Meditation - Insight Meditation (Vipassana)
Mental clarity and health are only two of the benefits of meditation. Most people refer to meditation as mental clearing.
One of India’s ancient meditation techniques is Vipassana which means “to see things as they really are.” It was taught for almost 2500 years ago and was believed to be a universal cure for most illnesses. Here, we learn to purify our minds, free ourselves from suffering and it makes us experience peace and harmony in our life. One who practices Vipassana takes a ten day residential course under the guidance of a qualified teacher. Students follow a very strict training while inside the residence. For ten days, they are not allowed to have contact with the outside world, practice any religion or other disciplines, they must observe silence at all cost, and they are not allowed to talk with their fellow students. They follow a schedule of ten hours of meditation and could only discuss matters with the teacher if necessary.
The following are the steps in Vipassana:
- Abstinence – students are to abstain from the five moral precepts which include abstention from killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct and the use of toxicants.
- Anapana Meditation – this is practiced for three and a half days wherein they practice focusing on their breath.
- Purifying the Mind – the practice will not be complete until this step is done. It is practiced for six and a half days wherein one penetrates one’s physical and mental structure with clarity and insight. With these steps, Vipassana helps the students purify their mind through self observation.
- On the last day of the course, students are allowed to speak and live an extroverted life. It closes with the practice of metta bhavana, a technique which shares the purity developed with others.
Vipassana Related Links
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