Vipassana Meditation :Dhamma Giri (SN Goenka)

Everyone wants to be happy in his/her life,but happiness,like all good things in life is a commodity in short supply.Often in life we turn towards hoarding material things in the belief that they will make us happy,yet it keeps on eluding us.Oh happiness!thou really are ephemeral.
One of my friends recently suggested to me the technique of vipassana and recommended me to undergo a 10 day course organized frequently at Dhamma Giri,Igatpuri. He told me that my way of looking at things will change and i will be better able to handle everyday life situations.So taking his cue I went to their site dhamma.org and registered for the course.Soon the day arrived when I was to go join the course.
Reaching Dhamma Giri is easy from mumbai.In my case I took the 8:33am local to Kasara.From kasara one can easily take a taxi on shared basis to dhamma giri which is about 25 kms from there.Arriving there one has to undergo a formal registration process which is over within an hour or two.It is known as day zero in their parlance.So on day zero each one was asked to deposit all his valuables;reading material and mobile to the authorities and proceed to the dormitories allocated to us.In the evening we went for a group sitting in a hall and the course had begun formally.
The core philosophy of the technique consists of three parts: Shila,Samadhi and Panna.More on them later.So on day zero we were asked into a meditation hall and took three vows:Buddham saranam gacchami ; Dhammam saranam gacchami and Sangham saranam gacchami.
Now the practice has got nothing to do with religion.Buddha here symbolises all enlightened persons who realized truth and not just Siddharth Gautam.Dhamma is recognising the law of nature and is not religion as many may interpret.And sangh stands for all community of persons who preserved the practise of vipassana.And then we were asked to start maintaining noble silence,i.e. not to talk among ourselves both verbally as well as through gestures.And so the day zero ended.
Its funny that the land of origin of vipassana lost the practice as it got mired up in the various narrow walls of religion.Vipassana was and is a practice beyond religion.It helps us control our own mind and makes ona a better person by putting him on a path of : From misery to happiness,From bondage to liberation & From darkness to light.Gautam Buddha realised this at the age of 35 and spend the next 45 years of his life preaching it,in the process helping millions of souls.But after his death the practice got forgotten and a religion cropped up ending in the sad demise of the technique in the land of its origin!

The silence is an integral part for calming our mind and for observance of sila.The silas are:1.No killing of live beings.2No intoxicants 3.No lies 4.No sexual misconduct & 5.To abstain from stealing.SO living in a secluded atmosphere all of these conditions are fulfilled.And noble silence goes a long way in helping here.
Day 1,2 and 3 went by with we observing our breadth.It is known as anapana.That is just observe your breadth in its natural way.One does not have to control ones breadth just observe it.
The routine there was difficult in getting used to initially.You wake up at 4am and sit for meditation from 4:30 to 6:30am follwed by a breakfast break from 630 to 8:00.Again meditation starts from 8 to 11.11 to 1 is break time with lunch thrown in.Again from 1 to 5 one has to practice meditation with a tea break from 5 to 6.The last sitting is from 6 to 9 entailing a 90 min lecture explaining various facets of the technique:i.e. theory.
Day 4 saw us getting the technique of vipassana and we started working on it.Vipassana means insight that one gains from looking within one's self.It talks about the kingdom of heaven that is within us.The cause of our unhappiness does not lie in external events rather it is how we react to external stimuli.If we refuse to react to it half of our work is done.Each stimuli elicits 2 responses: attachment if it is pleasant and aversion if unpleasant.It is known as Raaga and Dwesha in pali.So if we cut this bond we start becoming happy and vipassana is helpful in this regard.

There are 3 types of sensations: pleasant,unpleasant and neutral.All three are impermanent subject to decay,to decline,to fading away,to ceasing.Seeing this reality the follower of noble path becomes equanimous toward pleasant,unpleasant and neutral sensations.By developing equanimity,he becomes detached;by developing detachment,he becomes liberated.
Oh the practice there was not easy.Feelings of anger,disgust frustration etc always cropped up.I almost gave up on two occasions and thought of running away.But somehow prudence prevailed and I hung on always at the very edge of giving up.Looking back I am proud of hanging back.One cannot even cut a single part or a single day of the 10 day retreat.Each day forms an integral part of the synergic whole such that the sum of whole is greater than sum of its parts.Day 4 to day 10 saw the practice of vipassana day in and day out.And on the 10th day we broke our silence.Till day 10 I didnot know if I had gained anything or not.But while coming back,in the modern world, I could surmise that something fundamental did change inside me.My tolerance has gone up as well as the feeling of compassion.The awareness of when one starts getting swept up by feelings has started:and so has the fightback,though in rudimentary form.
The road ahead is hard and difficulties will come,but the first step is already taken.And maybe,just maybe if one hangs on tenaciously to the technique one will become a better person with a balanced mind and will be equanimous in both happiness as well as sorrow:(Knowing that) Even this will pass away!
Meditation Cell

The Buddha said:
A man does not really apply Dhamma in life
just because he speaks much about it.
But though someone may have heard little about it,
if he sees the Law Of Nature by means of his own body,
then truly he lives according to it,
and can never be forgetful of the Dhamma.
AND
when asked to define real happiness:

When faced with all the ups and downs of life,
still the mind remains unshaken,
not lamenting,not generating defilements,always feeling secure;
this is the greatest happiness.

Bhavatu Sabba Mangalam. May all beings be happy!