Christine gets Enlightened
About two years ago the seed of an idea was planted in my head about Vipassana Meditation. I first heard about it from a friend in Oregon who told me about a 10 day retreat he’d been on in California and how transformative it had been. It was called Vipassana and it aimed to release the mind from the grips of the ego for once and for all. Wow! I did some research on it and was impressed with the technique but it wasn’t the right time for me to commit to a retreat. Continuously the idea re-emerged through different people, readings and sources over and over again and it became clear that the universe was laying out a plan for me that included learning Vipassana. So what is Vipassana? Simply stated it’s one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques, long lost to humanity and then rediscovered by Gotama (commonly referred to as Buddha) more than 2500 years ago. That discovery of his led him to his enlightenment at age 35 and he spent his subsequent 45 years on the earth teaching his path to enlightenment through meditation which ultimately morphed into Buddhism. The word Vipassana means “seeing things as they really are”. It’s the process of purifying the mind through self-observation, through meditation. The entire process, called Dhamma, is a universal remedy for universal problems and has nothing to do with any organized religion meaning 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. Although Vipassana was developed as a technique by the Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists and during the 10 day retreat there is absolutely no hint 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. Again in India the theme cropped up and I met some people who informed me of a Vipassana center about two hours away, just outside of Chennai, which could easily be reached by bus. I contacted them and found that they had a 10 day retreat with space available from December 18-29 and I was most welcome to attend. With a deep breath and a big hug from my very supportive Jonathan I left Sadhana on the afternoon of the 18th to go into an ashram and live the life of silent meditation for 10 days. Entering into Dhamma Setu, the meditation center, the grounds were very lovely, nicely manicured with well kept buildings. This picture shows the path leading up to the main building which separates the women’s section and the men’s section. Once we entered into the center all contact, visual or otherwise, with the opposite gender was completely cut off. Women and men dine separately, have separate entrances into all buildings and never ever come into contact. 
After an introductory lecture on the evening of the 18th where our schedule was explained, rooms were assigned and regulations were laid out it was stressed to us over and over again that upon entering the Vipassana meditation retreat we were agreeing not to leave for 10 days. Barring any medical emergency it would be virtually impossible and highly frowned upon to try and leave early. For all intents and purposes we should consider the next ten days of silence as would a monk to his commitment of living in a higher ideal. Gulp….myself as a monk? Do they know the kind of things that go on in my head?! All who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts for the duration of the course:
- to abstain from killing any living creature;
- to abstain from stealing;
- to abstain from all sexual activity;
- to abstain from telling lies;
- to abstain from all intoxicants
No problem with those, except I wondered about the slapping of mosquitoes and decided to double up on my mosquito repellent to avoid potential killing. The only other steadfast rule is 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 – gestures, sign language, written notes, etc., – is prohibited. No eye contact either which means we were expected to move about the grounds with downcast eyes. The purpose of this is to create the effect, as much as possible, of removing yourself from the outside world with its outside stimulations and help the mind narrow its window and concentration.Here was my daily schedule:
| 4:00 am | Morning wake-up bell | |
| 4:30-6:30 am | Meditate in the hall | |
| 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 accompanied by 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 accompanied by 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 |
The first morning the bell rang at 4:00am and I was up and sitting cross legged on what was to be my cushion in the meditation hall for the next ten days. There were about 100 people in the hall, two thirds men and one third women and all Indians except for about 9 Westerners…the brave ones. The chimes sounded indicating we were to start meditating and…what then? I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing, thinking, postulating, solving – or maybe none of those things at all. I sat with crossed legs trying to be comfortable and alternately closed my eyes, opened my eyes and snuck peeks at the sea of colorful saris around me. Instructions soon came as the voice of the guruji came over the loud speaker and asked us to observe our breathing. To only observe our breathing. To not worry about doing anything other than observing our breath. Don’t change the breath, observe the breath. Don’t count the breath, observe the breath. Don’t think about the breath, observe the breath. So I tried my best to observe my breath. We broke for breakfast and came back for breath observation. Had lunch, more observation. Went through several more hours broken by a tea break but continuously returning to observing the breath. That first night I went back to my room, avoiding my roommate’s eyes just as hard as she was avoiding mine, and got into my bed. My legs were aching from being crossed and uncrossed, my back was aching from being held upright and using muscles I never use but should use for good posture. I had enjoyed the day of silence, however, and I was feeling very peaceful and optimistic about the coming week and a half. Over the coming four days we delved deeper into what I understood later to be the preparatory phase of the Vipassana course. We learned to concentrate the mind, to sharpen and focus the attention. We learned to quiet the mind, to quiet the body. And, perhaps most importantly, learned how to sit still for hours and hours and not have your knee joints welded at odd angles preventing you from walking normally in the future.For the first four days, as we prepared our minds and bodies to learn the upcoming Vipassana meditation technique, we meditated in group sittings in the main hall. As we progressed, improved and focused we were assigned to our own “cell” in the beautiful Pagoda Hall. Here is a picture of the Pagoda Hall:
The individual cells were small white rooms with a single window above the head and a nice blue cushion in the center of the room. Once seated in the center of the small room you could reach out and touch the four walls around you if you stretched a bit but the ceiling was quite high giving you a feeling of space and not causing any claustrophobia. Meditating in the cells was a different feeling altogether, providing solitary focus and a more intense sensory deprivation than in the hall. How could I achieve more sensory deprivation that a silent retreat, you ask? Because although we were all engaged in Noble Silence, meaning all people were quiet in words and actions, this did not quiet the loud symphony of musical bodily functions performed by the Indian men and women with great gusto at every sitting. Even with the understanding that I was being juvenile I couldn’t help but being alternately amazed and amused by the women around me wearing beautiful silk saris and delicate gold jewelry, being so perfectly groomed but thinking nothing of letting rip long loud farts which would make a teenage boy envious. All the time. And the men seemed to be having a belching contest followed by long bouts of snorting and hacking. I don’t know who won – the judging process would have been tough. Suffice it to say that after the second day I started wearing my earplugs all the time and found the experience much more conducive to concentration. The ten days I spent there were filled with high highs and low lows, frustration and elation, and it all happened within the confines of my head. It was a unique and wonderful experience, educational in so many ways. I’ve come away from it with the physical ability to sit cross legged and still and meditate silently for over an hour (amazing!). But more than that I’ve experienced my mind/body connection in a visceral way and have come to understand to to begin to unravel that tight cord of craving and aversion which ties the mind so closely to the body. I’ve begun to learn how to recognize my actions as reactions and to create pause and space between what happens internally and what I project externally. All of this, I am told, is the path to true peace and true happiness and I don’t doubt that for a minute.
seeingspain
December 31st, 2008 at 10:31 am
Tremendous! So proud of you. Really questioning if I could ever endure? make it through? last? through such an experience. The benefits I am sure far surpass the difficulties encountered in bringing your mind into focus. And no doubt the beneficial effects will last you a lifetime. Kudos!
December 31st, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I had a similar inner experience when I did a 5 day silent retreat in Washington years ago. Except it was Zen-based so we had a brief afternoon session of a private interview with the teacher where we could ask one question and listen to the answer. Wild to get to know strangers in complete silence!