WHAT IS INSIGHT ?

Thank you for your interest in insight meditation or vipassana. Beginners bring a special openness that can be very beneficial to the practice of meditation. We’re pleased to welcome you to IMS and to provide an environment to support your investigation of this ancient practice. Insight meditation as taught at IMS is one of several meditation techniques taught by the Buddha over 2,500 years ago and maintained through the Buddhist tradition in Southeast Asia. Vipassana is not a religion, nor therapy, nor a workshop, nor just academic study, but literally practice--the continual application of a technique guided by the instructions of skilled teachers. The aim of vipassana is to cultivate moment to moment awareness of our bare sensations--seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, and thinking--thereby calming and purifying the mind and developing a clear knowing and wisdom into the true nature of things. Vipassana teaches us how to relate with peacefulness and equanimity to whatever arises in our lives: physical sensations, emotions, thoughts -- whether they are pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. It teaches us to move beyond the suffering that we often experience as a result of our attachment, aversion, or delusion surrounding our relationship to what life presents. Metta is another important practice taught at IMS. Metta is the Pali word for friendship, or loving kindness. It is the practice of developing friendship with ourselves and ultimately with all of life. In the classical Buddhist tradition, metta is taught along with that cultivate compassion, joy in the happiness of others, and equanimity. These practices lead to the development of concentration, fearlessness, happiness, and a loving heart. HOW DO I MEDITATE? If you’ve never meditated before and would like to experiment at home, here is a simple way to start. Find a quiet, comfortable place where you can sit without distraction or interruption. It’s not important to sit cross-legged on the floor--you may prefer a chair--but it’s helpful to keep your back straight. Use some cushions if needed for comfort. Check that your body is firmly seated, but relaxed. Close your eyes. Gently try to let go of any tension you may be feeling physically. Now focus your attention on the breath. Find the place where you feel it most strongly (at the nose, the chest, or the abdomen) and simply observe its flow--in and out, or rising and falling. Your mind will probably chatter. Thoughts will come. Doubts, questions, and distractions will arise. Whenever you remember, bring your attention gently back to the breath. You may want to start by sitting for just ten or twenty minutes, gradually lengthening the time. This is the beginning instruction for insight meditation. When you are here for retreat, the teachers will give more detailed meditation instruction every day. BOOKS ON INSIGHT MEDITATION ~ As a beginner, several books may be useful in helping you to understand the retreat setting and practice of insight meditation: The Experience of Insight; Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom, Joseph Goldstein (Shambhala) Seeking the Heart of Wisdom, Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield (Shambhala) Lovingkindness; A Heart as Wide as the World, (Shambhala) Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation, Larry Rosenberg (Shambhala) A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield (Bantam) The staff and teachers are here to serve you. Please call us before your arrival if you have questions or concerns. We hope your first retreat will be a fulfilling experience...a new step on your path of discovery.