A Vipassana Meditation Course: 5 Key Takeaways
I did it! I observed 10 WHOLE DAYS of noble silence at the Vipassana Meditation Center – I’m so excited to share my experiences with you.
In August, I attended my very first Vipassana course in Montebello, Quebec (810 Côte Azélie, Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours). Before I attended the course, my knowledge of what it would entail was only theoretical. I have written this completely from MY perspective, not as a teacher but as a participant.
What is a Vipassana Course?
“Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art Of Living. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation.”
Link for more information here.
What is the purpose of a Vipassana?
“Everyone wants to come out of misery, to live a life of peace and harmony. We simply do not know how to do this. It was Siddhartha Gotama's enlightenment that made him realize the truth: where misery lies, how it starts, and how it can be eradicated. But we have to realize the truth ourselves.
… There are many techniques that give temporary relief. When you become miserable you divert your attention to something else. Then you feel that you have come out of your misery, but you are not totally relieved. If something undesirable has happened in life, you become agitated. You cannot bear this misery and want to run away from it. You may go to a cinema or a theater, or you may indulge in other sensual entertainment. You may go out drinking, and so on. All this is running away from misery.
Escape is no solution to the problem, indeed the misery is multiplying.
In Buddha's enlightenment he realized that one must face reality. Instead of running away from the problem, one must face it. He found that all the types of meditation existing in his day consisted of merely diverting the mind from the prevailing misery to another object. He found that practicing this, actually only a small part of the mind gets diverted. Deep inside one keeps reacting, one keeps generating sankharas (reaction or conditioning) of craving, aversion or delusion, and one keeps suffering at a deep level of the mind. The object of meditation should not be an imaginary object, it should be reality-reality as it is. One has to work with whatever reality has manifested itself now, whatever one experiences within one's own body-mind.”
Link to read more from this excerpt is here.
Top 5 Takeaways
1
Physical sensations are not the unconscious “subconscious” I thought they were
Our “go to” for rationale and understanding is more often than not, the mind. It can engage in thoughts and our 5 senses to analyze each experience we are in, have been in or desire to be in.
What do I mean by that? Let’s do a quick experiment in hopes that the experience will help you grasp this concept.
Time yourself for 1 minute, close your eyes and allow yourself to observe your thoughts. Observe what you’re thinking without trying to control it.
My mind goes into:
“What are you doing?”
“That’s not how you do it, that’s right/wrong”
AND continuing to do what it does: moving from thought to thought non-stop!
I would then experience desire to scratch an itch or shift my body posture for comfort or to avoid discomfort. Through S.N. Goenka’s teachings, I observed the sensations are JUST as present as the thoughts coming in and out of my mind. In fact, the sensations were triggering thoughts and vice versa on a cycle that most of us aren’t aware of without intentionally trying to be. More about this in my #4 explanation.
2
Surrender to change – anicca
The mind and body can trick us into believing that we, as humans, are above the law of nature = EVERYTHING CHANGES. Attempting to control change, when and how much is experienced, are a part of how we give into this unrealistic belief.
READY FOR IT: Change is unavoidable! Acceptance will set you free of this miserable illusion.
I craved control over what I desired and wanted to avoid throughout the entire course, yes, all 10 days! I experienced grief & loss, sadness and anguish, joy and happiness, peace and love eventually accepting them as they came and went knowing change is inevitable.
When I would attach to a specific sensation, feeling and thought, the misery would become evident. It showed up in my body as extreme pain or pleasure with a story firing away like a projector. I observed how many unrealistic expectations I had of myself, my relationships, general human beings and life overall.
Have you ever felt you could control how you felt about an experience by controlling someone or something else?
“I won’t feel that if I just make sure this person does do this or say that…” and the illusions of the mind start to take us into a trance of beliefs and behaviors to support this.
“If I just do __, I won’t experience ___”
I could go on for days!
3
You can’t train mind and matter without discomfort
Following point 2, surrender because the discomfort isn’t going to last forever! I logically understood this concept thanks to books like Brene Brown’s that consistently state: “lean into discomfort”. I also thought I experienced this with 10 years of psychotherapy, reiki, meditations practices etc. before I went to the Vipassana. I did NOT experience discomfort like this EVER before.
I experienced some key benefits of the teaching: internal wisdom and inner truth. It meant being deliberately present and objective within my mind and body (matter) despite discomfort. In fact, being able to be present in the discomfort is necessary. This level of wisdom and truth is attained best with commitment to the practices and precepts including:
10 days of noble silence to ensure you can hear yourself, experience your sensation without any distractions including the perceptions of others.
Observing the mind objectively with equanimity – being present and having the confidence to know it will pass (annica – impermanence) so there is no need to react to whatever your thinking or feeling at any given time.
Learning meditation practices in a meditation hall that allows you to safely be present with yourself, even if you are having emotional reactions like crying, anxiousness and fear. The teacher is always present to connect with throughout certain times in the day.
Observing specific precepts which can be considered moral guidelines that allow you to be present and ensure loving compassion is present.
4
Your mind will do ANYTHING to get you to react
Our mind and body (matter) are in a constant cycle of craving something pleasant/comfortable or aversion towards something unpleasant/uncomfortable.
I was able to observe my body and mind working to do anything to get me to leave and move during the meditations. I saw everything from the mortality of my family and close friends to extreme sexual and materialistic fantasies.
I directly experience my mind and body creating extreme physical sensations either painful or pleasurable to cause a reaction. What a miserable cycle to be in!? I gained the wisdom to know I don’t have to react by not being ABLE to during the meditations. I realized how much of an unconscious cycle I was in and how it could feel like a “must” because I’ve been living like that for so many years!
How many times have I reacted with anger and felt guilty after? It never feels good to give in, react and dump anger or hatred on another person. It may become a craving if that’s all you know but there is a way out, freedom can be attained.
5
Vipassana is not a “religious” teaching
The history behind a Vipassana can be found online and in many books. I shared some links above in my introduction. It is not necessary to become a Buddhist to attend or practice the meditations you are taught during the course.
The theories of mindfulness are experienced in a Vipassana course. Mindfulness has become a focus in different science driven studies and teachings such as Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction courses at University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Closing with Love, Compassion and the Gift of Generosity
Your transformation is contagious – healing is for everyone. INCLUDING YOU.
The course is based on donation IF you believe in what you experienced to be helpful. It’s an opportunity to heal yourself and others with your example of compassion and responsiveness.
Thank you for taking the time to read this! I look forward to hearing from you if you do decide to attend a course. In the meantime, research a center near you and visit their next open house.
May you experience true happiness and peace.
XO
Megs
