Power of RTI

(From R to L: Saroj, Pushpa, Firoza, Domni, Amma, Asmatara. These people now get kerosene oil at subsidised rates after utilising RTI)

It all began with an awareness camp organised by Pardarshita in 2008. About 250 residents of Bawana resettlement colony filled application forms demanding kerosene oil from the Food & Supply (F & S) Department. Even though they have ration cards, local shopkeepers would regularly scare them away each time they asked for their fair share of kerosene oil. Four months passed since the first complaint, still no action was taken by the Food and Supply Officer (FSO) or even the Assistant Commisioner (AC), despite repeated visits. Disheartened, they met the Joint Commissioner (Fuel) at his ITO office, again to be given verbal solace but no real oil to cook food with.

Each family in Bawana has about 6-7 persons on an average, using about 20 litres of kerosene oil per month, primarily for cooking purposes. As residents of this colony ran from one office to another, they had no other option but to purchase expensive oil from local markets at three times the cost of subsidised kerosene.

An year went by, yet there was no hope of getting any kerosene on their ration cards till last year, in April 2009, when members of Pardarshita assisted them in filing complaints with the Assistant Commissioner under the Right To Information Act 2005, demanding to know status of their initial applications and reasons why they still haven't got the subsidised kerosene. The F & S Department didn't give any satiffying answer to any of these queries after which the issue reached the highest level i.e. to the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) for final resolution. The CIC promptly sent notice to the AC (North West) making it compulsory for him to answer queries raised by people, especially emphasising on reasons for delay in issuing kerosene to them.

Cutting a long story short, people of Bawana resettlement colony finally got kerosene oil at subsidised rates for the first time now in years, but only after they utilised RTI in their fight for securing basic human rights. Wish more people knew about the power of RTI.

The MAND Connection- 2

When my office colleague and I were coming back to Delhi in October 2008, we received an SOS message from an activist sent secretly from the prison, informing us that ten of them had been arrested for anti-mining activities and had been put in Quepem prison.

Obviously panicked, we ran helter-skelter in various train compartments trying to get hold of a laptop so that we could draft an appeal for release of these activists, who were not allowed any communication with the outside world, not at that time at least. We also felt equally responsible (and somewhat guilty) for our team’s recent anti-mining activism/visibility that landed them in prison.

It seems to be a hilarious encounter in retrospect but in our anxiety, we nearly snatched a laptop from a group of young boys seated few compartments away from ours, who were dazed with fun-in-Goa or feni or both, who probably had no interest in anti-mining movement anywhere in the world. We must have come across as two (hyper) activists, who pleaded with strangers for their laptop, backed with an impromptu, emphatic lecture on rights of peaceful anti-mining protestors, which could get violated if ‘they delayed’ giving us their laptop. The boys easily parted with their computer-games and music, totally empathizing with the ten arrested, who were completely unknown to them initially, though not anymore.

After taking charge of the machine, we typed out appeals to the CM, President, Governor of Goa and the media, informing the world about arrests (and probable torture) of peaceful protestors. Neither of us had ever imagined that had we stayed on a day longer, we could have been jailed too! (http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/2008/10/demanding-immediate-release-of-ten-anti.html). It was a Sunday the next day but Quepem police station received so many angry phone calls from everywhere that they released all ten activists immediately. Mission accomplished!

However, the second time round, I came to Goa on my own, banking on Mandgoa group again, still willing to move around and participate in anti-mining struggles, especially along with people who lived in the mining belt, facing direct brunt of the mining industry. A visit to Pissurlem, Paira and Sirigao mines was planned. There are few observations that fit all three mining sites, for instance, trees and shrubs should ideally look some shade of green but here, in the mining belt, the foliage looks a dusty red colour.

                              

Not only natural greens look dusty, even the roads look reddish-brown because of large quantities of accumulated dust that uncovered trucks release in the air as they move about freely at all hours of the day. In fact, one of the main occupations of women living in mining belts is of sweeping mining dust off roads, while men tend to become truck drivers, transporting ore from one part of the state to another for a livelihood.

Families actually live in the mining belt, breathing in huge quantities of mining dust as if it were oxygen. While driving down the main road itself, one can see a whole Pissurlem village bustling with activity- children in schools (photo below), people crouching at bus stops or queuing in temples, most probably oblivious to the poison around them. Respiratory diseases like TB are quite common amongst people living in the mining region. Many wells in the region have no water at all or the water available is unfit for consumption.

 

Well water unfit for consumption

           This lake used to feed the all the paddy fields earlier, not anymore. It has stagnated and fields have become infertile because of large mining silt deposits due to mining activity close-by.

Mining in the vicinity of Pissurlem has destroyed paddy fields and water bodies. Many coconut trees have no coconuts or even branches due to exposure to extreme pollution of soil and water. 

 

There are some mine owners also who have houses in Pissurlem, whose houses can be recognised by their flashy cars parked outside.  It also reflects, to an extent, the profit margins in mining business.

A family we interviewed at Pissurlem. Also in the photograph is a researcher from the Human Rights Law Network, New Zealand

Red hills on top are mining deposits by Dempos/Vedanta in Mayem forests

                             

Paira hill and river (Bicholim) are used for dumping mining waste/silt, harming both irreversibly. See a dying tree and a lonely bird perched on it.

We travelled to Sirigao Village (Bicholim) and photographed the mining pits up-close. Gigantic machines dug the mountain deeper so that a large number of trucks could keep travelling down the pit and come out carrying expensive ore. There was only one truck in sight that sprayed water to settle dust released by uncovered ore trucks. Dirty water used during extraction was also being let out in rivers that ran into villages, polluting them big time. Also, a partly infertile field with mining silt deposits can be seen in the last photograph.

For more photos, click here.

The MAND Connection- 1

I have been to Goa a couple of times and every time, there are expected and unexpected lessons. My first trip was in October 2008, on behalf of a Delhi-based NGO I worked for. The visit was spread over few days, limited to exploring the context of the ‘other side’ of Goa, as in, discovering those aspects of Goa which are relatively unknown even today, for instance, dangerous levels of mining in some areas that not only threaten mountains and biodiversity contained in them but also people staying close-by, who are directly dependent on natural resources for a livelihood. Rama Velip is one such person, who continues to fight illegal mining and police atrocities in Quepem, his hometown. We stayed with his joint family and moved around with our team for the next few days.

Preparing authentic Goan food for us at Rama's home

The visit was brief but we managed to get in touch with and collaborate with many protesting voices all over Goa. Not only did we find ourselves participating in local group meetings at Colomb and anti-SEZ protests at Panjim, but we also got an opportunity to witness popular leader-activists- Sebastian (Seby) Rodrigues (Siolim), Cheryl De’Souza (Maina) and Jeraldine (Benaulim), in action. In fact, Seby was our ‘tour guide’ (he’ll kill me if he reads this), who grew up in the mining belt, escaped death as a child to become a full-time anti-mining campaigner. Recently he was awarded the GOA SUDHAROP AWARD, an annual award given to him this year for excellent coverage of local mining issues on his blog http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/.

What is problematic with such excursions by people like us is that 'we outsiders,' sometimes individual researchers and sometimes organized NGOs, tend to come 'touring to Goa' and are selfishly looking for 'bakras' or contacts, whatever you may call it, to make our little, short-term projects work, besides getting an all-expense paid holiday, if we get to stay and roam around with the activists. This is one question we all must ask ourselves, especially the self-proclaimed 'social workers' that do we actually care about people we pretend to be 'helping' by such visits? Rural Goans inform how outsiders or city dwellers, who have no understanding of their context, life and culture, come with pre-determined (NGO) goals, fulfill them at all costs and go back home, never to look back again. It’s sad, but it’s true in most cases.

  

 

                            

These are photos of about 500 villagers adversely affected by mining, raising slogans and banners in protest at Panjim. The rally gathered much attention and media glare as tourists, pedestrians and those hurrying to offices were slowed down by large processions.

Meeting of local activists at Colamb

In this particular public meeting, villagers gathered at Colamb (South Goa) to express solidarity against mining-mafia-local bureaucrats, who have entered their green villages while promoting legal (and illegal) mining activities. This meeting concluded with a decision to gather at Maina Village, in front of Cheryl's house- another anti-mining activist- to protest against mining outside her home.

                               

Machines used outside Cheryl's home to uproot trees for mining

Cheryl is an affluent farmer, who owns thickly forested hills  replete with rare species of flowers and animals distributed around her splendid Maina (South Goa) home. She lives there alone with her mother, daughter and maid, without any other human soul in sight for many kilometers, except the presence of about 200 truck drivers in the vicinity, who intimidate Cheryl and her family as often as 'needed'. These trucks belong to mining companies that transport ore from Maina even during night! Truck owners have no mercy for anything dead or alive that is being dug out by cruel metallic jaws (see picture), since selling this ore gives them an insane amount of money, much more than what the (in)famous Goan tourism industry can generate.

Photo on the right shows Cheryl’s husband, who also invested a lot of time and energy in building up this place for his family, but couldn’t live long enough to enjoy it. So this land is home to three generations of women, braving police-politician-mining mafia nexus, even if it means doing it all alone.
Our last day in Goa was spent at Benaulim, walking through innumerable construction sites on our way to the beach near-by, which we heard was very clean, unlike all other ‘touristy’ beaches that have been taken over by shack owners to make a quick buck. The slow walk revealed many upcoming guest houses/tourist resorts/plush apartment complexes (see pictures) that necessarily require large scale deforestation first.

As we came close to the Benaulim beach, we witnessed many families living close-by, who were entirely dependent on fish, both for purposes of consumption and sale in markets. The powerful tourism industry threatens their lives and livelihoods by constructing lavishly designed concrete jungles, encroaching on as many spaces around the beach as possible, insensitive to the greenery they're destroying in the process. Not only that, fishermen feel doubly theatened since their annual catch is reducing drastically because of high levels of pollution in sea water.

At Benaulim, we spent the night at Patxa Guesthouse, owned by Jeraldine, Convenor of the Bernaulim Village Action Committee. Villagers live as a close-knit community, holding regular public meetings, writing letters to Village Sarpanch and other concerned administrative bodies frequently about issues of unplanned urbanisation (akin to onslaught by builders), roads, bad water supply, spread of diseases like malaria and so on. "Sometimes we succeed in getting our demands fulfilled, sometmes we don't, but the real joy comes from struggling together," says Jeraldine.

At Patxa guest house before boarding train to Delhi the next day

I left the NGO job few months after this visit, but was certain about revisiting Goa sometime soon, not only to meet these committed activists, who had also become good friends by now, but also to learn more about their method of community struggle against a powerful, oppressive state, mining giants and other profit-driven tourism industries. Had it not been for collective people-struggles like these, the greenery of Goa would have been plundered more rapidly and more ruthlessly.

For more pix, click here.

Interview with Dr Ashley, IIT (Hyderabad) after his lecture on 'Gay Rights in India' in JNU

The following five questions struck me while I was listening to Dr Ashley, who was invited to speak on 'Gay Rights in India' at Godavari Hostel Mess (JNU) on 14.01.2010.  We were a group of about 50-60 young boys and girls, awestruck at his brutal honesty, courage and sheer strength to carry on in such a harsh world, where 'falling in line' is what is taught at homes, schools, colleges and later at work places as well. There are little spaces left anywhere, where people can just be, just simply be, without fearing or anticipating judgment. Most of us live in duality of sorts that gives us one face for the world at large and quite another, privately.  When the meeting ended, all I could do was to go up to him, shake his hand, and exclaim 'you're beautiful.'     

Q1. Your areas of interest include Gender Studies (especially Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Studies), so the first thing that comes to mind is that what is it that you find common in all these ‘categories’ of people since they’re all clubbed to together and within broader 'gender studies', I'm assuming 'gender studies' implies 'women studies.' What do all these terms mean to you? Are all these rigid identities?
What is common to all these categories of people is that they are erased by the heteronormative order. The world is hegemonically heterosexual and people in these categories are rendered illegible by the hegemonic formation. For example, as a gay man I have no law to protect myself from institutional harassment because of my gayness which I have faced in every institution in which I have worked in India. Hijras (who can be considered transgender) are not given ration cards, till recently could not vote, are not given regular employment. Women, who want to marry each other (you may call them lesbian though it is not a word they identify with) are prised apart from each other by family, community and state. They are thrown out of jobs, out of families, forced to have medical examinations, very often commit suicide. So, what we have in common is suffering at the hands of the heterosexual, heteronormative order. We don’t quite see ourselves as allies of each other. We are cut across lines of caste, class, gender and regional specificity, among other things. But, for me at any rate, the struggle is to get us to fight together.

Gender Studies embodies a different realm which is that of academia. It implies the new Women’s Studies, which argues that gender is not only about women, hence Gender Studies and women are not only about women, in the sense that the gendering of women is more complex than the simple production of the category ‘women.’ From this statement alone, it would have become clear to you that there are no, for me at any rate, rigid identities. However, that does not mean I embrace the empty neoliberal category ‘queer’ either. For me that word empties identities of all material and analytic purchase. To me, that is a rightwing term. So I settle for identities that we presume are always contingent and blurred to us but we are also aware that this is not the case to the hegemon and that fixed conceptions of us have very real material effects in the world.

Q2. Would you agree that men can never understand women adequately or vice versa since both have a different body (and mind) and hence different ways/environment in which they are brought up in family (and society)? So when men and women grow up speaking different languages, can they ever actually understand each other?

I definitely believe that men and women can and should understand each other, especially as they seem so invested in each other. I do not belong to the lesbian separatists of the 70s in believing that men and women are two mutually incomprehensible and incompatible species. Having said that, I have to agree with them that men do not know very much about women and vice versa. This is especially apparent to me in India where most of my work has been conducted. The project for me then is to acquaint men with women in serious and engaging ways. This is my work as a male feminist. I work mainly with men seeking to make them understand women. It is not easy work, I assure you and after decades of it, I do not know how much I have achieved and in moments of despair I am given to believe I have achieved nothing at all. But this is serious and necessary work and I fully believe that one must continue to do it for as long as one is alive if one believes in gender justice and gendered equality. To say men and women can never understand each other is to make it seem like ontology when it is merely ontic that they don’t. They have a real need for each other and needs from each other they should learn to convey these needs better. Men need to realise that women happen to have minds too and feelings and that bodies are not separate from these. The moment of understanding each other can never be an arrived state but might always be a process. Communication even within genders is never perfect and can never be. That’s the nature of human communication. But we can try to make it the best possible. I think of a world where there will be no rape, for example, and I think that world is perfectly possible. But men need training and so do women.

Your question does, however, reinforce the male/female binary and thereby also heterosexism. There are many more genders in the world. We all need to talk to each other even if I sound like British Telecom ad.

Q3. When we speak of ‘self-identity’, do we look at it from the way that self appears to others, who’re watching and judging us all the time? What is a ‘real’ identity then, is it something one thinks about oneself privately or something one builds for others to believe, or both, or should we care about it anyway?

Identity is how we choose to narrate ourselves to ourselves and to the world which are simultaneous processes. There are various available models of this. Ego psychology in the US, psychoanalysis of the British and European kind, and so on. We are always trying to tell one kind of story about ourselves both to ourselves and to others. However, I think we need to be suspicious and vigilant about these self-constructions. We need to ask epistemological questions of the way we frame ourselves. For example, when we say ‘I am not that kind of person’ or ‘I would never do that’ or ‘I tell it like it is,’ we must ask what model of self lurks behind these formulations. Just asking that sort of question of oneself – who is this I and what is its authority? – is a good start. This is especially so in today’s world where identity politics is so dangerous and is predicated upon the erasure of other peoples and identities, like the genocidal Hindutva project. Or what we stupidly call ‘ethnic politics’ or even LGBT politics. I think one always has to be out of oneself a little, see oneself from another’s point of view to see the limits and possibilities of how one constructs oneself.

Q4. You said you’re against institutions, particularly conventional marriage between heterosexual or homosexual couples, since partners end up playing the masculine/feminine role in the relationship anyway, in most cases at least. But don’t you think when we grow up ‘needing’ something so bad, it’s difficult to let go of the fixation of marriage (and family), even though we may intellectually agree with you that marriage is the ultimate weapon of oppression and control exercised by one human over another and that it cuts off people from the larger social context/concerns?

I would answer that we have to interrogate this phenomenon of ‘needing something bad.’ Why does needing something real bad make it okay to go about getting it? Why do we not ask ourselves whether it is ethical to need that something real bad? We blame rapists for needing sex or power so bad that they go about and rape but what if they just gave you your own justification back and said they just “needed it so bad” that the women’s consent became irrelevant. Needing ‘love’ bad is a bit like rape anyway because it involves cutting people’s limbs off to Procrustes-like suit the need we want to make for them. We call this violence ‘love,’ dress it up with Archies cards and bouquets and songs of Whitney Houston or Himesh reshammiya hysteria and that erases or drowns out all the violence and we are okay with it. I think every monogamous person is actually a rapist and a criminal who kills, pillages and plunders under the guise of ‘love.’

Your binary between head and heart, intellect and emotion, is too unreconstructed for me. You need to ask yourself – intellectually – why you feel this guzzling – emotional – desire to drink someone’s life blood, restrict their movements, their desires, their imagination and who knows what else and call it your “bad need” for emotional security or some s... like that. And why you need to f... them over and call it love.

Q5. Another point you made about was sex being ‘better’ than love for it IS what it appears to be, so it’s more authentic in that sense, while love is 'complicated stuff' and people say it all the time but mean it differently etc. So, are you saying that since you think sex is better than love, so you don’t love at all or mix both when you’re deeply involved with someone? Can you actually separate both emotions? Not sure if women can easily separate both, since most of the times, they grow up internalising the two as one, so for most of them, this is their reality and they're stuck at that level. And most men grow up thinking of the two as separate, so probably looking at it that way is their reality too. Please tell me what you think.

I said sex is better than love. I did not say sex had no love in it or that love has no sex in it. These are three different questions. I think sex is best because there is the least bit of dissembling involved in it. Whether it is good or bad sex, sex does not lie. Love , in its hegemonic form, is about lies and subterfuge and mind-f....... and psychic games and role-playing; a whole armoury that f...... up heterosexuals (pardon the tautology) have devised over centuries.

But love does not have to be that. I have a model of love, for example (and to answer your question, I definitely do love) and that model can be defined more or less negatively first, in terms of what it is not, in relation to the heterosexual hegemon: my idea of love does not believe in institutionalisation of any kind, does not believe in monogamy, does not believe in possession, does not believe in control, does not believe in compulsory reciprocity, does not believe in compulsory geographical proximity, does not believe that sex is a vital and crucial component of what one feels (you can love someone without wanting sex with them) or has (you can desire someone sexually and love them but not have them sexually because they do not want you sexually and that does not affect the nature and texture of the love at all). In terms of what it is, I would actually like to say that a) it is not one thing, one solid, consolidated thing b)I hesitate to define it because it is contingent and fuzzy and uncertain, c) it pulses in and out, can be fiercely powerful now and then and can subside for long periods, d) is not prone to stay in little boxes no matter how many you make to put it in and e)it resists the narrative impulse because narratives are great in the bourgeois form of the novel but in life they crumble and disseminate into a million way more interesting sparks.

When I am deeply involved with someone, I mainly celebrate this love. Right now, I am in love with a Jat from Haryana, who assures me he will never ever love me and that he is not gay but sends me sober messages about how he loves the way I suck his d... and semi-drunken ones about how he wants to be my boyfriend and he does not love me so much that he wants to know why I have not called him for two days and calls me his ‘best friend for life’ (puts me in what my gay friend calls the common grave of friendship) and yet does not like it when a friend he introduces me wants me too; a half Tripuri-half Khasi, who loves me but does not think he can ever sleep with me but who when he smiles at me makes me want to die with his beauty; a sardarji who asks me if I will love him when he is old and no longer handsome and who will never sleep with me and who is married and abidingly unhappy and does not even know it and not because he’s gay or anything but because he does not know the person he married at all; a Telugu boy who holds me like no man has ever held me and stills my trembling body even as he speaks of how he will marry and hates his earlier boyfriend for his possessivenesss, while I assure him I will not cook his pet rabbit like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and he smiles when I tell him that I love him so much I want a million people at least to share that love and to chomp on his d... like I do; a Delhi Mallu ex-student who I’ve loved for 10 years and who does not even call me when he visits the city I am in and when we meet I can’t even look at him because his maleness does not even allow my gaze to stay on his body or his face, it bounces off…. I could go on. My point is simply that all these men love me and I love all of them and always will and I will never stay with or marry or be with or want to be with any of them and not because I can’t choose to be but because I can’t think of a stupider idea. I hate much about these men and love much. I celebrate them, I work on them and that is love. Not f...... marriage and children, a house and a car. F... that s....

Sex and love are not both emotions. Sex is mainly motion and love is emotion; but both have elements of the ratiocinative and the undertow of the psychic drive. These can and must be described in language for us to understand that when two or more people love each other or indeed when one person loves the self, there is a need to communicate what exactly one means when one says one loves someone or when one tells oneself that one loves oneself because only then can it become relational, when two or more psycho-biographical histories meet in the self or between selves. It is an emoto-intellectual complex much like the image was to the Imagists.

Women need love more than sex and men sex more than love: as dominant sociological narratives, these are true enough but as I just said, sex and love are both emoto-somato-intellectual and so women are righter and better at it than men. Men need to grow up and see the connection between their d...., hearts and minds. I’m going to try and help them do that for the rest of my life if it’s the only thing I do. Wish me luck.
(For more photos, click here.)

Workshop for Dhamma Servers, 25-27th September, 2009, Logicstat Farms

Divided into six sessions, this two-day workshop described crucial aspects of Dhamma Service/Sewa for sadhaks, who want to perform sewa in future and clarified concepts for old servers. The workshop laid primary importance to sharing of experiences by old servers, with closing comments by Prof Dhar and Dr Sethi at the end of each session. Dr Sethi coordinated most of the sessions.

(Only an abstract is given here because this information is relevant only for old sadhaks, as in, any adult, who has done at least one 10-day Vipassana residential camp. Those interested in a detailed report can e-mail me separately).

Vipassana Meditation (The Buddha's technique)- An Introduction (www.dhamma.org)

The Technique

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. Healing, not merely the curing of diseases, but the essential healing of human suffering, is its purpose.

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 Tradition

Since the time of Buddha, Vipassana has been handed down, to the present day, by an unbroken chain of teachers. Although Indian by descent, the current teacher in this chain, Mr. S.N. Goenka, was born and raised in Burma (Myanmar). While living there he had the good fortune to learn Vipassana from his teacher, Sayagyi U Ba Khin who was at the time a high Government official. After receiving training from his teacher for fourteen years, Mr. Goenka settled in India and began teaching Vipassana in 1969. Since then he has taught tens of thousands of people of all races and all religions in both the East and West. In 1982 he began to appoint assistant teachers to help him meet the growing demand for Vipassana courses.

The Courses

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.

A short video (5.7 MB) about the observation of breath and bodily sensations in this technique can be viewed with the free QuickTime movie player. http://www.vridhamma.org/Video.aspx

The entire practice is actually a mental training. Just as we use physical exercises to improve our bodily health, Vipassana can be used to develop a healthy mind.

Because it has been found to be genuinely helpful, great emphasis is put on preserving the technique in its original, authentic form. It is not taught commercially, but instead is offered freely. No person involved in its teaching receives any material remuneration.

There are no charges for the courses - not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. All expenses are met by donations from people who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the opportunity to benefit from it also.

Of course, the results come gradually through continued practice. It is unrealistic to expect all problems to be solved in ten days. Within that time, however, the essentials of Vipassana can be learned so that it can be applied in daily life. The more the technique is practiced, the greater the freedom from misery, and the closer the approach to the ultimate goal of full liberation. Even ten days can provide results which are vivid and obviously beneficial in everyday life.

All sincere people are welcome to join a Vipassana course to see for themselves how the technique works and to measure the benefits. Vipassana Courses are even being conducted in prisons, with great success and wonderful benefits for the inmates who participate. All those who try it will find Vipassana to be an invaluable tool with which to achieve and share real happiness with others.

You may apply for a Vipassana meditation course by completing and submitting an application for a scheduled course.

Mr. S.N. Goenka                                               

Goenkaji's Background

(Photo: http://vridhamma.org/teachers-4.aspx)

Mr. Goenka is a householder teacher of Vipassana meditation in the tradition of the late Sayagyi U Ba Khin of Burma (Myanmar).

Although Indian by descent, Mr. Goenka was born and raised in Burma. While living in Burma he had the good fortune to come into contact with U Ba Khin, and to learn the technique of Vipassana from him. After receiving training from his teacher for fourteen years, Mr. Goenka settled in India and began teaching Vipassana in 1969. In a country still sharply divided by differences of caste and religion, the courses offered by Mr. Goenka have attracted thousands of people from every part of society. In addition, many people from countries around the world have come to join courses in Vipassana meditation.

Mr. Goenka has taught tens of thousands of people in more than 300 courses in India and in other countries, East and West. In 1982 he began to appoint assistant teachers to help him to meet the growing demand for courses. Meditation centres have been established under his guidance in India, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Nepal and other countries.

The technique which S.N.Goenka teaches represents a tradition that is traced back to the Buddha. The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal. In the same tradition, Mr. Goenka's approach is totally non-sectarian. For this reason, his teaching has a profound appeal to people of all backgrounds, of every religion and no religion, and from every part of the world.

In the Summer of 2000, Mr. Goenka, the principal teacher of Vipassana Meditation visited the United States and spoke, along with other world spiritual leaders, at the "Millennium World Peace Summit" at the United Nations World Headquarters in New York.

S.N. Goenka Addresses Peace Summit

By Bill Higgins

Date: August 29, 2000

http://www.vridhamma.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=2&intLang=1

NEW YORK — Vipassana Acharya S.N. Goenka addressed the delegates to the Millennium World Peace Summit as they gathered in the United Nations General Assembly Hall today - first ever gathering of religious and spiritual leaders in the UN.

Mr. Goenka's speech, in the session entitled Conflict Transformation, focussed on the themes of religious harmony, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

"Rather than converting people from one organized religion to another organized religion," said Mr. Goenka, "we should try to convert people from misery to happiness, from bondage to liberationand from cruelty to compassion."

Mr. Goenka gave his speech during the Summit's afternoon session to a group that included roughly two thousand delegates and observers. Mr. Goenka spoke in the session that followed CNN founder Ted Turner's speech. Mr. Turner is one of the Summit's financial patrons.

In keeping with the Summit's theme of seeking world peace, Mr. Goenka stressed in his speech that peace in the world cannot be achieved unless there is peace within individuals. "There cannot be peace in the world when people have anger and hatred in their hearts. Only with love and compassion in the heart is world peace attainable."

An important aspect of the Summit is the effort to reduce sectarian conflict and tension. Regarding this Mr. Goenka said, "When there is anger and hatred within, one becomes miserable irrespective of whether one is a Christian or a Hindu or a Muslim."

Similarly he said to a thunderous applause, "One who has love and compassion with a pure heart experiences the Kingdom of Heaven within. This is the Law of Nature, or if one would rather, God's will."

Appropriately to a crowd that included major world religious leaders he said, "Let us focus on the commonalties of all religions, on the inner core of all religions which is purity of heart. We should all give importance to this aspect of religion and avoid conflict over the outer shell of the religions, which is various rites, rituals, festivals and dogmas."

In summing up Mr. Goenka quoted the Emperor Ashoka who in one of his Rock Edicts said, "One should not honor only one's own religion and condemn other religions. Instead, one should honor other religions for various reasons. By so doing one helps one's own religion to grow and also renders service to the religions of others. In acting otherwise one digs the grave of one's own religion and harms other religions as well. Someone who honors his own religion and condemns other religions may do so out of devotion to his religion, thinking, 'I will glorify my religion'; but his actions injure his own religion more gravely. Concord is good. Let all listen and be willing to listen to the doctrines professed by others."

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called the Summit "a gathering of the world's pre-eminent religious and spiritual leaders in a united call for peace that will hopefully strengthen the prospect for peace as we enter the new millennium."

Spiritual leaders who've been invited to the U.N.'s first-ever conference of this kind include Pramukh Swami of Swami Narayana Movement, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Swami Agniwesh, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Dada Wasvani as well as eminent scholars such as Dr Karan Singh and L. M. Singhvi.

In reference to the participants' religious and cultural diversity, Annan has said, "the United Nations is a tapestry, not only of suits and saris but of clerics' collars, nuns' habits and lamas' robes; of miters, skullcaps and yarmulkes."

Though Annan has been repeatedly questioned about the Tibetan leaders absence, he has attempted to steer questions back to the Summit's goal, which he says are "to restore religion to its rightful role as peacemaker and pacifier — the problem of conflict is never the Bible or the Torah or the Koran. Indeed, the problem is never the faith — it is the faithful and how we behave towards each other. You must, once again, teach your faithful the ways of peace and the ways of tolerance."

The U.N. leader's hope is that since 83% of the world's population adheres to a formal religious or spiritual belief system, these religious leaders can influence their followers towards peace.

The U.N. is hoping the conference will move the world community towards, in the words of one document, "to acknowledge its spiritual potential and recognize that it is within our power to eradicate the worst form of human brutality — war — as well as one of the root causes of war — poverty. The time is ripe for the world's spiritual leadership to work more closely with the United Nations in its effort to address the pressing needs of humankind."

The Summit will end this Thursday on 31 August when participants will sign a Declaration for World Peace and form an International Advisory Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, which will work with the United Nations and the U.N. Secretary-General in peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts.

"The goal of the International Advisory Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders is to enhance and strengthen the work of the United Nations," said Bawa Jain, the Secretary-General of the World Peace Summit. "It is our earnest hope that in times of conflict, the world's great religious and spiritual leaders can be parachuted into these hotspot to seek non-violent resolutions to the conflicts."

U.N. Address (complete)

The following is the complete text of the address given by Mr. Goenka on Tuesday, 29 August 2000 in the United Nations General Assembly Hall to the participants of the Millennium World Peace Summit.

When there is darkness, light is needed. Today, with so much agony caused by violent conflict, war and bloodshed, the world badly needs peace and harmony. This is a great challenge for religious and spiritual leaders. Let us accept this challenge.

Every religion has an outer form or shell, and an inner essence or core. The outer shell consists of rites, rituals, ceremonies, beliefs, myths and doctrines. These vary from one religion to another. But there is an inner core common to all religions: the universal teachings of morality and charity, of a disciplined and pure mind full of love, compassion, goodwill and tolerance. It is this common denominator that religious leaders ought to emphasize, and that religious adherents ought to practice. If proper importance is given to the essence of all religions and greater tolerance is shown for their superficial aspects, conflict can be minimized.

All persons must be free to profess and follow their faith. In doing so, however, they must be careful not to neglect the practice of the essence of their religion, not to disturb others by their own religious practices, and not to condemn or belittle other faiths.

Given the diversity of faiths, how do we surmount the differences and achieve a concrete plan for peace? The Buddha, the Enlightened One, was often approached by people of different views. To them he would say, "Let us set aside our differences. Let us give attention to what we can agree on, and let us put it into practice. Why quarrel?" That wise counsel still retains its worth today.

I come from an ancient land that has given rise to many different schools of philosophy and spirituality over the millennia. Despite isolated instances of violence, my country has been a model of peaceful co-existence. Some 2300 years ago it was ruled by Ashoka the Great, whose empire extended from present-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh. Throughout his realm, this compassionate ruler caused edicts to be inscribed on stone, proclaiming that all faiths should be respected; and as a result, followers of all spiritual traditions felt secure under his sway. He asked people to live a moral life, to respect parents and elders, and to abstain from killing. The words in which he exhorted his subjects are still relevant today:

One should not honor only one's own religion and condemn other religions. Instead, one should honor other religions for various reasons. By so doing one helps one's own religion to grow and also renders service to the religions of others. In acting otherwise one digs the grave of one's own religion and harms other religions as well. Someone who honors his own religion and condemns other religions may do so out of devotionto his religion, thinking, 'I will glorify my religion'; but his actions injure his own religion more gravely. Concord is good. Let all listen and be willing to listen to the doctrines professed by others. (Rock Edict12)

Emperor Ashoka represents a glorious tradition of tolerant co-existence and peaceful synthesis. That tradition lives on among governments and rulers today. An example is the noble monarch of Oman, who has donated land for churches and temples of other faiths while practicing his own religion with all devotion and diligence. I am sure that such compassionate rulers and governments will continue to arise in future in many lands around the world. As it is said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

It is all too clear that the votaries of violence primarily hurt their own kith and kin. They may do so directly, through their intolerance, or indirectly, by provoking a violent response to their actions. On the other hand, it is said, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." This is the law of nature. It may equally be called the decree or way of God. The Buddha said, "Animosity can be eradicated not by animosity but only by its opposite. This is an eternal Dharma [spiritual law]." What is called Dharma in India has nothing to do with Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism or any other "ism". It is this simple truth: before you harm others, you first harm yourself by generating mental negativity; and by removing the negativity, you can find peace within and strengthen peace in the world.

Peace of Mind For World Peace
Every religion worthy of the name calls on its followers to live a moral and ethical way of life, to attain mastery over the mind and to cultivate purity of heart. One tradition tells us, "Love thy neighbor"; another says, Salaam walekum - "May peace be with you"; still another says, Bhavatu sabbamangalam or Sarve bhavantu sukhinah - "May all beings be happy." Whether it is the Bible, the Koran or the Gita, the scriptures call for peace and amity. From Mahavir to Jesus, all great founders of religions have been ideals of tolerance and peace. Yet our world is often driven by religious and sectarian strife, or even war - because we give importance only to the outer shell of religion and neglect its essence. The result is a lack oflove and compassion in the mind.

Peace in the world cannot be achieved unless there is peace within individuals. Agitation and peace cannot co-exist. One way to achieve inner peace is Vipassana or insight meditation - a non-sectarian, scientific, results-oriented technique of self-observation and truth realization. Practice of this technique brings experiential understanding of how mind and body interact. Everytime negativity arises in the mind, such as hatred, it triggers unpleasant sensations within the body. Every time the mind generates selfless love, compassion and good will, the entire body is flooded with pleasant sensations. Practice of Vipassana also reveals that mental action precedes every physical and vocal action, determining whether that action will be wholesome or unwholesome. Mind matters most. That is why we must find practical methods to make the mind peaceful and pure. Such methods will amplify the effectiveness of the joint declaration emerging from this World Peace Summit.

Ancient India gave two practices to the world. One is the physical exercise of yoga postures (Asanas) and breath control (Pranayama) for keeping the body healthy. The other is the mental exercise of Vipassana for keeping the mind healthy. People of any faith can and do practice both these methods. At the same time, they may follow their own religions in peace and harmony; there is no necessity for conversion, a common source of tension and conflict.

For society to be peaceful, more and more members of society must be peaceful. As leaders, we have a responsibility to set an example, to be an inspiration. A sage once said, "A balanced mind is necessary to balance the unbalanced mind of others."

More broadly, a peaceful society will find a way to live in peace with its natural setting. We all understand the need to protect the environment, to stop polluting it. What prevents us from acting on this understanding is the stock of mental pollutants, such as ignorance, cruelty or greed. Removing such pollutants will promote peace among human beings, as well as a balanced, healthy relationship between human society and its natural environment. This is how religion can foster environmental protection.

Non-Violence: the Key to a Definition of Religion

There are bound to be differences between religions. However, by gathering at this World Peace Summit, leaders of all the major faiths have shown that they want to work for peace. Let peace then be the first principle of "universal religion". Let us declare together that we shall abstain from killing, that we condemn violence. I also urge political leaders to join in this declaration, given the key role they play in bringing either peace or war. Whether or not they join us, at least let us all make avow here and now: instead of condoning violence and killing, let us declare that we unconditionally condemn such deeds, especially violence perpetrated in the name of religion.

Certain spiritual leaders have had the sagacity and courage to condemn violence committed in the name of their own faith. There may be different philosophical and theological views of the act of seeking forgiveness or regretting past violence and killing; but the very acknowledgment of violence performed in the past implies that it was wrong and that it will not be condoned in future.

Under the aegis of the United Nations, let us try to formulate a definition of religion and spirituality highlighting non-violence, and refusing to countenance violence or killing. There would be no greater misfortune for humanity than a failure to define religion as synonymous with peace. This Summit could propose a concept of "universal religion" or "non-sectarian spirituality", for endorsement by the U.N.

I am sure that this Summit will help focus the world's attention on the true purpose of religion:

• Religion sets us not apart;
• It teaches peace and purity of heart.

I congratulate the organizers of this historic Summit for their vision and efforts. And I congratulate the religious and spiritual leaders who have had the maturity to work for reconciliation, giving hope to humanity that religion and spirituality will lead to a peaceful future.

May all beings be free from aversion and be happy. May peace and harmony prevail.

Everyone seeks peace and harmony, because this is what we lack in our lives. From time to time we all experience agitation, irritation, dishar­mony. And when we suffer from these miseries, we don't keep them to ourselves; we often distribute them to others as well. Unhappiness permeates the atmosphere around someone who is miserable, and those who come in contact with such a person also become affected. Certainly this is not a skillful way to live.

We ought to live at peace with ourselves, and at peace with others. After all, human beings are social beings, having to live in society and deal with each other. But how are we to live peacefully? How are we to remain harmonious within, and maintain peace and harmony around us, so that others can also live peacefully and harmoniously?

In order to be relieved of our misery, we have to know the basic reason for it, the cause of the suffering. If we investigate the problem, it becomes clear that whenever we start generating any negativity or impurity in the mind, we are bound to become unhappy. A negativity in the mind, a mental defilement or impurity, cannot coexist with peace and harmony.

How do we start generating negativity? Again, by investigation, it becomes clear. We become unhappy when we find someone behaving in a way that we don't like, or when we find something happening which we don't like. Unwanted things happen and we create tension within. Wanted things do not happen, some obstacle comes in the way, and again we create tension within; we start tying knots within. And throughout life, unwanted things keep on happening, wanted things may or may not happen, and this process of reaction, of tying knots—Gordian knots—makes the entire mental and physical structure so tense, so full of negativity, that life becomes miserable.

Now, one way to solve this problem is to arrange that nothing unwanted happens in life, that everything keeps on happening exactly as we desire. Either we must develop the power, or somebody else who will come to our aid must have the power, to see that unwanted things do not happen and that everything we want happens. But this is impossible. There is no one in the world whose desires are always fulfilled, in whose life everything happens according to his or her wishes, without anything unwanted happening. Things constantly occur that are contrary to our desires and wishes. So the question arises: how can we stop reacting blindly when confronted with things that we don't like? How can we stop creating tension and remain peaceful and harmonious?

In India, as well as in other countries, wise saintly persons of the past studied this problem—the problem of human suffering—and found a solution: if something unwanted happens and you start to react by generating anger, fear or any negativity, then, as soon as possible, you should divert your attention to something else. For example, get up, take a glass of water, start drinking—your anger won't multiply; on the other hand, it'll begin to subside. Or start counting: one, two, three, four. Or start repeating a word, or a phrase, or some mantra, perhaps the name of a god or saintly person towards whom you have devotion; the mind is diverted, and to some extent you'll be free of the negativity, free of the anger.

This solution was helpful; it worked. It still works. Responding like this, the mind feels free from agitation. However, the solution works only at the conscious level. In fact, by diverting the attention you push the negativity deep into the unconscious, and there you continue to generate and multiply the same defilement. On the surface there is a layer of peace and harmony, but in the depths of the mind there is a sleeping volcano of suppressed negativity which sooner or later may erupt in a violent explosion.

Other explorers of inner truth went still further in their search and, by experiencing the reality of mind and matter within themselves, recognized that diverting the attention is only running away from the problem. Escape is no solution; you have to face the problem. Whenever negativity arises in the mind, just observe it, face it. As soon as you start to observe a mental impurity, it begins to lose its strength and slowly withers away.

A good solution; it avoids both extremes—suppression and expression. Burying the negativity in the unconscious will not eradicate it, and allowing it to manifest as unwholesome physical or vocal actions will only create more problems. But if you just observe, then the defilement passes away and you are free of it.

This sounds wonderful, but is it really practical? It's not easy to face one's own impurities. When anger arises, it so quickly overwhelms us that we don't even notice. Then, overpowered by anger, we perform physical or vocal actions which harm ourselves and others. Later, when the anger has passed, we start crying and repenting, begging pardon from this or that person or from God: "Oh, I made a mistake, please excuse me!" But the next time we are in a similar situation, we again react in the same way. This continual repenting doesn't help at all.

The difficulty is that we are not aware when negativity starts. It begins deep in the unconscious mind, and by the time it reaches the conscious level it has gained so much strength that it overwhelms us, and we cannot observe it.

Suppose that I employ a private secretary, so that whenever anger arises he says to me, "Look, anger is starting!" Since I cannot know when this anger will start, I'll need to hire three private secretaries for three shifts, around the clock! Let's say I can afford it, and anger begins to arise. At once my secretary tells me, "Oh look—anger has started!" The first thing I'll do is rebuke him: "You fool! You think you're paid to teach me?" I'm so overpowered by anger that good advice won't help.

Suppose wisdom does prevail and I don't scold him. Instead, I say, "Thank you very much. Now I must sit down and observe my anger." Yet, is it possible? As soon as I close my eyes and try to observe anger, the object of the anger immediately comes into my mind—the person or incident which initiated the anger. Then I'm not observing the anger itself; I'm merely observing the external stimulus of that emotion. This will only serve to multiply the anger, and is therefore no solution. It is very difficult to observe any abstract negativity, abstract emotion, divorced from the external object which originally caused it to arise.

However, someone who reached the ultimate truth found a real solution. He discovered that whenever any impurity arises in the mind, physically two things start happening simultaneously. One is that the breath loses its normal rhythm. We start breathing harder whenever negativity comes into the mind. This is easy to observe. At a subtler level, a biochemical reaction starts in the body, resulting in some sensation. Every impurity will generate some sensation or the other within the body.

This presents a practical solution. An ordinary person cannot observe abstract defilements of the mind—abstract fear, anger or passion. But with proper training and practice it is very easy to observe respiration and body sensations, both of which are directly related to mental defilements.

Respiration and sensations will help in two ways. First, they will be like private secretaries. As soon as a negativity arises in the mind, the breath will lose its normality; it will start shouting, "Look, something has gone wrong!" And we cannot scold the breath; we have to accept the warning. Similarly, the sensations will tell us that something has gone wrong. Then, having been warned, we can start observing the respiration, start observing the sensations, and very quickly we find that the negativity passes away.

This mental-physical phenomenon is like a coin with two sides. On one side are the thoughts and emotions arising in the mind, on the other side are the respiration and sensations in the body. Any thoughts or emotions, any mental impurities that arise manifest themselves in the breath and the sensations of that moment. Thus, by observing the respiration or the sensations, we are in fact observing mental impurities. Instead of running away from the problem, we are facing reality as it is. As a result, we discover that these impurities lose their strength; they no longer overpower us as they did in the past. If we persist, they eventually disappear altogether and we begin to live a peaceful and happy life, a life increasingly free of negativities.

In this way the technique of self-observation shows us reality in its two aspects, inner and outer. Previously we only looked outward, missing the inner truth. We always looked outside for the cause of our unhappiness; we always blamed and tried to change the reality outside. Being ignorant of the inner reality, we never understood that the cause of suffering lies within, in our own blind reactions toward pleasant and unpleasant sensations.

Now, with training, we can see the other side of the coin. We can be aware of our breathing and also of what is happening inside. Whatever it is, breath or sensation, we learn just to observe it without losing our mental balance. We stop reacting and multiplying our misery. Instead, we allow the defilements to manifest and pass away.

The more one practices this technique, the more quickly negativities will dissolve. Gradually the mind becomes free of defilements, becomes pure. A pure mind is always full of love—selfless love for all others, full of compassion for the failings and sufferings of others, full of joy at their success and happiness, full of equanimity in the face of any situation.

When one reaches this stage, the entire pattern of one's life changes. It is no longer possible to do anything vocally or physically which will disturb the peace and happiness of others. Instead, a balanced mind not only becomes peaceful, but the surrounding atmosphere also becomes permeated with peace and harmony, and this will start affecting others, helping others too.

By learning to remain balanced in the face of everything experienced inside, one develops detachment towards all that one encounters in external situations as well. However, this detachment is not escapism or indifference to the problems of the world. Those who regularly practice Vipassana become more sensitive to the sufferings of others, and do their utmost to relieve suffering in whatever way they can—not with any agitation, but with a mind full of love, compassion and equanimity. They learn holy indifference—how to be fully committed, fully involved in helping others, while at the same time maintaining balance of mind. In this way they remain peaceful and happy, while working for the peace and happiness of others.

This is what the Buddha taught: an art of living. He never established or taught any religion, any "ism". He never instructed those who came to him to practice any rites or rituals, any empty formalities. Instead, he taught them just to observe nature as it is, by observing the reality inside. Out of ignorance we keep reacting in ways which harm ourselves and others. But when wisdom arises—the wisdom of observing reality as it is—this habit of reacting falls away. When we cease to react blindly, then we are capable of real action—action proceeding from a balanced mind, a mind which sees and understands the truth. Such action can only be positive, creative, helpful to ourselves and to others.

What is necessary, then, is to "know thyself"—advice which every wise person has given. We must know ourselves, not just intellectually in the realm of ideas and theories, and not just emotionally or devotionally, simply accepting blindly what we have heard or read. Such knowledge is not enough. Rather, we must know reality experientially. We must experience directly the reality of this mental-physical phenomenon. This alone is what will help us be free of our suffering.

This direct experience of our own inner reality, this technique of self-observation, is what is called Vipassana meditation. In the language of India in the time of the Buddha, passana meant seeing in the ordinary way, with one's eyes open; but vipassana is observing things as they actually are, not just as they appear to be. Apparent truth has to be penetrated, until we reach the ultimate truth of the entire psycho-physical structure. When we experience this truth, then we learn to stop reacting blindly, to stop creating negativities—and naturally the old ones are gradually eradicated. We become liberated from misery and experience true happiness.

There are three steps to the training given in a meditation course. First, one must abstain from any action, physical or vocal, which disturbs the peace and harmony of others. One cannot work to liberate oneself from impurities of the mind while at the same time continuing to perform deeds of body and speech which only multiply them. Therefore, a code of morality is the essential first step of the practice. One undertakes not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct, not to tell lies, and not to use intoxicants. By abstaining from such actions, one allows the mind to quiet down sufficiently in order to proceed further.

The next step is to develop some mastery over this wild mind by training it to remain fixed on a single object, the breath. One tries to keep one's attention on the respiration for as long as possible. This is not a breathing exercise; one does not regulate the breath. Instead, one observes natural respiration as it is, as it comes in, as it goes out. In this way one further calms the mind so that it is no longer overpowered by intense negativities. At the same time, one is concentrating the mind, making it sharp and penetrating, capable of the work of insight.

These first two steps, living a moral life, and controlling the mind, are very necessary and beneficial in themselves, but they will lead to suppression of negativities unless one takes the third step: purifying the mind of defilements by developing insight into one's own nature. This is Vipassana: experiencing one's own reality by the systematic and dispassionate observation within oneself of the ever-changing mind-matter phenomenon manifesting itself as sensations. This is the culmination of the teaching of the Buddha: self-purification by self-observation.

It can be practiced by one and all. Everyone faces the problem of suffering. It is a universal malady which requires a universal remedy, not a sectarian one. When one suffers from anger, it's not Buddhist anger, Hindu anger, or Christian anger. Anger is anger. When one becomes agitated as a result of this anger, this agitation is not Christian, or Jewish, or Muslim. The malady is universal. The remedy must also be universal.

Vipassana is such a remedy. No one will object to a code of living which respects the peace and harmony of others. No one will object to developing control over the mind. No one will object to developing insight into one's own nature, by which it is possible to free the mind of negativities. Vipassana is a universal path.

Observing reality as it is by observing the truth inside—this is knowing oneself directly and experientially. As one practices, one keeps freeing oneself from the misery of mental impurities. From the gross, external, apparent truth, one penetrates to the ultimate truth of mind and matter. Then one transcends that, and experiences a truth which is beyond mind and matter, beyond time and space, beyond the conditioned field of relativity: the truth of total liberation from all defilements, all impurities, all suffering. Whatever name one gives this ultimate truth is irrelevant; it is the final goal of everyone.

May you all experience this ultimate truth. May all people be free from misery. May they enjoy real peace, real harmony, real happiness.

MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY.

The above text is based upon a talk given by Mr. S.N. Goenka in Berne, Switzerland.

  Introduction to the Technique

http://www.vridhamma.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=1&intLang=2

Vipassana is one of India's most ancient meditation techniques. Long lost to humanity, it was rediscovered by Gotama the Buddha more than 2500 years ago. The word Vipassana means seeing things as they really are. It is the process of self- purification by self-observation. One begins by observing the natural breath to concentrate the mind. With a sharpened awareness one proceeds to observe the changing nature of body and mind and experiences the universal truths of impermanence, suffering and egolessness. This truth-realization by direct experience is the process of purification. The entire path (Dhamma) is a universal remedy for universal problems and has nothing to do with any organized religion or sectarianism. For this reason, it can be freely practiced by everyone, at any time, in any place, without conflict due to race, community or religion, and will prove equally beneficial to one and all.

What Vipassana is not:

• It is not a rite or ritual based on blind faith.
• It is neither an intellectual nor a philosophical entertainment.
• It is not a rest cure, a holiday, or an opportunity for socializing.
• It is not an escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life.

What Vipassana is:

• It is a technique that will eradicate suffering. 
• It is a method of mental purification which allows one to face life's tensions and problems in a calm, balanced way.
• It is an art of living that one can use to make positive contributions to society.  

Vipassana meditation aims at the highest spiritual goals of total liberation and full enlightenment. Its purpose is never simply to cure physical disease. However, as a by-product of mental purification, many psychosomatic diseases are eradicated. In fact, Vipassana eliminates the three causes of all unhappiness: craving, aversion and ignorance. With continued practice, the meditation releases the tensions developed in everyday life, opening the knots tied by the old habit of reacting in an unbalanced way to pleasant and unpleasant situations.

Although Vipassana was developed as a technique by the Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. There is absolutely no question of conversion. The technique works on the simple basis that all human beings share the same problems and a technique which can eradicate these problems will have a universal application. People from many religious denominations have experienced the benefits of Vipassana meditation, and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.

Meditation and Self-discipline

The process of self-purification by introspection is certainly never easy--students have to work very hard at it. By their own efforts students arrive at their own realizations; no one else can do this for them. Therefore, the meditation will suit only those willing to work seriously and observe the discipline, which is there for the benefit and protection of the meditators and is an integral part of the meditation practice.

Ten days is certainly a very short time in which to penetrate the deepest levels of the unconscious mind and learn how to eradicate the complexes lying there. Continuity of the practice in seclusion is the secret of this technique's success. Rules and regulations have been developed keeping this practical aspect in mind. They are not primarily for the benefit of the teacher or the course management, nor are they negative expressions of tradition, orthodoxy or blind faith in some organized religion. Rather, they are based on the practical experience of thousands of meditators over the years and are both scientific and rational. Abiding by the rules creates a very conducive atmosphere for meditation; breaking them pollutes it.

A student will have to stay for the entire period of the course. The other rules should also be carefully read and considered. Only those who feel that they can honestly and scrupulously follow the discipline should apply for admission. Those not prepared to make a determined effort will waste their time and, moreover, will disturb others who wish to work seriously. A prospective student should also understand that it would be both disadvantageous and inadvisable to leave without finishing the course upon finding the discipline too difficult. Likewise, it would be most unfortunate if, in spite of repeated reminders, a student does not follow the rules and has to be asked to leave.

Persons With Serious Mental Disorders

People with serious mental disorders have occasionally come to Vipassana courses with the unrealistic expectation that the technique will cure or alleviate their mental problems. Unstable interpersonal relationships and a history of various treatments can be additional factors which make it difficult for such people to benefit from, or even complete, a ten-day course. Our capacity as a nonprofessional volunteer organization makes it impossible for us to properly care for people with these backgrounds. Although Vipassana meditation is beneficial for most people, it is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric treatment and we do not recommend it for people with serious psychiatric disorders.

The Code of Discipline

The foundation of the practice is sīla — moral conduct. Sīla provides a basis for the development of samādhi — concentration of mind; and purification of the mind is achieved through paññā — the wisdom of insight.

The Precepts

All who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts for the duration of the course:

1. to abstain from killing any being;
2. to abstain from stealing;
3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
4. to abstain from telling lies;
5. to abstain from all intoxicants.  

There are three additional precepts which old students (that is, those who have completed a course with S.N. Goenka or one of his assistant teachers) are expected to follow during the course:

1. to abstain from eating after midday;
2. to abstain from sensual entertainment and bodily decorations
3. to abstain from using high or luxurious beds. 

Old students will observe the sixth precept by having tea without milk or fruit juice at the 5 p.m. break, whereas new student may have tea with milk and some fruit. The teacher may excuse an old student from observing this precept for health reasons. The seventh and eighth precept will be observed by all.

Acceptance of the Teacher and the Technique

Students must declare themselves willing to comply fully and for the duration of the course with the teacher's guidance and instructions; that is, to observe the discipline and to meditate exactly as the teacher asks, without ignoring any part of the instructions, nor adding anything to them. This acceptance should be one of discrimination and understanding, not blind submission. Only with an attitude of trust can a student work diligently and thoroughly. Such confidence in the teacher and the technique is essential for success in meditation.

Other Techniques, Rites, and Forms of Worship

During the course it is absolutely essential that all forms of prayer, worship, or religious ceremony — fasting, burning incense, counting beads, reciting mantras, singing and dancing, etc. — be discontinued. All other meditation techniques and healing or spiritual practices should also be suspended. This is not to condemn any other technique or practice, but to give a fair trial to the technique of Vipassana in its purity.

Students are strongly advised that deliberately mixing other techniques of meditation with Vipassana will impede and even reverse their progress. Despite repeated warnings by the teacher, there have been cases in the past where students have intentionally mixed this technique with a ritual or another practice, and have done themselves a great disservice. Any doubts or confusion which may arise should always be clarified by meeting with the teacher.

Interviews With the Teacher

The teacher is available to meet students privately between 12 Noon and 1:00 p.m. Questions may also be asked in public between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. in the meditation hall. The interview and question times are for clarifying the technique and for questions arising from the evening discourses.

Noble Silence

All students must observe Noble Silence from the beginning of the course until the morning of the last full day. Noble Silence means silence of body, speech, and mind. Any form of communication with fellow student, whether by gestures, sign language, written notes, etc., is prohibited.

Students may, however, speak with the teacher whenever necessary and they may approach the management with any problems related to food, accommodation, health, etc. But even these contacts should be kept to a minimum. Students should cultivate the feeling that they are working in isolation.

Separation of Men and Women

Complete segregation of men and women is to be maintained. Couples, married or otherwise, should not contact each other in any way during the course. The same applies to friends, members of the same family, etc.

Physical Contact

It is important that throughout the course there be no physical contact whatsoever between persons of the same or opposite sex.

Yoga and Physical Exercise

Although physical yoga and other exercises are compatible with Vipassana, they should be suspended during the course because proper secluded facilities are not available at the course site. Jogging is also not permitted. Students may exercise during rest periods by walking in the designated areas.

Religious Objects, Rosaries, Crystals, Talismans, etc.

No such items should be brought to the course site. If brought inadvertently they should be deposited with the management for the duration of the course.

Intoxicants and Drugs

No drugs, alcohol, or other intoxicants should be brought to the site; this also applies to tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and all other sedatives. Those taking medicines or drugs on a doctor's prescription should notify the teacher.

Tobacco

For the health and comfort of all students, smoking, chewing tobacco, and taking snuff are not permitted at the course.

Food

It is not possible to satisfy the special food preferences and requirements of all the meditators. Students are therefore kindly requested to make do with the simple vegetarian meals provided. The course management endeavors to prepare a balanced, wholesome menu suitable for meditation. If any students have been prescribed a special diet because of ill-health, they should inform the management at the time of application. Fasting is not permitted.

Clothing

Dress should be simple, modest, and comfortable. Tight, transparent, revealing, or otherwise striking clothing (such as shorts, short skirts, tights and leggings, sleeveless or skimpy tops) should not be worn. Sunbathing and partial nudity are not permitted. This is important in order to minimize distraction to others.

Laundry and Bathing

No washing machines or dryers are available, so students should bring sufficient clothing. Small items can be hand-washed. Bathing and laundry may be done only in the break periods and not during meditation hours.

Outside Contacts

Students must remain within the course boundaries throughout the course. They may leave only with the specific consent of the teacher. No outside communications is allowed before the course ends. This includes letters, phone calls and visitors. Cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices must be deposited with the management until the course ends. In case of an emergency, a friend or relative may contact the management.

Music, Reading and Writing

The playing of musical instruments, radios, etc. is not permitted. No reading or writing materials should be brought to the course. Students should not distract themselves by taking notes. The restriction on reading and writing is to emphasize the strictly practical nature of this meditation.

Tape Recorders and Cameras

These may not be used except with the express permission of the teacher.

Course Finances

According to the tradition of pure Vipassana, courses are run solely on a donation basis. Donations are accepted only from those who have completed at least one ten-day course with S.N. Goenka or one of his assisting teachers. Someone taking the course for the first time may give a donation on the last day of the course or any time thereafter.

In this way course are supported by those who have realized for themselves the benefits of the practice. Wishing to share these benefits with others, one gives a donation according to one's means and volition. Such donations are the only source of funding for course in this tradition around the world. There is no wealthy foundation or individual sponsoring them. Neither the teachers nor the organizers receive any kind of payment for their service. Thus, the spread of Vipassana is carried out with purity of purpose, free from any commercialism.

Whether a donation is large or small, it should be given with the wish to help others: 'The course I have taken has been paid for through the generosity of past students; now let me give something towards the cost of a future course, so that others may also benefit by this technique.'

Summary

To clarify the spirit behind the discipline and rules, they may be summarized as follows: Take great care that your actions do not disturb anyone. Take no notice of distractions caused by others.

It may be that a student cannot understand the practical reasons for one or several of the above rules. Rather than allow negativity and doubt to develop, immediate clarification should be sought from the teacher.

It is only by taking a disciplined approach and by making maximum effort that a student can fully grasp the practice and benefit from it. The emphasis during the course is on work. A golden rule is to meditate as if one were alone, with one's mind turned inward, ignoring any inconveniences and distractions that one may encounter.

Finally, students should note that their progress in Vipassana depends solely on their own good qualities and personal development and on five factors: earnest efforts, confidence, sincerity, health and wisdom.

May the above information help you to obtain maximum benefit from your meditation course. We are happy to have the opportunity to serve, and wish you peace and harmony from your experience of Vipassana.

THE COURSE TIMETABLE

The following timetable for the course has been designed to maintain the continuity of practice. For best results students are advised to follow it as closely as possible.

4:00 am Morning wake-up bell

4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room

6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break

8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall

9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions

11:00-12:00 noon Lunch break

12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher

1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room

2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall

3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions

5:00-6:00 pm Tea break

6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall

7:00-8:15 pm Teacher's Discourse in the hall

8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall

9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall

9:30 pm Retire to your own room--Lights out

You can go online and book for the course. The website is http://www.dhamma.org/, http://www.vridhamma.org/ for Vipassana Newsletters/other resource material by Vipassana Research Institute (VRI).