Vipassana meditation

How I discovered Vipassana

First, let me tell you how I heard about this technique and practice :

December 2021, my friend and I were planning to spend the end of year at home, in Morocco, enjoying time with our family and the routine of our hometown, but COVID hit again…3 weeks before our departure we had to change plans, decided to make the best of it and take it as a « this happened for a reason » kind of situation.

We started browsing the countries that were open, flight prices, etc….And 2 weeks later we landed in Kathmandu, Nepal.

And we decided that this trip, we are just going to take each event, each interaction, as meant to be or meant to teach us something…whatever ! 😬

So, when the first guy who talked to us at the airport exit led us to a cab and then offered to drive us to an excursion agency on our way to the hotel, we normally would have said NO—thinking it was just a commission-based setup, we were tired, and we just wanted to go to our hotel and spend the next day comparing trekking routes, durations, prices, etc..But this time, we didn’t, we said YES gladly…

And the next day, we left for an unplanned 9-day trek to Annapurna Base Camp..And on the 2nd day of our walk, we randomly met a dude, and CHOSE to engage the discussion. He was from Kenya (the first Kenyan I meet actually !), started chatting and ended up having lunch with him….And there, in a place I would never have been if 1 million things didn’t happen, 3 hours away from Ghorepani, at 3000m above sea level, was the first time I heard about Vipassana Meditation, and I’ve been wanting to do this course ever since…

Origin of the practice

Vipassana meditation traces its roots back to the teachings of the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. It was revived in modern times by notable teachers such as S.N. Goenka, who popularized it through a network of meditation centers worldwide (Dhamma centers).

Principles

1. Mindfulness:

Vipassana emphasizes the practice of mindfulness, which involves paying close attention to the present moment without judgment. This mindfulness is applied to all experiences, including thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, and external stimuli.

2. Insight:

The term "Vipassana" means "insight" or "clear seeing." Practitioners aim to gain insights into the fundamental nature of phenomena, understanding the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self aspects of existence.

How is it actually practiced ?

1. Observing Breath :

The practice often begins with mindfulness of breathing, where the meditator focuses on the natural breath, observing it without attempting to control it.

2. Body Scan :

Practitioners systematically observe physical sensations throughout the body, from head to toe, and vice versa. The goal is to note their impermanent and changing nature.

3. Observing Thoughts and Emotions :

As mindfulness develops, meditators extend their awareness to include thoughts, emotions, and mental states, observing them as they arise and pass away.

Where can you do it ?

As of today, Vipassana meditation is thought in 374 centers around the world !!

You can find a dhamma center pretty much anywhere, you can check the available locations here : https://www.dhamma.org/locations/directory

I wanted an authentic experience and chose to do it in India, in Bodh-Gayâ, the place where Buddha got enlightened (just that !), I do recommend this center (Dhamma Bodhi) the infrastructure and the food and the environnement was really nice and appropriate.

To help you chose a center check the reviews on google maps, that's your best bet !

This experience is already hard, you would rather do it in a nice place...and you definitely don't have to go all the way to India, as you don't exit the center and don't interact for the whole duration, it may be anywhere, it wouldn't matter !

How to register for a course ?

You have to know that theses courses are in high demand, especially for new students and the 10 day-format (there is a 30 and 45 days format also !)

You need to track the opening registration day, which usually 3 months before the actual starting day of the course, and be fast ! because spots fill up quickly...

It's actually pretty easy to register as everything is done on this website https://www.dhamma.org/courses/search

How much does it cost ?

These courses are offered free of charge (donations based), funded by donations from previous participants, making them accessible to anyone interested in learning the practice.

I had a hard time determining how much to give as a donation, and after doing some research I ended up finding a calculation in the comments of a forum on the subject : I gave the double of my estimation for the cost of the 10 days, the goal being to pay for my stay and another person.

Which I estimated at 200 €.

Honestly this is an amazing cause to give money to, for me at least.

Developing more awareness and minduflness is an amazing purpose, and if I wasn't jobless at that time, I would have given more.

My experience 

Day 0 :

After dropping all our electronics, reading and writing materials, we started with a light 1-hour session, where I quickly realized that :

1. The day you arrive doesn’t count in the 10 days 🙄

2. As always, I was the stiffest guy in the room; maintaining a cross-legged position was going to be very hard. 🧘

3. This a very strict environment, this is not an inclusive Yin yoga course, where you don’t stretch too far 🙈They expect, legitimately, full commitment and respect of the practice.

Days 1-3 :

Those were really tough days.Even if I was focused for at least 5 hours a day, Even if I was composed on the outside, My mind was fuming with a bunch of intrusive thoughts: “Why should I even listen to these teachers ?” “And this crew telling me to straighten up!” “They are treating us like kids over here; well, I’m gonna behave like a kid!” “People are burping in the room and they expect me to sit still and say nothing?”

And even worse were the nightmares, each one more violent than the other…I was fed up, ashamed of these thoughts, ashamed of my anger, ashamed of the judgments… and well, ready to quit! This course was obviously not helping me…

Day 4 :

Disappointed and depressed, I went to the teacher and told him about my struggles, He smiled, balanced his head as they do here 😬, and said: “Good, it means it’s working, We’re going deep into your subconscious, and your mind does not like it.” “Let’s heal the sh*t out of me then!”…I thought as I respectfully bowed 🙏

Day 5 :

We start doing strong determination hours : 3 times a day, for a full hour, you shouldn’t move your arms, legs, nor open your eyes. Needless to say that’s hard, very very hard…

Day 6 :

My PB at this point is 35 minutes…but I decide that this try is gonna be it, “I’m not moving even if the building is on fire”…I take a cold shower, stretch for 10 min, leave my watch to not be tempted to check time, and here we go…On my 6th try, I managed to achieve the hardest thing I’ve ever done: Staying still for 1 hour !

Days 7-10 :

At this point you would think that it was easier to meditate as I've already done a week, but definitely not...you still have to be mentally strong as it is easy to judge that one week was enough and that you've already got the global idea...but when you really think about it, you realize that why ? why are you gonna leave ?...because happiness is just outside of this place ? because you miss someone or something ?

The reality is as we have experienced on day 11, that satisfaction of being free again only lasts a few hours, then you're just back to your regular state of mind...

So these last days where about realizing that I need to stop idealizing future moments or satisfactions and try to enjoy what's happening in the moment...I know that's pretty basic but this was a hard reminder !