Vipassanā and Alternative Treatments

Hi Folks!

How are you and how’s life?

We have an interesting question today.

Why does Vipassanā allow only one 10-day course for those practicing other meditations or healing techniques?

The difference is in the objective of both.

Let’s try to understand this.

 

What is Vipassanā?

It means ‘seeing things just as they are’, without adding or ignoring anything.  

 

What is its objective?

The Buddha’s quest was to locate the root cause of Suffering and finding a way to end it permanently.

Vipassanā is a technique of meditation without surrendering to any personality, the teachers, or even the Buddha.

It has a structured code of conduct and accepting responsibility for one’s own life and deeds.

One works with one’s natural breath without changing it, and normal bodily sensations as they come.

At the end of the silent retreat, there is no group sharing of experiences or group prayers or rituals because each is on his/her own unique journey. 

There is no comparison with anyone else.

Then one goes home to one's routine life with the experienced wisdom of the teachings, maintains a daily practice, remains aware of one's change in reactions and behaviour, and goes for another retreat when possible.

It is stark, austere and very personal.

What are Alternative Healings and Meditations?

These are interventions with the aim to lessen or cure physical pain, heal mental health issues etc.

What is their objective?

Some want to be one with God, be at the feet of their Guru, reach heaven, be one with light, one with supreme energy, in divine blessings forever, meet their loved ones, and so on.

There is surrender to the teacher, the teachings, the supreme soul, the divine.

There are meditations, chanting, images, colours, fragrances, rituals, books, singing, dancing, dietary advice, play, theatre - everything connected to the five senses to help concentrate and enjoy the experience.

When you do something with the foundation of any one or more of these modalities, the created vibrations help to concentrate and practice with faith and diligence.

So there will be lightness of mind, a feeling of peace, joy, friendliness, hope, belief, less animosity towards others, more patience, forgiveness, and some spiritual experiences which sustain the practice.

All of them are generated by changed breath, sound, images, blessings etc.

You practice them for some time once or twice a day or for longer periods during longer retreats.

You share with others, remain in touch, form groups, vent your feelings of ecstasy or joy or hope.

Vipassanā in other Theravāda countries

Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are the other countries which have retained Theravāda teachings.

Goenkāji brought it to India in 1969 and now there are many centres in the country and across the world.

I lived in Myanmar for two years as a student in Shan State Buddhist University and had an opportunity to study Buddhist Philosophy, Psychology, Ethics, Buddhism in Society etc.

I got to know the thinking and practices of the Buddhist society too.

Myanmar has kept the Buddha’s original teachings and techniques in their purest form.

There are between 16-18 types of Vipassanā techniques taught with focus on different aspects of the same practice, in hundreds of monasteries with thousands of monks and nuns studying and practicing.

One enters a monastery, trains to be a monk or nun, ordains and continues, or leaves.

Lay people sustain the monasteries by donating and learn the Buddha’s teachings and follow in their daily life to the best of their ability.

Their aim in life is to get a better rebirth to eventually achieve Nibbāna.

Earlier, lay people could attend Dhamma Talks and ordain as shaven bhikkhus and bhikkhunis following all the rules strictly, but only for short periods of time.

About 150 years ago, the highly revered scholar Venerable Ledi Sayādaw said that monks come from the society so the lay-people, the house-holders should also have the opportunity of practicing the teachings on a structured, long term basis and started retreats for them.

For many decades they were of 45 days, then the number was reduced to accommodate those who could not stay away from their work for so long.

It is from this lineage of household teachers, the Sayāgyi U Bā Khin’s tradition, that Goenka Guruji and his branch comes from. 

My Personal Experience with Vipassanā and Reiki

A couple of decades or more ago, when Reiki had newly taken off, I had learnt it and used to practice distance healing.

I would be happy when someone’s headache with the actual cause elsewhere had gone.

For some time. 

Then, they would have something else.

They only had to lie down and the work was done by someone else.

There was (then) no mention of changing/giving up anger or animosity or entrenched mental habit patterns and how to do this.

There were cases when group Reiki was sent to someone but it came back and the reason was, the old man’s thoughts were, ‘if I am ill, my son comes and talks to me. People at home treat me better. If I become alright, they will not even look at me’.

Or just, ‘I don’t want to get better. I want to remain angry. I hate her/him/them’.

In one of my very early Vipassanā retreats when not much was known about the effects of mixing different traditions, during a 5-minute break, I’d actually given reiki to a lady who had intense leg-pain.

She felt better. I felt good. Now she could continue with Vipassanā.

Though I did not meet her again, I am quite certain now that whatever was coming out through pain in her legs, would have come out some other way.

The fact that she was having discomfort was proof that she was meditating correctly and the defilements were coming out to go away forever.

Why are practitioners of alternative therapies allowed only one Vipassanā retreat?

Vipassanā is an operation done through the mind on the mind, and though one starts to feel the results mentally and physically almost immediately, it takes time – sometimes 2 -3 courses to comprehend it intellectually.

It's a straight line which does not meander.

The management allows you one retreat to experience what it is.

The teachers know what to do when storms come up because of it.

They will not take responsibility for mental or physical health issues erupting due to mixing of techniques, reiki or any other.

There are countless cases where people hide their current or previous mental health issues, the medication they are on, or lie and continue with their other practices even during a retreat.

They do not benefit because they do not give the technique a 100% chance, then shrug off saying Vipassanā was difficult, had unnecessary rules etc.

Or their health issues erupt due to mixing and they blame Vipassanā.

Respect the rules. They have been coming from a long time of careful assessment and your own safety.

First, contemplate on your purpose, and choose a practice accordingly and be consistent.

Vipassanā cannot be ‘one of my spiritual practices’.

You can practice other modalities in this life and leave Vipassanā for the next life.