Vipassana Meditation: 10 days silence!

Vipassana Meditation: What is behind it?

Vipassana is considered one of India's oldest forms of meditation and has the following motto: To see things as they really are!

Vipassana stands for insight and is therefore also referred to alternatively as insight meditation. Insight is divided into Buddhism in the three Daseinsmerkmale Impermanence, suffering and non-self, Vipassana meditation describes the way to gain this insight.

Vipassana is generally considered, however not bound to any particular religion, Mindfulness, an important part of Vipassana, can also be a goal in life for non-Buddhists.

In short, Vipassana is about getting through Introspection an inner change bring about. The exchange of body and mind is at the center of the teaching.

Basic idea:

Suffering is created by focus on rejection or greed
Both our minds and the body are constantly causing us suffering and pain.
The journey to the source of both sources should spark a purifying, liberating effect
Encouraging love and compassion through mindfulness

Vipassana Meditation: How did this meditation practice come about?

The Vipassana meditation has the reputation as oldest Buddhist meditation practice and is directly attributed to Buddha.

Vipassana has its origin in the Theravada Buddhism, Theravada dubs an ancient school tradition and was one of the first followers of the Buddha.

Documents from Buddha prove that in ancient India the Training mindfulness has been taught in many places.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the early Buddhist movement experienced a revival through targeted mindfulness training. Theravada and that Royal House of Burma advocated the movement.

This then spilled over to Thailand and Sri Lanka, until in recent decades, ours captured in the western world Has and already many followers won.

Teachers of meditation, such as the well-known monk Ajahn Brahm, passed on the Vipassana teachings to us in the West.

Vipassana Meditation: Which directions are there?

Sayagyi U Ba Khin is considered the most famous meditation teacher for Vipassana in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism. Today there are many meditation courses that relate to his practices.

In particular, the method of Body sweeping brought Khin more attention. Here we look at the before the actual Vipassana meditation the Sensations of our nostrils during respiration, This method has even been applied to inmates in some prisons in India and is said to have led to more peaceful behavior.

Technical methods: Khin and his most important pupil Goenka are representatives of the technical methods. It is all about one strong body sensibility and the understanding of transience.
Natural methods: In particular Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Buddhahasa propagate natural approaches to vipassana meditation. These are unlike technical methods intuition and less strict procedures.

Vipassana Meditation: The 4 Levels of Mindfulness

At the center of Vipassana is the realization of mindfulness. There are four different levels:

Visualization of the physical
Visualization of sensations
Visualization of the spirit and its impermanence
Realization of Natural Truths (Dhamma)

With the Satipatth? Na Sutta (Speech of the mindfulness mindfulness) Buddha defined the different forms of mindfulness, Sutta stands for Faden and means the red thread that the speech pursues.

The D? P? Nasati Sutta On the other hand, it describes the speech of conscious inhaling and exhaling, thus completing the four stages of mindfulness.

Vipassana meditation: How does a course like that and am I suitable for it?

Meditation courses for Vipassana provide for one clear mind and more self-knowledge, A course is therefore basically suitable for anyone who wants to change something in his thinking patterns or in general more serenity in life seeks.

For a Vipassana meditation course you need first and foremost Time and a strong will, The courses are mostly at least 10 days at a time, sometimes even up to 50 or 60 days!

Since the meditation centers are often funded by donations and volunteers, you need a course including accommodation and food usually not pay much.

Be prepared for that, you meditate for about 11 hours every day and live in absolute silence. A Vipassana insight meditation you can as extreme training camp for your spirit consider.

In any case, you should have meditated in advance for a few minutes or have visited another meditation class so that you know what to expect.

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