Vipassana meditation: what is behind this popular meditation method?
2 February
Photo by Therese Pechstein, in Laos
Besides the well-known meditation on the breath, many other forms of meditation are practiced today. Some of these have only developed in modern times. However, Vipassana meditation is one of the oldest forms of meditation.
What is Vipassana meditation?
Vipassana meditation was already known in India about 2,500 years ago. The syllable „vi“ in Pali means clear or manifold, „passana“ means to see. Vipassana is therefore often translated as insight. Vipassana meditation is therefore about spiritual development, about gaining clear insight into the true nature of things.
In order to understand and deepen the practice method, it is necessary to realise that body and mind are impermanent, that suffering is all pervading and that there is not such a thing as the autonomous, independent self.
In practice, Vipassana consists of developing the four foundations of mindfulness:
The contemplation of the body.
The contemplation of the sensations.
The contemplation of the states of mind or intellect.
The contemplation of mind objects or phenomena.
What is conducive to Vipassana meditation?
In Buddha's time, meditators should consider the following four favorable conditions for practice:
1. Suitable place to live, conducive to quietness, undisturbed by noise, for example, in the forest.
2. Healthy food that is easy to get.
3. A good person, a spiritual friend or a meditation teacher, to guide the practitioner.
4. An adapted method, that is, a meditation practice that is adapted to the disposition of the meditator, so that neither tension nor relaxation develops too much.
Nowadays, we should look for a meditation centre where Vipassana is taught and the four conducive conditions as described are present, that is, appropriate accommodation, with light and adequate food and a teacher trained in Vipassana meditation, and where the method is adapted to the meditator.
Even if one has already studied many books thoroughly, it is still necessary to have the guidance of a meditation teacher who will teach one the correct practice. From the study of the scriptures we know only the written words, whereas in practice we make personal acquaintance with natural phenomena as they really are. And there are differences, depending on individual development, our abilities and dispositions, our moods and feelings.
Who is Vipassana meditation suitable for?
The process of Vipassana could be described as "self-knowledge through self-observation". Human life is defined by an unconscious fixation on states of happiness, because our society today is largely set up in a materialistic way. The need for material goods is growing. Powerful desires force us to work ceaselessly for the satisfaction of our desires.
Because of this development, we are no longer interested in our spiritual well-being. We are mentally rigid and tense. And this leads to dissatisfaction, suffering and depression.
Vipassana meditation is suitable for people who want to free themselves from this mental rigidity so that the tension falls away and the mind becomes peaceful and calm. Many people are interested in understanding what drives them. They want to find the strength to cope with their everyday problems calmly. Vipassana meditators wish to question their current views because they suffer from their limitations.
What can you expect on a Vipassana retreat?
The conditions for a Vipassana retreat of several days are similar in almost all meditation centres. You have to follow the conditions of participation there. These include ethical conduct, concentration, mental purification and introspection.
During the retreat, the aim is to consciously perceive and control one's own thoughts. Concentration can first be attained through classical meditation on the breath. Afterwards, however, one should direct one's mindfulness to the observation of feelings, sensations and thoughts.
What is the effect of a Vipassana retreat?
Normally our mind is used to being constantly surrounded by worldly objects. We are connected to these physical sensations through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Our senses cause well-being and discomfort, liking and disliking, joy and sorrow, happiness and grief. And this without interruption.
„Peace is within ourselves to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher. Where you experience suffering, you can also find freedom from suffering. Trying to run away from suffering is actually to run toward it.“
—Ajahn Chah
Vipassana is a kind of mental training. We recognize how feelings carry us away and how often we are dissatisfied and unhappy. In Vipassana meditation we practice letting go of desire, the cause of suffering.
Vipassana meditation leads to inner peace and serenity. Through meditation we are more attentive and concentrated. If we can concentrate in the right way, peace and harmony will fill our mind. After some time, it is also possible to practice meditation in daily life. Even any awareness of an action is meditation. Mindfulness during daily activities can be very useful, as we see things much more sharply and can make better decisions as a result.
Even weeks after a retreat, the effects of greater mindfulness and improved concentration are still noticeable. Stress levels are flattened. Anxieties are often less pronounced. Dealing with mental problems becomes easier and workable.
My personal experiences with Vipassana
My first experience of Vipassana was at a forest tradition meditation centre in Laos. At that time, I did not want to meditate at all. Journalistic curiosity had brought me to this place. But when I entered the grounds of the centre, something changed in me. It was as if a slight vibration gripped my heart, a hint of hope rose in me. But hope for what? My curiosity was piqued and I decided to spend some time in the centre to find out more about this mysterious vibration.
Thus began my first meditation. I stayed at the centre for ten months and meditated for ten hours a day together with the other participants, who were made up of sick Laotian people from the villages and drug-addicted young people. Nobody wanted to explore the path of Buddha's teaching here. The people wanted to get healthy. And meditation was supposed to help them do that after all other ways had failed.
None of the participants or teachers spoke English, I spoke no Lao. Sometimes I asked the ladies in the administration who spoke English. But mostly I got the answer: sit and observe. And that's what I did.
First, I watched the people to understand the process. Then I watched the birds in the garden and gradually I began to watch myself. What were my thoughts doing? How did I feel under the constant gaze of the locals? How did I deal with the advice they gave me, smiling but in Lao, a language I did not understand? And how did my actions change?
I only realized what I had learnt in terms of Buddhist practice when I returned to Europe. Especially after I had sought out German-speaking teachers. But I could see immediately in my actions and feelings what changed in me. By my irrepressible joy when a woman's hair began to grow again, although the doctors had given her no chance of survival against cancer, or when the old man, who struggled for weeks with his crutches after his stroke, finally began to walk again.
I saw it in the group of young people with whom I did a silent retreat together after they had overcome their amphetamine addiction. We didn't speak a word to each other, but we were connected by a deep familiarity that lasts to this day and still shows up years later when we meet at the centre.
It is these moments that make meditation so valuable to me. Moments when I am free and can feel unconditional joy, gratitude and compassion. Getting a sense of what it can mean to be truly free. Perhaps this is the glimmer of hope I felt on my first day at the meditation centre: that there is a path that promises freedom.
In the meantime, I have attended various meditation retreats in Germany and Switzerland and was able to learn what Vipassana means and entails. I appreciate this kind of meditation and knowledge transfer. Nevertheless, I keep returning to Laos to meditate in an environment where everyday interaction with people and my own observation are my sole teachers.
Would you like to deepen your own experience of Vipassana meditation or would you like to try this type of meditation? Landguet Ried offers several opportunities to do so in the coming months. Find out more here.
Therese Pechstein works as an online editor for a media analysis company. She has been travelling the countries of Asia for more than twenty years and has been practising Vipassana meditation intensively under her Laotian master Mae Phra Thongkeo for ten years. She has been supporting Landguet Ried since 2019.