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Chapter 3 – the Living Tradition of Vipassanā Meditation This Chapter Chapter 3 – The Living Tradition of Vipassanā Meditation This chapter discusses in detail about the living tradition of the Vipassanā meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka. For this purpose, we have enough audio-visual source material at our disposal. To present the doctrinal features of this tradition I have mainly relied on books published by Vipassana Research Institute and VDO CD’s of the discourses of Goenka. Since, the discourses of the longer duration courses are not published in any form, I have presented all the material of it with my personal experience. Goenka claims that his tradition is instrumental in preserving and maintaining the dhamma, the practical aspect of the path [technique of meditation] in its pristine purity. This meditation practice helps one to reach to the ultimate subtle reality from the apparent gross reality pertaining to oneself. Let us first see few opinions regarding the meditation. The importance of practice of meditation lies in the following words: ‘Through its 2500 years’ history, Buddhism has manifested itself in a multitude of different schools and styles. Always the dynamic nature of living Dhamma has brought about, in different cultural and historical environments, new modes of expression. But at the heart of all of these manifestations lies the practice of meditation, as exemplified and taught by the Buddha himself. Only through personal meditative practice is the student of Dhamma enabled to slow down the speed of the neurotic mind and begin to see the world with clarity and precision. Without this, he will only be able to increase his confusion and perpetuate his aggressive grasping for self-confirmation. Without meditation, there is no approach to genuine sanity, no path to enlightenment, indeed no Dhamma’. - (Kornfield Jack. 2007: pp. xi; 253.). ‘The development of wisdom and eventual insight into what is the truth of existence and nibbāna, is based directly on the practice of meditation’. Similarly, the importance of meditation is expressed by Sangharakshita as: ‘Buddhism grew out of meditation; it grew out of the Buddha’s meditation under the bodhi tree 2,500 years ago. It grew therefore out of meditation in the highest sense: not simply concentration, nor even the experience of higher states of consciousness, but contemplation – a direct, total, all- comprehending vision and experience of ultimate Reality. It is out of this that Buddhism grew, and out of this that it has continually refreshed itself down through the ages.’ – (Sangharakshita. 2012: p.29). 26 In order to understand the stand point of this tradition, material is arranged in the following manner. In the beginning an Introduction to the Goenka tradition is given. In this section historical lineage of the tradition is presented in brief. Thereafter, procedural and doctrinal features of this tradition are discussed under two main headings: General course and Long course. This division is based on the nature of courses conducted. The first heading is sub- divided in to two: Ten-day course and Satipaṭṭhāna course. The doctrinal features of the tradition are discussed with the help of main concepts imparted by means of the instructions and discourses given in the courses, and some of the books published by the Vipassanā Research Institute. The chapter ends with the concluding remarks. 3.1 - Introduction to the Goenka tradition - A brief historical overview Initiative by Goenka Goenka learnt vipassanā meditation under the guidance of Sayagyi U Ba Khin at the International Meditation Centre (IMC), Yangon, Myanmar. Having practiced it from 1955 to 1969, he was authorised by his teacher to teach the vipassanā meditation independently. He was the first Indian layman [though a citizen of Myanmar] who got such an opportunity along with a few other laymen of Myanamar. He was born in Mandalay, Myanmar, in 1924 and brought up there, and developed his career as a successful businessman at a young age. He started learning meditation at IMC at the age of 31. There after, according to the wish of his teacher and for some social and personal reasons he started teaching in India in 1969. Initially, he conducted ten-day courses in the form of mobile or gipsy camp, at various places in India. He conducted the first ten-day course from 3rd to 14th July 1969, in Mumbai. He got response from his family members and friends, starting with a group of ten and going up to a few hundreds per course. His mission was first to establish dhamma in the country of its’ origin – India, and then spread it through out the world. - (VRI. 2011: p.5). Establishment of Vipassana International Academy (VIA) and Vipassana Research Institute (VRI) S. N. Goenka established ‘Vipassana International Academy’ (VIA) at Igatpuri, Nasik, Maharashtra, in 1976. The centre is popularly known as Dhammagiri. The centre was established to the purpose of imparting practical training. It is the world’s largest centre for the practice of Vipassanā. Since the establishment of VIA, Goenka started conducting more than one course per month at Dhammagiri throughout the year, for Indian and foreign nationals. The 27 courses were open to everybody, from all walks of life, irrespective of class, caste, creed or gender. Though they were mainly intended for lay persons, they were also open to monks, recluses, and priests of any religious background. Till date, there are about 190 established centres around the globe. In India, there are about 90 centres and the rest are spread across Europe, US, Africa, Australia, Japan, and many South-East- Asian countries. Goenka started teaching abroad in 1979. A Few million students across the world have so far participated in the ten-day coures and a few thousand have attended the long courses. For the accomplishment of his mission, Goenka appointed his first assistant teachers in the winter of 1982-83. Since then he met them every year to discuss their role, explain how they should work, and give advice and encouragement. Apart from this, there is a system to train new assistant teachers. This way he setup a cadre of many trained male and female Assistant Teachers throughout the globe. There are about 1500 Assistant Teachers who conduct courses with the help of pre- recorded and translated instructions and discourses of Goenka, along with the help of many volunteers, at centres established by various trusts. He also conducted the first Children Course in 1986 in Mumbai. Then he started appointing Children Course Teachers in order to teach ānāpāna meditation to children. A special project ‘Mind In Training for Right Awareness (MITRA) is run since 2012-2013 especially for school teachers, so that those teachers can teach ānāpāna to the children of their school. In 1985, Goenka established ‘Vipassanā Research Institute’ (VRI) to conduct research on the textual sources and applications of the technique of the Vipassanā meditation. Its focused areas are translation and publication of the Pāli canon, and research of the application of Vipassanā in daily life. - (VRI. 2011: pp.5-7). Types of courses and training The nature of courses varies according to their type. These courses include courses for children and teenagers, the Ten-day and the longer courses for adults, short courses, ten-day serious course and group sittings for old students, special courses for inmates of jail, executive officers, Teachers’ Self Course42 and so on. All these courses are run on the charity of old students. Annual meetings, for Assistant Teachers and trustees are held at Igatapuri. Goenka was a prolific writer and a poet. He composed many ‘dohas’-rhyming couplets, in Hindi and Rajasthani languages. He authored Sixty-four books and booklets, and more than 42 Since 2016 the nomenclature of this course is changed to ‘Gratitude Course’ in the memory of the Late Principle Teacher. 28 200 articles in Hindi, English and other languages. His writings have been translated into several foreign languages. He was invited to the Millenium World-Peace Summit by the United Nations at New York, in 2000. There, he addressed more than a thousand spiritual leaders assembled from every corner of the world. In Davos, at the World Economic Forum, he addressed many international Political leaders and Businessmen in 2000. He was also invited by the Dharma Drum Mountain Monastery in Taiwan. In order to minimise the religio-social divide among communities, he had a dialogue with Pujya Shankaracharya of Kanchi, in India. He was the chief moving spirit behind the construction of the largest Global Pagoda near Mumbai. He was honoured with more than eleven titles in Myanmar, India, and SriLanka. His work gently influenced inter-religious harmony in India and abroad. Thousands of Catholic priests, Buddhist monks, Jain ascetics, Hindu Sanyasis and other religious leaders attended the vipassanā course. - (VRI. 2011: pp.3-6). Sayagyi U Ba Khin and Goenka always insisted on the practice of Dhamma in daily life. He breathe his last in Mumbai on 29 September 2013. 3.1.1 - Lineage The Buddha – Ven. Soṇa and Uttara (3rd century BCE) – Ven. Arhant Dhammadassi (around 11th century CE) - Ven. Ledi Sayadaw (1846 – 1923 CE) – Saya Thetgyi (1873 – 1945 CE) - Sayagyi U Ba khin (1899 – 1971,) – Mother Sayama (Sayama Daw Mya Thwin) (1925 - 2017), S.N. Goenka (1924 – 2013). This is the known lineage of this tradition, but many teachers, not known to us, have kept this tradition alive in Myanmar for the past two millenia. The same tradition was revived and spread across India and abroad by S.N. Goenka. Mayanmis people believe that Tapassu and Bhallika, the very first lay followers of the Buddha, were traders from Myanmar. Through them, the teachings of the Buddha spread across Myanmar. It is also belived that the teachings of the Buddha reached South Myanamr through Arahant Gavampati of Mithila in the Central India.
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