Feb 27, 2013

Vipassana in New York

The Global Pagoda, Mumbai, India, serves as the Dhamma lighthouse for the universal sharing of Vipassana. The Global Pagoda was born with voluntary Dhamma service, donations and good wishes from people worldwide (JP Morgan Chase Bank in New York and Bank of India in Mumbai are bankers for the Global Vipassana Foundation that built the Global Pagoda).
Global Vipassana Pagoda: The Mumbai Monument of Liberty
Mumbai and New York are spiritually sister cities - vast, vibrant immigrant metropolises and rewarding cosmopolitan cultural melting pots. They are busy financial capitals of the world's two biggest democracies, but generously give time and resources for the greater good. With the largest number of Vipassana meditators living in one city (*1), Mumbai has six Vipassana centres in its suburbs (*2). Principal Vipassana teacher Sayagyi U S.N.Goenka lives in Mumbai. In 1969, Mumbai hosted the first Vipassana course in India after 2,000 years.

"Following is an article about the new Dhamma house in one of the world’s great cities, New York. It is a place where impermanence is unmistakable as the city endlessly destroys and re-creates itself, and as successive waves of immigrants come to make their home there. It’s also not a place normally associated with calm and meditation. But that did not deter the local old students.
(from International Vipassana Newsletter  Vol 39,2012, No.4)

NY Vipassana


Five years ago, a small group of meditators decided to take on the goal of establishing a Dhamma house in New York City. We had previously had a facility in a beautiful neighborhood, but financially it had stopped being feasible. And in any case, it had not been easily reachable from some other parts of the city.

The first focus was to accumulate seed money. Donations gradually came in and by late 2011 we had over $10,000. We were ready for the next step: forming a search committee that would develop a strategic plan to scour the city for a suitable space.

We targeted Manhattan first because it is the most central and accessible area. But Manhattan rents are really high, so we decided to start there but be prepared to expand the search to other boroughs.

Two of us pored over a Manhattan street map to select areas with possible affordable rents for commercial spaces. We thought we’d have a better chance with older buildings. Our plan was to completely search one area and then move on to the next. We began with two people—“field walkers”—who went up and down the streets of the designated area, copying down telephone numbers from rental and management signs. We then passed the numbers to our “callers,” who contacted realtors. If anything came of a phone call, the “walkers” would go view the space.

After about a month and a half we had around 10 people walking and doing Internet research. (Web searchers were our third category of volunteers.) In fact, one great discovery was a New York City Public Library database of all the commercial properties in the city, area by area. It was a great find. But we never got the chance to use it because our simple relay system worked faster than we had expected.

A caller spoke to a realtor and passed on the information to a walker. Two people went to see the space, and another two. Then a local assistant teacher took a look. We all agreed that it was for us. Next we held a “trial” group sitting in the space. When it was over, the decision was unanimous: We had found a new home for our Dhamma House.

It stands on West 38th Street, very near all the major subway lines as well as out-of-town bus and railroad stations. It is about as typical of New York as you could want. The space is in an older, modest building, on the 10th floor. There is room for 50 meditators, and maybe a few more if needed. And the rent is well within the range we set for ourselves.

West 38th Street, NY (Google Map)
 In February we signed the lease, which was supposed to start from March 1. In the end, repainting and basic repairs took longer than expected. But from March 10 the place was ours and we were ready to start the real work. About two months after we had started our search, we were holding group sittings in our Dhamma House.

The first one-day sitting was on March 31, with two teachers coming from the Massachusetts center, Dhamma Dhara. A truck was bringing their seats from Philadelphia, but it got lost in Brooklyn. Once it arrived, we could begin the course inaugurating the New York Dhamma House.

We now hold group sittings all five weekday evenings, beginning at 6:00 pm. Every month, we have two teacher-led one-day courses, alternating between Burmese-English and Chinese-English. We’re planning to add a Hindi-English course. We are also planning a pilot children’s course and are discussing a potluck get-together in the spring.

All along, we have benefited greatly from our connection with the Massachusetts center, the closest one to New York. In fact, we literally have pieces of the center in our Dhamma House. Boards once used in platforms for the women’s tents in Massachusetts now support coat hooks on our walls; they are weathered to a beautiful dark brown. Other boards have become bookshelves for our small lending library. The center also supplied materials for shoe racks and shelves where meditators can leave their bags and backpacks. Other material was donated by old students.

We feel like a mini version of Dhamma Dhara, with the same aim: to reach as many people as possible and to create a welcoming, attractive space for practicing Vipassana meditation.

Dhamma Dhara, Shelburne Falls, nearest Vipassana centre to New York

Most arrangements for the new facility fell into place surprisingly easily, but naturally there were some kinks that had to be ironed out. For example, we had assumed that our rental agreement gave us the use of a third bathroom on our floor, but it took considerable negotiation to open that door. Then, during our first one-day course, a neighbor complained about the wet boots and shoes left in the hallway. That just spurred us to build adequate shoe shelves inside our own space.

Under the Massachusetts trust, we established a formal structure so that we can make collective decisions more efficiently. Right now we’re looking to expand our pool of weeknight servers. These people are responsible for running the group sitting, from opening the door to playing the CD and closing up after everyone leaves. We have teams of people who take turns handling this task, but we are looking for more people who may not be able to make an ongoing commitment but can provide backup if needed.

On a typical evening, anywhere from five to 25 meditators sit together in the Dhamma House for one to three hours. Our one-day courses average about 30 people, more when a teacher comes from Dhamma Dhara. And the red donation box that stands on the table inside the entrance seems to be making up the difference between pledges and the actual amount of monthly rent.

If we continue to grow, we may yet get to use that Public Library database for city-wide commercial real estate!

For more information, email ny-info@dhara.dhamma.org
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Part-1 of Sayagyi U Goenka's address to the United Nations in New York in 2002. 
Buddha: Super Scientist of Peace. Part-11.
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(*1) Of over 1,000 students participating in twice monthly 10-day Vipassana courses in Dhamma Giri, more than 30% of students in each course are from Mumbai.

(*2) Vipassana centres in and within commuting distance of Mumbai: Dhamma Pattana (within Global Pagoda premises), Dhamma Giri, Dhamma Tapovana, Dhamma Vahini, Dhamma Sarita, Dhamma Vipula

* Vipassana Group Sitting locations in Mumbai, and elsewhere in India (Please call / confirm for current status)
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* Earn immense merits participating in Global Vipassana Pagoda projects
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Across countless aeons and endless time, may every moment of purity from Vipassana practice go for the benefit, happiness and liberation of all beings.

Jan 25, 2013

Vipassana - the Path to True Happiness

"Observing reality as it is, without any preconceptions, in order to disintegrate apparent truth and to reach ultimate truth—this is Vipassana. The purpose of disintegrating apparent reality is to enable the meditator to emerge from the illusion of ‘I’. This illusion is at the root of all our craving and aversion, and leads to great suffering."

(Below is summary of Day 10 Dhamma Discourse of Principal teacher Sayagyi U S.N.Goenka, during the 10-day Vipassana Course

A video/audio discourse  at 7.15 p.m  follows each day of the 10-day course, after 10 hours of meditation in the daily timetable starting 4.30 a.m)

Ten days are over. Let us review what you have done during these ten days.
You started your work by taking refuge in the Triple Gem, that is, in Buddha, in Dhamma, in Sangha. By doing so you were not being converted from one organized religion to another. In Vipassana, the conversion is only from misery to happiness, from ignorance to wisdom, from bondage to liberation. 

The entire teaching is universal. You took refuge not in a personality, dogma, or sect, but in the quality of enlightenment. Someone who discovers the way to enlightenment is a Buddha. The way that he finds is called the Dhamma. All who practise this way and reach the stage of saintliness are called Sangha. Inspired by such persons, one takes refuge in Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha in order to attain the same goal of purity of mind. The refuge is actually in the universal quality of enlightenment which one seeks to develop in oneself.

At the same time, in any person who progresses on the path there will arise a feeling of gratitude and also a volition to serve others without expecting anything in return. These two qualities were notable in Siddhattha Gotama, the historical Buddha. He had achieved enlightenment entirely by his own efforts. Nevertheless, out of compassion for all beings, he sought to teach the technique he had found to others.
 
The same qualities will appear in all who practise the technique and who eradicate, to some extent, the old habit of egotism. The real refuge, the real protection, is the Dhamma that you develop in yourself

However, along with the experience of Dhamma there is bound to grow a feeling of gratitude to Gotama the Buddha for finding and teaching this technique, and gratitude as well to those who selflessly strove to maintain the teaching in its original purity through twenty-five centuries to the present day.

With this understanding you took refuge in the Triple Gem.

(Global Pagoda, seen from adjacent Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre)
Next you took five precepts. This was not a rite or ritual. By taking these precepts and following them you practised sila, morality, which is the foundation of the technique. Without a strong foundation the entire structure of meditation would be weak. Sila is also universal and nonsectarian. You undertook to abstain from all actions, physical or vocal, that would disturb the peace and harmony of others. One who breaks these precepts must first develop great impurity in the mind, destroying his own peace and harmony. From the mental level the impurity develops and expresses itself vocally or physically. In Vipassana you are trying to purify the mind so that it becomes really calm and peaceful. You cannot work to purify the mind while you still continue to perform actions that agitate and defile it.

But how are you to break out of the vicious cycle in which the agitated mind performs unwholesome actions that agitate it still further? A Vipassana course gives you the opportunity. Because of the heavy programme, the strict discipline, the vow of silence, and the strongly supportive atmosphere, there is hardly any likelihood of your breaking the five precepts. Thus during the ten days you are able to practise sila, and with this base you can develop samadhi; and this in turn becomes the base for insight, with which you can penetrate to the depths of the mind and purify it.
 
During the course you undertook to observe the five precepts in order to be able to learn this technique. Having learned it, one who then decides to accepts and practise Dhamma must observe the precepts throughout life.

Next you surrendered to the Buddha and your present teacher for the ten days of the course. This surrender was for the purpose of giving a fair trial to the technique. Only someone who has surrendered in this way can work putting forth full efforts. One who is full of doubts and scepticism cannot work properly. However, surrendering does not mean developing blind faith; that has nothing to do with Dhamma. If any doubt arose in the mind, you were encouraged to come to the teacher as often as necessary for clarification.

The surrender was also to the discipline and timetable of the course. These were designed, based on the experience of thousands of previous students, to enable you to work continuously so as to derive the greatest possible advantage from these ten days.

By surrendering you undertook to work exactly as you were asked. Whatever techniques you might have been practising previously you were asked to lay aside for the period of the course. You could obtain the benefit and judge the value of the technique only by practising it exclusively, in the proper way. Mixing techniques, on the other hand, could have led you into serious difficulties.

Then you started your work by practising Anapana meditation [from Day 1 to Day 3] in order to develop mastery of the mind, concentration—samadhi. You were told to observe mere, natural breath without adding any word, shape, or form. One reason for this restriction was to preserve the universality of the technique: breath is common and acceptable to everyone, but a word or form may be acceptable to some and not to others.

But there is a more important reason for observing mere respiration. The whole process is an exploration of the truth about oneself, about the mental-physical structure as it is, not as you would like it to be. It is an investigation of reality. You sit down and close your eyes. There is no sound, no outside disturbance, no movement of the body. At that moment the most prominent activity within yourself is respiration. You begin by observing this reality: natural breath, as it enters and leaves the nostrils. When you could not feel the breath, you were permitted to breathe slightly hard, just to fix your attention in the area of the nostrils, and then once again you came back to natural, normal, soft breathing. You started with this gross, apparent truth, and from it you moved further, deeper, in the direction of subtler truths, of ultimate truth. On the entire path, at every step you remain with the truth that you actually experience, from the grossest to the subtlest. You cannot reach ultimate truth by starting with an imagination. You will only become entangled in greater imaginations, self-deceptions.

If you had added a word to the object of respiration, you might have concentrated the mind more quickly, but there would have been a danger in doing so. Every word has a particular vibration. By repeating a word or phrase, one creates an artificial vibration in which one becomes engulfed. At the surface level of the mind a layer of peace and harmony is created, but in the depths impurities remain. The only way to get rid of these deep-lying impurities is to learn how to observe them, how to bring them to the surface so that they may pass away. If one observes only a particular artificial vibration, one will not be able to observe the various natural vibrations related to one’s impurities, that is, to observe the sensations arising naturally within the body. Therefore, if one’s purpose is to explore the reality of oneself and to purify the mind, to use an imaginary word can create obstacles.

Similarly visualization—mentally picturing a shape or form—can become a barrier to progress. The technique leads to the dissolving of apparent truth in order to reach ultimate truth. Apparent, integrated truth is always full of illusions, because at this level sañña operates, perception, which is distorted by past reactions. This conditioned perception differentiates and discriminates, giving rise to preferences and prejudices, to fresh reactions. But by disintegrating apparent reality, one gradually comes to experience the ultimate reality of the mental-physical-structure: nothing but vibrations arising and passing away every moment. At this stage no differentiation is possible, and therefore no preferences or prejudices can arise, no reactions. The technique gradually weakens the conditioned sañña and hence weakens reactions, leading to the stage in which perception and sensation cease, that is, the experience of nibbana. But by deliberately giving attention to a shape, form, or vision, one remains at the level of apparent, composed reality and cannot advance beyond it. For this reason, there should be neither visualization nor verbalization.

Having concentrated the mind by observing natural breath, you started to practise Vipassana meditation [from Day 4 onwards] in order to develop pañña—wisdom, insight into your own nature, which purifies the mind. From head to feet, you began observing natural sensations within the body, starting on the surface and then going deeper, learning to feel sensations outside, inside, in every part of the body.

Observing reality as it is, without any preconceptions, in order to disintegrate apparent truth and to reach ultimate truth—this is Vipassana. The purpose of disintegrating apparent reality is to enable the meditator to emerge from the illusion of ‘I’. This illusion is at the root of all our craving and aversion, and leads to great suffering. One may accept intellectually that it is an illusion, but this acceptance is not enough to end suffering. Regardless of religious or philosophical beliefs, one remains miserable so long as the habit of egotism persists. In order to break this habit one must experience directly the insubstantial nature of the mental-physical phenomenon, changing constantly beyond one’s control. This experience alone can dissolve egotism, leading to the way out of craving and aversion, out of suffering.
  
The technique therefore is the exploration, by direct experience, of the real nature of the phenomenon that one calls ‘I, mine’. There are two aspects of this phenomenon: physical and mental, body and mind. The meditator begins by observing the reality of the body. To experience this reality directly, one must feel the body, that is, must be aware of sensations throughout the body. Thus observation of body—kayanupassananecessarily involves observation of sensations—vedananupassana. Similarly one cannot experience the reality of the mind apart from what arises in the mind. Thus, observation of mind—cittanupassana—necessarily involves observation of the mental contents—dhammanupassana.
   
This does not mean that one should observe individual thoughts. If you try to do that, you will start rolling in the thoughts. You should simply remain aware of the nature of the mind at this moment; whether craving, aversion, ignorance, and agitation are present or not. And whatever arises in the mind, The Buddha discovered, will be accompanied by a physical sensation. Hence whether the meditator is exploring the mental or the physical aspect of the phenomenon of ‘I’, awareness of sensation is essential.

This discovery is the unique contribution of the Buddha, of central importance in his teaching. Before him in India and among his contemporaries, there were many who taught and practised sila and samadhi. Pañña also existed, at least devotional or intellectual wisdom: it was commonly accepted that mental defilements are the source of suffering, that craving and aversion must be eliminated in order to purify the mind and to attain liberation. The Buddha simply found the way to do it.

What had been lacking was an understanding of the importance of sensation. Then as now, it was generally thought that our reactions are to the external objects of sense—vision, sound, odour, taste, touch, thoughts. However, observation of the truth within reveals that between the object and the reaction is a missing link: sensation. The contact of an object with the corresponding sense door gives rise to sensation; the sañña assigns a positive or negative valuation, in accordance with which the sensation becomes pleasant or unpleasant, and one reacts with craving or aversion. The process occurs so rapidly that conscious awareness of it develops only after a reaction has been repeated many times and has gathered dangerous strength sufficient to overpower the mind. To deal with the reactions, one must become aware of them at the point where they start; they start with sensation, and so one must be aware of sensations. The discovery of this fact, unknown before him, enabled Siddhattha Gotama to attain enlightenment, and this is why he always stressed the importance of sensation. Sensation can lead to reactions of craving and aversion and hence to suffering, but sensation can also lead to wisdom with which one ceases reacting and starts to emerge from suffering.

In Vipassana, any practice that interferes with the awareness of sensation is harmful, whether it is concentrating on a word or form, or giving attention merely to physical movements of the body, or to thoughts arising in the mind. You cannot eradicate suffering unless you go to its source:bodily sensation.

The technique of Vipassana was explained by the Buddha in the Satipatthana Sutta, the "Discourse on the Establishing of Awareness". This discourse is divided into sections examining the various aspects of the technique; observation of body, of sensations, of mind, and of the mental contents. However, each division or subdivision of the discourse concludes with the same words. There may be different points from which to begin the practice, but no matter what the starting point, a meditator must pass through certain stations, certain experiences on the path to the final goal. These experiences, essential to the practice of Vipassana, are described in the sentences repeated at the conclusion of each section.

The first such station is that in which one experiences arising (samudaya) and passing away (vaya) separately. At this stage the meditator is aware of consolidated, integrated reality in the form of gross sensations within the body. One is aware of a sensation, perhaps a pain, arising. It seems to stay for some time and ultimately it passes away.

Going further beyond this station, one penetrates to the stage of samudaya-vaya, in which one experiences arising and passing away simultaneously, without any interval between them. The gross, consolidated sensations have dissolved into subtle vibrations, arising and falling with great rapidity, and the solidity of the mental-physical structure disappears. Solidified, intensified emotion and solidified, intensified sensation both dissolve into nothing but vibration. This is the stage of bhanga—dissolution—in which one experiences the ultimate truth of mind and matter: constantly arising and passing away, without any solidity.

This bhanga is a very important station on the path, because only when one experiences the dissolution of the mental-physical structure does attachment to it go away. Then one becomes detached in the face of any situation; that is, one enters the stage of sankhara-upekkha. Very deep lying impurities—sankhara—buried in the unconscious now start appearing at the surface level of the mind. This is not a regression; it is a progress, for unless they come to the surface, the impurities cannot be eradicated. They arise, one observes equanimously, and they pass away one after another. One uses the gross, unpleasant sensations as tools with which to eradicate the old stock of sankhara of aversion; one uses the subtle, pleasant sensations as tools with which to eradicate the old stock of sankhara of craving.  

Thus by maintaining awareness and equanimity towards every experience, at the level of sensations, one purifies the mind of all the deep-lying complexes, and approaches closer and closer to the goal of nibbana, of liberation.

Whatever the starting point, one must pass through all these stations in order to reach nibbana. How soon one may reach the goal depends on how much work one does, and how large an accumulation of past sankhara one has to eradicate.

In every case, however, in every situation, equanimity is essential, based on an awareness of sensations. Sankharas arise from the point of physical sensation. By remaining equanimous towards the sensation, you prevent a new sankhara from arising, and you also eliminate the old ones. Thus by observing sensations equanimously, you gradually progress towards the final goal of liberation from suffering.

Work seriously. Do not make a game of meditation, lightly trying one technique after another without pursuing any. If you do so, you will never advance beyond the initial steps of any technique, and therefore you will never reach the goal. Certainly you may make trials of different techniques in order to find one that suits you. You may also give two or three trials to this technique, if needed. But do not waste your entire life merely in giving trials. Once you find a technique to be suitable, work at it seriously so that you may progress to the final goal.

May suffering people everywhere find the way out of their misery.
May all beings be happy!
 
(From 'Discourse Summaries', a Vipassana Research Institute publication)

Practice of Mettā Bhāvanā, taught on Day 10 morning of the 10-day Vipassana course

 "As we practice Vipassana, we become aware that the underlying reality of the world and of ourselves consists of arising and passing away every moment. We realize that the process of change continues without our control and regardless of our wishes. Gradually we understand that any attachment to what is ephemeral and insubstantial produces suffering for us. We learn to be detached and to keep the balance of our minds in the face of any experience. Then we begin to experience what real happiness is; not the satisfaction of desire nor the forestalling of fears, but rather liberation from the cycle of desire and fear. As inner serenity develops, we clearly see how others are enmeshed in suffering, and naturally this wish arises, 'May they find what we have found: the way out of misery, the path of peace'. This is the proper volition for the practice of mettā-bhāvanā."
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* Rare opportunities to earn and share merits in participating in Global Vipassana Pagoda projects
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Across countless aeons and endless time, may every moment of purity from Vipassana practice go for the benefit, happiness and liberation of all beings.