors of enlightenment) that have to be developed to reach the final goal of full liberation. 

They are: 1. sati (awareness); 2. dhamma-vicaya (investigation of Dhamma); 3. viriya (effort); 4. pīti (rapture); 5. passaddhi (tranquillity); 6. samādhi (concentration, absorption) and 7. upekkhā (equanimity). 

 The first bojjhanga is sati, awareness. Without it, further steps on the path cannot be taken. Sati, the objective observation of reality, is the most important factor because Sati must be continuously present from moment to moment with every other factor. 

 Dhamma-vicaya is the second bojjhanga. The word caya or cayana means “to integrate.” Apparent, consolidated, integrated, illusionary truth creates delusion and confusion resulting in wrong decisions and actions. Dhamma Vicaya or vicayana means to divide, dissect, disintegrate, separate, which is what Vipassana intends you to do. 

Initially dhamma-vicaya is intellectual. The body is analyzed as just four elements, with no “I” about it. The mind is just the four aggregates. One observes the six sense doors, their respective objects, the contact of the two and the process of multiplication. The intellectual clarity gained by this process gives guidance to start the actual practice of Vipassana and study the truth at the actual level. To become a factor of enlightenment, dhamma-vicaya must become an experiential investigation—direct experience of the phenomenon of arising and passing away at the level of sensation. 

The third bojjhanga is viriya (effort) as in sammā-vāyāmo in the Noble Eightfold Path. Great effort is required, but the effort is not to react, to let things just happen. Even if you have been victorious in a thousand battles against a thousand warriors, this inner battle of non-reaction is more difficult because the old habit is to do something, to react. 

Some pressure is necessary to drill a hole in a precious gem, but too much pressure will break it. It is a middle path. As you keep practicing with sati, dhamma-vicaya, and viriya, the impurities go away... 

for full article: The Factors of Enlightenment (Bojjhangas) 

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What Happens at Death?

by Sayagyi U S.N. Goenka

(The following was originally published in the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Journal.)

To understand what happens at death, let us first understand what death is. Death is like a bend in a continuous river of becoming. It appears that death is the end of a process of becoming, and certainly it may be so in the case of an arahant (a fully liberated being) or a Buddha; but with an ordinary person this flow of becoming continues even after death. Death puts an end to the activities of one life, and the very next moment starts the play of a new life. On the one side is the last moment of this life and on the other side is the first moment of the next life. It is as though the sun rises as soon as it sets with no interval of darkness in between, or as if the moment of death is the end of one chapter in the book of becoming, and another chapter of life begins the very next moment.

Although no simile can convey the exact process, still one might say that this flow of becoming is like a train running on a track. It reaches the station of death and there, slightly decreasing speed for a moment, carries on again with the same speed. It does not stop at the station even for a moment. For one who is not an arahant, the station of death is not a terminus but a junction from where thirty-one different tracks diverge. The train, as soon as it arrives at the station, moves onto one or another of these tracks and continues. This speeding "train of becoming," fuelled by the electricity of the kammic reactions of the past, keeps on running from one station to the next, on one track or the other, a continuous journey that goes on without ceasing.

This changing of "tracks" (*) happens automatically. As the melting of ice into water and the cooling of water to form ice happens according to laws of nature, so the transition from life to life is controlled by set laws of nature. According to these laws, the train not only changes tracks by itself, it also lays the next tracks itself. For this train of becoming the junction of death, where the change of tracks takes place, is of great importance. Here the present life is abandoned (this is called cuti-disappearance, death). The demise of the body takes place, and immediately the next life starts (a process which is called patisandhi - conception or taking up of the next birth). The moment of patisandhi is the result of the moment of death; the moment of death creates the moment of conception. Since every death moment creates the next birth moment, death is not only death, but birth as well. At this junction, life changes into death and death into birth.

Thus every life is a preparation for the next death. If someone is wise, he or she will use this life to the best advantage and prepare for a good death. The best death is the one that is the last, that is not a junction but a terminus: the death of an arahant. Here there will be no track on which the train can run further; but until such a terminus is reached, one can at least ensure that the next death gives rise to a good birth and that the terminus will be reached in due course. It all depends on us, on our own efforts. We are makers of our own future, we create our own welfare or misery as well as our own liberation.

How is it that we are the creators of the tracks that receive the onrushing train of becoming? To answer this we must understand what kamma (action) is.

The healthy or unhealthy volition of our mind is kamma. Before performing any action at the mental, vocal, or physical level, whatever wholesome or unwholesome volition arises in the mind is the root of that action. The consciousness arises due to a contact at a sense door, then the sañña (perception and recognition) evaluates the experience, sensations (vedana) arise, then a kammic reaction (sankhara) takes place. These volitional reactions are of various kinds. How strong is the volition? How slow, deep, shallow, heavy or light? According to this the intensity of these reactions will vary. Some are like a line drawn on water, some like a line drawn on sand and some a line on rock. If the volition is wholesome, then the action will be the same and the fruits will be beneficial; and if the volition is unwholesome, then the action will be the same-it will give fruits of misery.

Not all of these reactions result in a new birth. Some are so shallow that they do not give any substantial fruits. Some are a bit heavier but will be used up in this lifetime. They do not carry over into the next life. Others being still heavier continue with the flow of life into the next birth, but they themselves do not give new birth. Nevertheless they can continue to multiply during this life and the next. Many kammas however, are bhava-kammas, or bhava-sankharas, those that give a new birth, a new life. Each one of these bhava-kammas (actions that give rise to the process of becoming) carries a magnetic force that is in tune with the vibrations of a particular plane of existence. The vibrations of a particular bhava - kamma will unite with the vibrations of the bhava-loka (world, plane) that has the same intensity, and the two will attract each other according to the universal laws pertaining to forces of kamma.

As soon as one of these bhava-kammas is generated, this "railway train of becoming" gets attracted to one or the other of the thirty-one tracks at the station of death. Actually these thirty-one tracks are the thirty-one fields of existence. They are the eleven kama lokas (realms of sensuality: the four lower realms of existence, and the seven human and celestial realms); the sixteen rupa-brahma lokas (where fine material body remains), and the four arupa-brahma lokas (non-material realms, where only mind remains).

At the last moment of this life, a specific bhava-sankhara will arise. This sankhara capable of giving a new birth will get connected with the vibrations of the related realm of existence. At the moment of death the whole field of thirty-one realms is open, so it depends on which sankhara arises as to which track the train of existence runs on next. In the same way a train gets shunted onto a new track, the force of the bhava-kamma reaction provides the push to the flow of consciousness into the next existence. For example, the bhava-kamma of anger or malice, being of the nature of heat and agitation, will unite with some lower field of existence. Similarly, one with the nature of mettā (compassionate love), having peaceful and cool vibrations can only unite with some brahma-loka. This is the law of nature, and these laws are so perfectly "computerized" that there is never any flaw in the operation.

At the moment of death, generally, some intense sankhara will arise; it may be either of a wholesome nature or an unwholesome nature. For example, if one has murdered one's father or mother, or perhaps some saintly person, in this lifetime, then the memory of this episode will arise at the moment of death. Likewise if one has done some deep meditation practice, a similar state of mind will arise.

When there is no such dense bhava-kamma to arise, then a comparatively less dense kamma will arise. Whatever memory is awakened will manifest as the kamma. For example, one may remember a wholesome kamma of giving food to a saintly person, or one may remember killing someone. Reflections on such past kammas as these may arise. Otherwise, objects related to the particular kamma may arise. One may see the plate full of food that was offered as dana, or the gun that was used to kill another. These are called the kamma-nimittas (signs).

In another case, a sign or a symbol of the next life may appear. This is called gati-nimitta (departing sign). These nimmitas correspond to whichever bhava-loka the flow is being attracted towards, such as the scene of some celestial world, or perhaps of an animal world. The dying person will often experience one of these signs as a forewarning, just as the train's headlight illuminates the track ahead. The vibrations of these nimittas are identical to the vibrations of the plane of existence of the next birth.

A good Vipassana meditator has the capacity to avoid the tracks leading to the lower realms of existence. He clearly understands the laws of nature, and practises to keep himself ready for death at all times. If he has reached an advanced age, there is all the more reason to remain aware every moment. What preparations are undertaken? One practices Vipassana, remaining equanimous to whatever sensations arise on the body and thereby breaking the habit pattern of reacting to the unpleasant sensations. Thus the mind, which is usually generating new unwholesome sankharas, develops a new habit of remaining equanimous. Very often at the time of death, if there are no very heavy sankharas to arise, habitual reactions occur; and as the new sankhara is being made, an old one from the storehouse might get stirred up onto the surface, gaining in strength as it arises.

At the approach of death, it is very likely that one will experience very unpleasant sensations. Old age, disease and death are dukkha (misery). They produce unpleasant sensations of a grosser type. If one is not skilful in observing these sensations with equanimity, then one will be likely to react with feelings of anger, irritation, maybe malice, which provides an opportunity for a bhava-sankhara of like vibration to arise. However, as in the cases of some well developed meditators, one can work to avoid reacting to these immensely painful sensations by maintaining equanimity at the time of death. Then, even those related bhava-sankharas lying deep in the bhavanga (seat of birth-producing kamma) will not have an opportunity to arise. An ordinary person will usually remain apprehensive, even terror-stricken at the approach of death and thus will give occasion for a fearful bhava-sankhara to surface. In the same way, grief, sorrow, depression, and other feelings may arise at the thought of separation from loved ones, and the related sankhara will come up and dominate the mind.

A Vipassana meditator, by observing all his or her sensations with equanimity, weakens the sankhara and thus does not allow it to arise at the time of death. The real preparation for death is this: developing a habit pattern of repeatedly observing the sensations manifesting in the body and mind with equanimity and with the understanding of anicca.

At the time of death, this strong habit of equanimity will automatically appear and the train of existence will link up with a track on which it will be possible to practice Vipassana in the new life. In this way, one saves oneself from birth in a lower realm and attains one of the higher realms, which is very important because Vipassana cannot be practiced in the lower realms.

A meditator who is on the point of death is fortunate to have close relatives or friends nearby who can help maintain a good Dhamma atmosphere, free from lamenting and gloom; people who can practice Vipassana and generate vibrations of mettā, which are most favourable for a peaceful death.

At times a non-meditator will attain a favourable rebirth at the time of death due to the manifestation of wholesome bhava-sankharas such as generosity, morality and other strong wholesome qualities. But the special achievement of an established Vipassana meditator is that he enables himself to attain an existence where he can continue to practice Vipassana. In this way, by slowly decreasing the stock of accumulated bhava-sankharas stored in the bhavanga of his flow of consciousness, one shortens one's journey of becoming and reaches the goal sooner.

We come in contact with Vipassana in this life because of great merits we have performed in the past. Make this human life successful by practicing Vipassana. Then whenever death comes, it will come with the experience of an equanimous mind, bringing with it well-being for the future.

(*N.B: The analogy of a running train changing tracks should not be mistaken for transmigration, as no entity goes from one life to the next. Nothing passes to the next life except the force of the accumulated kamma sankharas.)

May all beings be liberated from all suffering, and be happy, peaceful, secure. May no being fall into a miserable realm of suffering, not for a moment.

Original article: What Happens at Death? , published by the Vipassana Research Institute, Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri, India.

* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for Vipassana courses
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Core purpose of the Global Vipassana Pagoda

The core Dhamma purpose of the Global Pagoda is to facilitate the practice of Vipassana, the universal path to experiencing true happiness.
Nothing in life is more beneficial, more necessary, and more urgent than purifying the mind, and freeing oneself from suffering. Vipassana cleanses the mind, changing deeply entrenched habit patterns at the root level of the mind.
Vipassana has nothing to do with any religion. This timeless, non-sectarian, practical path is for one's own benefit, and to serve for the liberation and happiness of all beings.
*  Introduction to Vipassana, Code of Discipline and Daily Time-table in Residential Courses
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Making of the Global Vipassana Pagoda - the first phase

Sukho buddhānam uppado
Sukhā saddhammadesanā.
Sukhā sanghassa sāmaggī
Samaggānam tapo sukho.
- Dhammapada 194

Happy is the arising of the Buddhas in the world.
Happy is the teaching of pure Dhamma.
Happy is the coming together of meditators
Happiness is meditating together.


Nearly 10,000 meditators practicing Vipassana together is a rare Dhamma event. Even more so is nearly 10,000 Vipassana practioners in a Dhamma pagoda, under the relics of a Sammāsambuddha. The Global Pagoda that has enabled such beneficial gatherings is a rarity. Such a monument does not exist anywhere else in the world, and has not existed before in history.

At the apparent level, more than three million tonnes of grey basalt stones from Rajasthan fill the historic structure and foundation of the 325-feet high Global Pagoda. At the actual level each of the voluntarily donated stones is filled with deep gratitude - gratitude to Dhamma, the sammāsambuddhas leading up to Gotama the Buddha, the Sangha, and the chain of teachers leading up to Sayagyi U Ba Khin and Sayagyi U Satya Narayan Goenka.

Construction started in 1997. The Global Pagoda's main meditation hall was completed in 2008 as the largest hollow stone dome in the world without any supporting pillars. The President of India (who is a Vipassana student) inaugurated the completed first phase of the Global Pagoda on February 8, 2009 - the first milestone in its destiny to serve all beings.

"No force on earth can stop this Pagoda from being completed," the Principal Teacher of Vipassana Goenkaji had declared over ten years ago at the Global Pagoda site. His compassionate prophecy has inevitably come true, while being an inspiring guidance. The next phase of the journey begins to share the priceless benefits of Vipassana.

The next Global Pagoda phase continues with gratitude to Burma (Myanmar), where Goenkaji was born in Mandalay and his Dhamma birth in Rangoon by learning Vipassana from Sayagyi U Ba Khin. The Global Pagoda in Mumbai connects the history of Vipassana returning to India, the land of its origin, when Goenkaji arrived from Burma and began teaching Vipassana in Bombay in 1969.

From the project phase, the Global Pagoda has moved into the developmental phase to serve each of the thousands of visitors arriving every week. Pure drinking water, inexpensive food outlets and clean washroom facilities are available. Landscaping and gardening works are underway. Parks, roads and water lines are being laid.

Two smaller pagodas 60-feet high (the height of the Dhamma Giri pagoda) exist beside the Global Pagoda. The smaller South Pagoda houses 108 meditation cells and the central cell for Goenkaji and Mataji. These cells are ready and being used by meditators taking Vipassana courses at the adjacent Dhamma Pattana.

A 70-feet parikrama (circular pathway around a Dhamma pagoda) is surfaced with a special marble stone donated from Burma. This marble changes in temperature - turning cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather - to ensure the comfort of visitors walking barefeet in the parikrama.

While Gotama the Buddha’s relics are enshrined atop the Global Pagoda, the basement celebrates his life. A vast, information gallery houses paintings accurately depicting important events in the Buddha's life. These paintings by a leading artist comprise the single largest collection of thematic paintings in the world.

A splendorous Myanmar Gate is being constructed at the outer entrance to the Global Pagoda. This is similar to the Myanmar Gate entrance to the Vipassana International Academy (Dhamma Giri, Dhamma Tapovana-1, Dhamma Tapovana-2, Vipassana Research Institute, Sayagyi U Ba Khin Village) in Igapturi. The ‘Burma Guest House’ and other accommodation facilities for workers are being built. 

To ensure the Global Pagoda becomes more self-sufficient in water, 1.5 million-litre rainwater harvesting tanks are already functioning. Additional 600,000-litres underground tanks are being added.

Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre

Initially, there was no plan for a Vipassana centre to be built within the Global Pagoda premises. Around 2005, Goenkaji expressed the wish that there should be a Vipassana meditation centre here. This was the start of the Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre.

Dhamma Pattana (meaning ‘Harbour of Dhamma’) was established to serve as a Vipassana centre primarily for senior corporate executives, professionals and governmental administrators. This was both due to its limited accommodation capacity as well as being located in India’s financial capital Mumbai.

As a successful former businessman himself, it was always Goenkaji’s cherished wish that the business community should benefit from Vipassana to come out of the stress and other extreme challenges in the corporate world. Dhamma Pattana was to serve this compassionate purpose.

The initial layout for Dhamma Pattana was worked out. It followed the coastal regulation zone condition that no construction should be within 150 meters of the oceanography line.

Given the topography of the Global Vipassana Pagoda, the building of the Vipassana centre here raised unprecedented challenges.

Building the first multi-storey Vipassana centre

Dhamma Pattana is the first multi-storey building Vipassana centre in the world - a unique exception to the essential requirement in Vipassana centres that meditators' residences should be only on the ground floor. This is to ensure that Vipassana students during a course are not residing one on top of the other.

How to segregate the male and female residential sections was one of the challenges. Initially, the plan was for 60 per cent male accommodation and 40 per cent female. However an adjustable dividing participation between the male and female residences allows accommodation for the male or female sections to be allotted according to requirements of a course.

The Dhamma Hall and two dining halls of the Dhamma Pattana centre were planned as they are today.

Then came the question of building the Principal Teacher’s Residence. During the initial planning for it, the architect reminded that the beauty and majesty of Pagoda would be ruined “if any structure was constructed above plinth level (107.1m) of Pagoda".

Construction engineers expertly removed the soil near the Pagoda and made room for the present structures of the Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre – all of which are below the plinth level of Pagoda. 

Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre, with the Global Pagoda as backdrop

Meditation cells

In the unique multi-storeyed Dhamma Pattana, how to accommodate 108 individual meditation cells with proper segregation for male and female students? This was a challenge in building the Dhamma Pattana pagoda.

The entire Dhamma Pattana Pagoda was to be constructed in stone. The initial plan was for the walls to be approximately 10 feet thick. This was redesigned and adjusted, with the first and second-floor layout to accommodate the required number of cells. The walls were reduced to five feet thickness and adjustments accordingly made. The brickwork on each cell was designed such that the thickness will be minimum, thereby saving substantial cost.

Goenkaji entrusted senior Vipassana acharya (teacher) Mr M.M. Khandhar (one of the key people involved right from the start of the Global Pagoda project and the teacher serving Dhamma Pattana) with the responsibility of installing the crystal and umbrella atop the Dhamma Pattana pagoda, above the Principal Teacher’s central meditation cell. The crystal and umbrella came from Jaipur, Rajasthan, in northern India.

It has always been Goenkaji's guidance in allotting accommodation for Vipassana courses that new students should be subject to minimal discomfort. as much as is possible, as compared to their living standards in daily mundane life. Dhamma Pattana was to serve corporate executives and senior professionals who are used to a more comfortable life. So with Goenkaji’s permission, it was decided that this Vipassana centre should be air-conditioned.

Now the question was whether Dhamma Pattana should be centrally air-conditioned. After consulting electrical experts, the decision was made not to have a central AC system. The Dhamma Hall, meditation cells and student rooms were to have separate air-conditioning units. A trustee suggested an efficient split air-conditioner brand and the contractor was soon paid for the purchase. Within a week, air-conditioning units were installed in each room. Each room is provided with the AC remote so the student could choose when to use or not use the air-conditioner, as per his or her comfort.

The garden was next developed.

The compact Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre was ready for the first 10-day Vipassana course within the Global Pagoda premises.

Since October 2007, the Dhamma Pattana meditation centre has been functioning adjacent to the Global Pagoda. The twice-monthly 10-day Vipassana courses conducted here for business executives and government officials are fully booked weeks in advance. Since 2008, Goenkaji and Mataji have also been sitting their annual 15-day Teacher's Self Course in Dhamma Pattana.

Asoka Pillar

A replica of the Asoka Pillar stands to the east of the main Pagoda. The four lions in Emperor Asoka's emblem, that is also India's national emblem, depict how the Buddha's rational, non-sectarian teaching of Dhamma resoundingly reaches out in all four directions of the world as a lion’s roar. The Dhamma wheel in the Asoka emblem, and in the heart of India's national flag, depicts the wheel of Dhamma rotating to liberate suffering beings from the wheel of misery.

As a lighthouse of liberation from suffering, the Global Pagoda now shines forth in the morning and evening rays of the sun with the gold paint (donated from Thailand), just like the famous Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, on which the Global Pagoda is modeled.

 The President of India (who is a Vipassana student) at inauguration of the Global Vipassana Pagoda, February 8, 2009

Early years of the Global Vipassana Pagoda

After a search for a suitable location for the Global Vipassana Pagoda, a meditator donated valuable land next to Essel World, in Gorai Island, suburban Mumbai.

Goenkaji later said that this was the land where Daruchiriya meditated, an arahant (liberated person) from Nalasopara which was then known as Suparpatan. This site was part of an auspicious area in Mumbai where many other saints have meditated across millennia (such as the Kanheri caves in Borivili nearby), Goenkaji said. 

Multiple challenges

The journey to this present moment in the Global Pagoda was through many hurdles, financial, technical and legal challenges. The problems were multiplied with no knowledge or prior reference for a project of this magnitude.

When Goenkaji first declared the Global Pagoda project, the biggest stone dome worldwide was India’s Bijapur dome 130 ft. diameter high. The Global Pagoda dome is over twice its size - and with no supporting pillars. Top architecture firms in India and worldwide had declared such a construction as the Global Pagoda to be impossible.

The Global Pagoda was made possible. A Gujarat-based architect Chandubhai Sampura devised an interlocking system with grooves cut in the stones, whereby each stone supported the weight of the pillar-less dome.

While thousands of Vipassana students inside the Global Padoga dome support each other by meditating together, the thousands of massive stones over them support each other in an inter-locking system. The architectural wonder has been achieved of the stones - each weighing nearly a tonne and the 4-tonne central locking stone - seemingly floating in the air unsupported by any pillar.

3.87 million man-days needed to complete the Global Vipassana Pagoda.

The first phase of the Global Pagoda involved other unprecedented logistics: creating a foundation 24-feet deep with a 20-feet wide wall; transporting 2.5 million tonnes of Jodhpur stone whose source is 1,200 kms away from the project site; carrying 3,000 truck loads of sand and work involving 90 million man hours.

If conventional construction methods were used to carry and lift the millions of tonnes of stones, it might have taken a generation to complete the Global Pagoda. But an alert meditator discovered an abandoned three-storey high construction crane. It was refurbished at a cost of a few hundred thousand rupees, and served to complete the first phase.

Other problems were resolved in time. Litigation by a few environmental activists (the Mumbai High Court declared that the Global Pagoda conforms to all laws), echo problems in the sound system of the main dome, ventilation for thousands inside the Dhamma Hall, lighting of the pagoda were among challenges that were successfully faced.

Another recurring problem was funding - but meditators stepped in at crucial times to ensure the Global Pagoda work could progress and be completed. Dhamma worked! Many giving dana of Dhamma service, money and material realized with happiness that such a beneficial opportunity to be involved in a Dhamma project of this magnitude is very rare in human history.

For this rare opportunity to serve, we express deep gratitude to the Buddha, the lineage of Vipassana teachers and Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Our gratitude particularly goes to our most compassionate Dhamma father Goenkaji from whom we received the priceless Vipassana path of real happiness. All the merits earned belong to revered Goenkaji and Mataji.

But most of all, one expresses deepest gratitude to Dhamma, the omnipresent law of cause and effect that brought the Global Pagoda and each of us to this moment in time.

May all beings be happy, be liberated from all suffering.

[This is updated from the original article in January 2010 by a senior Vipassana teacher serving in the Mumbai-based Global Vipassana Foundation (GVF), and written on behalf of all Dhamma brothers and sisters serving worldwide in the Global Vipassana Pagoda Dhamma project.]

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*  The Global Vipassana Pagoda has been built at an estimated cost of US$ 22.3 million (Indian Rupees one billion). The entire cost and the land for the project is from voluntary donations from Vipassana meditators and yet-to-be meditators from across the world. It is Goenkaji's compassionate wish that more people - particularly old students, Dhamma workers and assistant teachers - gain all benefits by making use of the rare opportunity to give dana for such a rare Vipassana project and earn much merits.

Costs for the Global Vipassana Pagoda project have also been considerably reduced by voluntary services of many Vipassana teachers and Dhamma workers selflessly donating their professional expertise for more than 10 years - for the happiness, benefit and liberation of many.

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Design of the Global Vipassana Pagoda

Structures in the Global Vipassana Pagoda are functional, serve a Vipassana purpose and have a Dhamma meaning. This includes the design of the Global Pagoda:

 

When the Buddha sits cross-legged, the width and height of the body are nearly the same. The Pagoda is a symbol of the Buddha in meditation. The Buddha's body was of golden color, so the pagoda has been colored gold. An extremely delicate soft crown (parasol) is placed atop the Pagoda. 

Each part of the Pagoda's design has a deeper meaning. From its broad base, the Pagoda moves elegantly upward in an increasingly refined way culminating at the top in a single pointed diamond. In the same way, progress on the path of Vipassana is accomplished by the gradual elimination of impurities starting with the gross ones and then removing more and more subtle ones. Thus, the Pagoda symbolizes the entire path of Dhamma, i.e. morality, concentration and wisdom.

Square Terraces: This broad base of the pagoda signifies suffering, i.e. Dukkha resulting from ignorance, the stage which most of humanity occupies. Moving upward, the square terraces represent the causes of this suffering: craving, aversion and ignorance (ignorance of the actual reality of what is happening within oneself, at the mind-matter level).

Octagonal Terraces: They represent a person's first steps on the Eight-fold Noble Path i.e. morality and the preliminary understanding of the true nature of the three causes of suffering. Here one begins to appreciate there is a way out of this suffering.

Inverted alms bowl: It signifies renouncing worldly life. The shape of the overturned bowl represents the stage of Dhamma practice where one refuses to create new suffering, i.e. creating new sankhāra. Girdling the inverted alms bowl, are three bands that represent the fundamentals of this path: sīla, samādhi and pañña.

Seven Bands: These seven rings represent the seven stages of purification, satta vissudhi. This section represents seven graduated stages of Vipassana practice culminating in the total purification of mind.

Banana Bud: A banana tree can give fruit only once. This section represents the stage where the meditator has passed through higher stages of development and has reached the point where all saṅkhāras have been burned off.

Lotus Petals: The lotus section is divided into lower lotus and upper lotus. The lower lotus symbolizes how one is still capable of creating new sankhāra but in the upper one, this is no longer possible. Thus the important transition point, represented here as a necklace of orbs, is the nibbanic experience - the transcending of mind beyond the entire 31 planes of existence. Like the lotus which flowers in muddy water but blossoms above it, a Vipassana meditator at this stage remains still tethered to the world but now decidedly free from craving, aversion and ignorance.

Seven-tiered Umbrella and Diamond Bud: The ornamental, crown-like umbrella pays reverence to this pinnacle of human experience. Atop the entire edifice sits the diamond bud, signifying the ultimate goal of the purification process: the total eradication of all defilements, full enlightenment.

Photographs from Dhamma Pattana Vipassana centre and Global Vipassana Pagoda websites

Interested meditators and researchers may contact the Global Vipassana Foundation for further details on the making of the Global Vipassana Pagoda.
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* Directions to reach the Global Pagoda
* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for beginners' 10-day residential Vipassana course
*Serving in the Global Vipassana Pagoda
*Gaining boundless Merits of Dana

How to reach Global Vipassana Pagoda, Gorai / Borivili, Mumbai

Global Pagoda Timings: 9.00 am to 7.00 pm. Open all days of the week.
(The last ferry leaves Gorai jetty to the Global Pagoda at 5.25 pm)

Visiting the Global Pagoda is free of charge. There is no entry fee.
* Vipassana students - those who have taken one or more 10-day Vipassana courses as taught by Sayagyi U S.N.Goenka - are permitted to meditate inside the main dome Dhamma Hall of the Global Pagoda.

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.

Please click here For more detailed directions and maps

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.

Prefer a shorter sea trip? One can take the more frequent (and humbler) ferry to Gorai Village (Rs 5 one way - actually it's only a jetty, the village is not in visible distance). From there, shared autorickshaws (Rs 15 a seat, or Rs 40 for 3 passengers) and the more quaint horse-drawn carriages (Rs 10 a seat) are available for a nice ride to the Essel World entrance through the flat landscape of marshlands. The Global Pagoda, a brief walk from the gates, is of course visible throughout the 10-minute ride from the Gorai Village jetty.

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
* One-day Vipassana courses at Global Pagoda (for those who have completed a 10-day Vipassana course)

New website of Global Vipassana Pagoda

Serving in the Global Vipassana Pagoda

The Global Vipassana Pagoda offers a very rare and invaluable opportunity to serve in Dhamma, to share the benefits of Vipassana and to gain immeasurable merits.

Committed Vipassana students may offer Dhamma service for the special one-day courses held periodically in the presence of Sayagyi U S.N. Goenka.

Dhamma service can also be offered in one-day courses conducted every Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm in the Global Pagoda main dome Dhamma Hall.

For more details and registering for Dhamma service at one-day courses at the Global Pagoda, kindly contact:
Mobile no.: 98928-55692, 98928-55945;
Tel: (022) 2845-1170, 3374-7543, 3374-7544
Email : oneday@globalpagoda.org

Dhamma service may also be offered for the various developmental projects being implemented by the Global Vipassana Foundation.

For details of other Dhamma service opportunities presently available at Global Pagoda, kindly contact:

General Manager, GVF, Global Vipassana Pagoda, Next to Esselworld, Gorai, Borivali (W) Mumbai 400 091. Tel: (022) 3374-7501, 2845-1204.

Email: hr@globalpagoda.org

Website: www.globalpagoda.org

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* The Significance of Dhamma Service
* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for beginners' 10-day residential Vipassana courses
* Introduction to Vipassana, Code of Discipline and Daily Time-table in Residential Courses

Global Pagoda photographs (January - February 2011)

Near one of the entrances (with white posters outside, on the right) leading to the inner dome meditation hall of the Global Pagoda. Also seen on top-left of picture is one of the two small pagodas. Photographed on February 6, 2011 by Ashish Disawal. More Global Pagoda photographs from this album

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Photograph by Amit Kumar

Main entrance to the Global Pagoda structure. Picture shows the wide marble staircase, with people in it, that leads up to the Global Pagoda, after the brief police security checkpoint. Photograph by Paul Sonnerblick

Global Pagoda is lit up by flood lights at night. Photograph by Hitesph

Also see A Global Pagoda photograph taken on January 23, 2011

The Global Pagoda can also be seen from air, when civilian aircrafts hover over Mumbai due to air traffic congestion at the Mumbai airport, and particularly seen on the New Delhi - Mumbai air route.

* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for Vipassana courses

* How to reach Global Vipassana Pagoda

Weekend Dhamma Service at Global Pagoda

The Global Vipassana Pagoda attracts many visitors, particularly on the weekends. There is a need for Dhamma servers with good communication skills in English and Hindi, and who can spare time on weekends to guide the visitors. Full orientation will be provided to them on the significance of the Vipassana Pagoda, the Buddha Art Gallery, etc.

Photograph of Global Pagoda taken on January 1, 2011, by Paul Sonnenblick. More Global Pagoda photographs in this Picassa Web Album.

Servers who are selected will be provided conveyance and food allowance if needed.

To register, kindly contact: Email: pr@globalpagoda.org or Mrs. Rupal Solanki, (022) 3374- 7502 or Mr. Vishal Tambe, (022) 3374-7503, 99300-33485.

* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for Vipassana courses
* One-day Vipassana courses at Global Pagoda

Vipassana adhitthana to deleting past accumulations

Khinam puranam, navam natthi sambhavam.
The past has been destroyed, there is no new becoming.
How does Vipassana help us to stop tying new knots and to open up the old ones, eradicating all the accumulations of the past?
The Teaching says that first, a meditator should sit correctly nisinno hoti pallankam abhujitva ujum kayam panidhaya cross-legged and erect.
Then he sits with adhitthana (very strong determination), no movement of the body of any kind.
Now at the grossest physical level, all the bodily and vocal actions are suspended so there can be no new physical kamma (kayika-kamma) or vocal kamma (vacika-kamma).
Now one is in a position to try to stop mental kamma formations (mano-kamma). For this, one has to become very alert, very attentive, fully awake and aware, all the time maintaining true understanding, true wisdom. Aware of what? Anicca vata sankhara, uppadavaya-dhammino-the truth of impermanence; the arising and passing of every compounded phenomenon7 within the framework of one's physical structure.
A Vipassana meditator soon realizes the difference between apparent and actual truth. By simply observing objectively and equanimously feeling the sensations in one's own body in a proper way, one can easily reach a stage where even the most solid parts of the body are experienced as they really are-nothing but oscillations and vibrations of subatomic particles (kalapa). What appears solid, hard and impenetrable at the gross level is actually nothing but wavelets at the subtlest, ultimate level.
With this awareness, one can observe and realize that the entire pancakkhandha, the five aggregates, are nothing but vibrations, arising and passing away. The entire phenomenon of mind and matter has this continuously ephemeral nature.
for full article: Significance of the Pali Term Dhuna in the Practice of Vipassana Meditation

* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for Vipassana courses

Be Self-Dependent !

- by Sayagyi U S. N. Goenka

Attā hi attano nātho" (You are your own master and no one else). "Attā hi attano gati" You make your own future

You have all gathered here to take part in the New Year group sitting. Understand that it is the group sitting that is important and not the New Year. Every day, every moment is equally important. We have to give importance to every moment; we have to give importance to meditation. It is good that you have gathered in a group today. The Buddha has said, "Samaggāna tapo sukho." There is great happiness in meditating together. After all, what is happiness? When suffering is removed, there is happiness. So we meditate to remove suffering.

What is the cause of suffering? Suffering is caused by your mental defilements. You spend the whole life seeking the cause of suffering outside and trying to get rid of this outside cause. By the practice of Vipassana, you realize that whatever the external cause, suffering arises within yourself. Why has suffering arisen? Because you have generated a mental defilement within. As soon as you generate a mental defilement, suffering arises and you strengthen the habit of generating defilements. Such situations keep arising repeatedly and you keep generating defilements and multiplying your misery. How can you free yourself from this misery?

It is not wrong to try to get rid of the apparent external cause of your suffering. But it is more important to get rid of the internal cause. The habit of generating defilements within because of one reason or another results in the habit of remaining miserable. You wish to be free from suffering, and instead, you have developed the habit of reacting with craving and clinging to pleasant sensations and with aversion to unpleasant sensations. This habit pattern continues day and night. Even when you are in deep sleep and a sensation arises in the body-if it is unpleasant, you react with aversion; if it is pleasant, you react with craving. This continues all the time for 24 hours.

You learn to observe these sensations with awareness-whether pleasant, unpleasant or neutral-without generating any defilements. Enough is enough! You have been a slave to defilements for so many lives! And this slavery is continuing even now, in this life. You are very fortunate to have received Vipassana, the path of liberation, the way to free yourself from the habit of generating defilements. It would be foolish if you do not make proper use of it. Come out of this foolishness. If you understand Vipassana in its pristine purity, you won't make this mistake.

You yourselves have to fight the battle against these defilements; you have to defeat and eradicate them. You have to realize this without generating ego. Why should you generate ego? If your hands or your bodies become dirty, you immediately wash them. You do not generate ego that you have cleaned your hands and bodies. If they become dirty, it is your responsibility to clean them. Who else will clean them? Similarly, if the mind becomes defiled, it is your responsibility to clean it. There is no question of developing ego.

Every meditator should understand that he or she is wholly responsible for defiling the mind. No other external power or invisible entity has defiled your minds. Why would any invisible being defile the minds of people and make them miserable? We keep generating impurities in our minds out of ignorance. Understanding this, do not allow new impurities to arise and eradicate the old ones so that you come out of suffering, out of bondage and progress on the path of liberation. This is the law of nature.

For full article: http://www.vridhamma.org/en2004-04

* Vipassana meditation courses worldwide, course venues, online application for Vipassana courses
* How to reach Global Vipassana Pagoda