Vipassana: An Extraordinary Journey Inward!

I recently attended and completed a Vipassana Course and I don’t think that I’ll ever be the same again. For those of you who do not know what Vipassana is, here is some information taken directly from the dhamma.org website:

“Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art Of Living. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

The scientific laws that operate one's thoughts, feelings, judgements and sensations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is understood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, self-control and peace.

The technique is taught at ten-day residential courses during which participants follow a prescribed Code of Discipline, learn the basics of the method, and practice sufficiently to experience its beneficial results.

The course requires hard, serious work. There are three steps to the training. The first step is, for the period of the course, to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual activity, speaking falsely, and intoxicants. This simple code of moral conduct serves to calm the mind, which otherwise would be too agitated to perform the task of self-observation. The next step is to develop some mastery over the mind by learning to fix one's attention on the natural reality of the ever changing flow of breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. By the fourth day the mind is calmer and more focused, better able to undertake the practice of Vipassana itself: observing sensations throughout the body, understanding their nature, and developing equanimity by learning not to react to them. Finally, on the last full day participants learn the meditation of loving kindness or goodwill towards all, in which the purity developed during the course is shared with all beings.”

I’ve been wanting to do the Vipassana course for the past 5 years however could not find 10 days where I could comfortably justify my complete disconnection from the world. Then about 6 months ago, I was clear that I would enter 2020 in deep silence & meditation and proceeded to schedule my life accordingly. Thankfully my family, my friends and my employers were in complete support of my choice to take this on. Honestly, it is pretty funny to have to work so hard and make so many arrangements in order to completely cut off from people, my phone and any other source of communication.

I was actually extremely excited to take the course, mainly to experience the benefits post the 10 days however I was also curious about how I would manage the intense schedule (see below):

4:00am – Wake up

4:15am – cold water bucket bath

4:30am – 6:30am – meditation

6:30am – 8:00am – breakfast + rest

8:00am – 11:00am – meditation

11:00am – 1:00pm – lunch + rest

1:00am – 5:00pm – meditation

5:00pm – 6:00pm – snacks + rest

6:00pm – 7:00pm – meditation

7:00pm – 8:30pm – evening discourse

8:30pm – 9:00pm – meditation

9:30pm – lights out

This was truly one of the most rigorous and profound experiences of my life.  The schedule was tough, days just felt long and my body hurt from sitting for so many hours, especially my legs and back.  To be honest, in the beginning it felt like jail, then meditation boot camp and then finally a long, arduous and highly impactful meditation course. For me, though, the real impact was felt when I came home and reunited with my wife. I experienced a lightness throughout my whole body, clarity in my mind and love & compassion oozed out of my heart.

As this is a sports blog, I won’t go into details about the technique or my daily practice however I will share a list of 3 key takeaways from my experience which could be transferred to any area of life:

Group Accountability Works: Prior to beginning Vipassana, I told everyone in my inner (and some outer) circle what I was up to and that I would be in touch after 10 days when I completed the course. Given this, I knew that there was no way that I would leave the course in the middle and get in touch with my friends & family unless I was genuinely suffering. It was this group accountability combined with my determination which ensured I made it through the 10 days even during the hardest of moments. It’s almost like asking a group of friends to wait for you at the finish line of a marathon.

One Must Be Sincere to See a Sustained Shift: Many people may question the rigorous 10-day schedule which includes 10 hours of meditation a day, 2 meals a day, confiscated phones and no communication with anyone except the teacher as and when required.  However I believe that in order to see real transformation in your life, you must sincerely enter into whatever practice that you are doing or the shifts will not be sustained. 

An Aware & Equanimous Mind Helps One Access Bliss: Throughout the course, we practice training our minds to be aware and equanimous. After 100 hours of intense training, it starts to become abundantly clear that a mind that does not crave or reject anything allows for bliss to be experienced throughout the being.  I’ve taken this strengthened mind into GISB and have witnessed tremendous amounts of effectiveness and ease in my work which can only be attributed to the insights I gained while on the course.

I plan to continue to practice Vipassana on a daily basis and bring more love and harmony within and around me.

Me just after completing 10 days of silence and 100 hours of meditation:)