Vipassana mediation always held an element of mystique to me.
The reality, after completing a 10-day course at the Dhamma Medini Vipassana Meditation Centre, is that it was not what I imagined, it was more. Deeply profound and shapeshifting in mysterious ways. The technique is taught by Mr Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, a respected 20th-century authority on the practice.
Drop any romantic notion of escaping reality to chant in hippy bliss. The course is no picnic for the uninitiated. It felt like bootcamp training that brings the mind to a single point of focus and awareness. The stabilising outcome through your own efforts feels fulfilling. It doesn’t rely on blind faith, a therapist, Prozac, wine, a lover, or any other external means of soothing.
Such is the simplicity and clarity of Vipassana, once you experience it under proper training. Taking practical steps, ‘doing the do’ is the secret to success.
Entry to the course is by application only. No mobile, no books, no talking, no makeup, no intoxicants, no smoking, no sex, no lying, no outside contact, and no meat are part of the ‘code of discipline’ to attend. Essentially everyone lives like a nun or a monk for the entire period. The trade-offs are worth it.
No-one can prepare you for the warrior athleticism needed both mentally and physically.
Noble silence is only broken on the last day before students are literally birthed out into the real world more centred, conscious, calm, and self-aware than ever before.
All meals and individual accommodation are provided within the lush tranquillity of the bush near Kaukapakapa. The cost of attendance is koha (donation), be it in kind or cash.
Based on the teachings of Buddha, Vipassana felt like a surgical scalpel slicing into my soul. There is no other precise way to describe it.
Founder Mr Goenka makes the point that when we are born our eyes always face outwards. This technique trains them to rotate 180 degrees to see within. See the truth or what is, not what you want it to be.
Imagine stepping into the galaxy of your mind using a purification process of self-imposed discipline. Delving daily through layer upon layer, plumbing down to the very depths of your psyche to clean up.
Such is this test of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual might. Through perseverance, the drowsiness, agitation, and mind-wandering, finally succumb to concentration.
The aim is to be more resilient to life’s vicissitudes through inner balance. That leads to better choices of action. As the saying goes, once you know better, you do better.
Goodbye misery and mood swings fuelled by emotions and cravings. Hello peace and harmony caused by equanimity. Sounds easy. It is not.
It starts with being aware of the sensations of your breath, accepting of the law of impermanence as everything is changing all the time, and consciously not harming with your words or actions.
The appeal of Vipassana is it is self-administered, self-regulated and self-determined. It’s literally liberation through respiration and sensation. Worries, sadness, and angst dissolve over time.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor meditating from 4.30am until 9pm with intermittent breaks and two meals is incredibly challenging. Yet there is a sacredness to the cadence. A noble grace comes. As the days progressed, stamina and clarity developed patiently and persistently.
Meditating two hours straight before dawn felt like such an achievement on day one. By day four, the ‘sitting of determination’ after being completely still for an hour felt like climbing Mt Everest. That was followed by three-hour straight stints on the mat. That was the start of ‘dharma’, true wisdom through changed behaviour.
No-one can prepare you for the warrior athleticism needed both mentally and physically. Taming a wild mind takes an ardent attitude and dogged determination.
There were so many days when my knees ached, and my mind wandered. Memories became conscious. Tears flowed unexpectedly. The purging was intense. One student even left.
Yet the allure of mastering the mind through the mat kept me there. Reflecting on that journey, it feels like the first step in an enduring personal pilgrimage of peace and happiness.
