gav, Yes, I've done the three-day vipassana course, right here in India where it all began. It's a little bit like Zen, in the technique than in the philosophy. In my case, there were three ten-hour meditation sessions (not continuous, with lunch/dinner breaks), and on the camp we were not allowed to interact with other participants but only do silently Dhyaan.
I'm not sure how you maintained composure through that ten-day period. Did you have to stay on camp or meditate by self-discipline at home? The former is much more difficult, actually. -- Akshay On 5/6/07, gav <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > hey all, > i just finished my first 10-day vipassana meditation. > if you don't know what this is then a quick summ: > vipassana, which means seeing things as they really > are, is the meditation technique developed and taught > be siddartha gotama (aka 'the' buddha). > > i can highly recommend this free course which is > available now throughout the world in over 100 centres > in dozens of countries (www.dhamma.org). > > having said this it was challenging, but nearly all > people are capable of completing such a course, > (seriously psychiatrically ill persons should not do > the courses: the effects are too volatile) all that is > required is the ability to be silent and sit still for > a hour at a time. > > the theory and practice are presented in a > complementary manner which is very effective and > profound. the technique is a psychological technique > that is not mystical at all (though neither is it > anti-mystical). > > at heart it is the *equanimous* awareness of > mind-body phenomena. awareness without craving or > aversion to these phenomena. > > all sense objects (including thoughts or ideas) > produce an effect on the body - a sensation. this > sensation may be gross or subtle, painful or pleasant, > but if observed, equanimously, objectively, WITHOUT > REACTION, the sensation arises and then diminishes. > Reaction compounds or magnifies the sensation through > a sort of mental amplification. in this way sankaras > or habit patterns are ingrained more and more deeply > on the unconscious. eventually addictions and > complexes result. the (unconscious) mind begins to > enslave the individual. > > by breaking the habitual reaction patterns of the mind > one becomes detached from the mind-body phenomena they > normally associate with themselves, that is assumed to > be 'them', the 'I'. one becomes more closely aligned > with awareness itself and the mind-body phenomena, > pleasant or painful, are easier to dispassionately > observe. > > for instance with addictions the object of addiction > is actually secondary to the sensation caused by the > object which forms the base of the craving, the > craving is the reaction to the sensation. it is the > craving that is really the addiction. if the sensation > can be obseverved equanimously, without being > magnified into craving.... if it can be observed as an > impersonal phenomena, then it becomes much easier to > ignore. > > as one becomes better at this equanimous observation > more and more subtle sensations are perceived until > uniform subtle vibrations can be felt all over the > body. as this equanimous observation continues old > habit patterns come to the surface and can be felt as > painful areas or 'rushes' or other more intense > sensations. this is the cleansing aspect of the > meditation: the clearing of mental/emotional junk. > this aspect is, as far as i am aware, unique to > vipassana meditation: the ability to purify, not only > quiet the mind. > > it becomes fairly easy to equanimously observe > painful/unpleasant phenomena after a while....after > one becomes more detached. it is more difficult to > remain equanimous and detached to pleasant phenomena, > without attaching or craving after more, but this is > equally essential. all phenomena are temporary, the > more subtle and pleasant the higher the frequency and > the quicker they arise and pass. equanimity is key; > dhamma, or dharma, the law of nature, takes care of > the rest. easier said than done!---- one gets moments > of equanimous meditation and gets a pleasant buzz or a > rush as stuff comes out and then loses the equanimity > and if you TRY and get it back you can't because you > have to remain *equanimous*! > > the whole thing is a non-profit organisation run on > volunteer labour and donations. the spread of these > centres over the last two or three decades based > purely on this source of finance is testament to its > efficacy. > > anyway i'll stop before i lose my equanimity > > all the best > gav > > > > > > Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com > moq_discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > moq_discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
