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Part of Vipassana’s appeal to urbanites is the “no communication” rule,
so you can fully explore and concentrate on your needs.
09LKH Smile
Ser 4
Vipassana, which means to see
things as they really are, is an
ancient meditation technique
attributed to the Buddha
Soundmind,
sound body
This is an investment of time worth
making, and has often been described
by former students as an intense,
life-changing experience. A Vipassana
meditation course, even for beginners,
is an intensive 10-day meditation
retreat held away from all forms of
distraction. Courses are conducted
in ashrams, and for those 10 days,
students are to suspend all forms of
communication — with the outside
world and with one another — while
learning the technique.
Vipassana, which means to see
things as they really are, is an ancient
meditation technique attributed to
the Buddha who taught it as a way of
freeing oneself from suffering. Suffering
is defined as an addiction or craving
as well as an aversion — if we crave
something relentlessly without relief, or
are repulsed by a reality we have to live
with, then we lose control of our own
happiness.
For many centuries since the time
of the Buddha, this non-sectarian
technique was passed along an
unbroken chain of teachers in Burma.
In the 1950s, a young businessman
named S.N. Goenka, who suffered from
debilitating migraines, met the man
who taught him this technique — the
same person who would eventually
become his mentor. The migraines
disappeared, and 14 years after being
introduced to Vipassana, Mr. Goenka
decided to devote his life to sharing
it. The technique was so effective that
in the 1980s, it was introduced to
an Indian prison that housed 1,000
inmates of hardened criminals to much
success.
Vipassana is taught and conducted
in the same manner in each of its
ashrams — for a total of 10 hours
every day over 10 days, students are
taught how to meditate and practice the
technique, which begins with observing
your breath for hours. “In this way,
one further calms the mind so that it
is no longer overpowered by intense
negativities,” Mr. Goenka explains. “At
the same time, one is concentrating the
mind, making it sharp and penetrating,
capable of the work of insight.”
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Meditation retreats
— conducted in various centers or
ashrams around the world, several of
which are in South-East Asia, including
in the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong
Kong and Singapore — are free of
charge and run on the donations of
old students. To know more about the
course and how to apply for a slot, visit
www.dhamma.org.
Cebu Pacific flies to these major
destinations across the network.
www.cebupacificair.com
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