Diligently and persistently, moment to moment… (part 1)
06 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
(Anyone who has taken the Vipassana Meditation beginner 10 day course as taught by S.N. Goenka will understand the title…)
This Christmas, was an un-Christmas. Unfortunately, due to high ticket prices, John and I decided to stay in Japan this year. It was a difficult decision, especially for me… I haven’t seen my family since I left Canada in summer of 2010.
When a fellow ALT told me that her and her husband would be taking a 10 day meditation course over the holidays, we decided to look into it, and after some thought, decided we too would give it a shot. The course we got in to was in Chiba, and so, on December 22nd, we took off for Tokyo. The course began on December 23rd, and we took the super slow, cheap trains there. It took 9 hours from Neo to Tokyo, and we spent the night at an old friend’s place, and enjoyed a wonderful Thai dinner.
On Friday, we wandered the city a bit, and then went to Mobara, to catch the bus to the meditation centre. There were some train mishaps.. but we managed to catch the last bus, and along with many other soon to be meditators, we were whisked off to the countryside and deposited along the side of the road. In the dark. I was wondering if mom’s fears of what I had gotten myself into had some basis in fact…A voice materialized in the darkness and directed us to the waiting shuttles. A few minutes later, we found ourselves at the camp, but my first impression was limited due to the darkness. We signed in at the dining hall – which reminded me of summer camp – and handed over our cell phones, books, paper and pens. We signed an agreement to abide by the 5 major rules during our stay: 1. noble silence for 9 days (no communication with fellow meditators of any kind, be it glances, gestures, spoken word or written), 2. no drugs or alcohol, 3. no sexual misconduct, 4. no killing (meaning all vegetarian food, unless there have been incidents in the past?!) and 5. No lying/stealing. We also agreed to stay the full 10 days and abide by all the rules.
About 60 students were present, and about 7 or 8 volunteers to run the course. After a simple dinner, we watched a video (the course is taught by Goenka, out of India. There are 145 centres in the world, and using this method keeps the teaching the same throughout. Goenka is this old Burmese dude. I was skeptical of this method of learning, watching a video every night, but it was actually pretty interesting)
I am not going to itemize my 10 days, that would be a pretty boring read. The schedule was basically 3 days of anapana meditation (you just observe your respiration. When your breathe comes in, when it goes out. Which nostril it goes in, which it goes out. The sensations you feel on your skin around your nose and upper lip). My brain went mentally insane. I thought about stuff I hadnt thought of in years. We were supposed to be thinking of our breath and I thought of everything and anything else. After that we started on the Vipassana technique, which focusses on living in the moment -and observing the sensations on the body. It is all about breaking down the barriers between mind and matter, in order to find true peace and happiness. In a nutshell. (this is grossly oversimplifying it, and i urge you to read more here: http://www.dhamma.org/)
The daily schedule was intense. Wake up at 4 and meditate from 4:30-6:30. Then a simple breakfast. Usually it was brown rice, toast with strawberry jam, stewed prunes, a soup of some type (usually miso, which i skipped). As you are living the life of a monk for 10 days, all of it paid for by others, you are supposed to eat what you are given. I did my best 
You then meditated from 8-11, when you stopped for a simple lunch. Also brown rice, usually a pasta or soup or something, maybe toast again or a salad. We had a break until 1, which gave us chances to wash clothes, rest or take showers. No exercise was allowed so the most you could do was walk around a bit outside. Luckily, it was sunny and warm the whole 10 days. From 1-5, more meditation (we had 10 minute breaks every hour or hour and a half). For some of the meditation there was taped instructions from Goenka.
5pm was tea time. Not to be confused with dinner time… the only dinner we got was the day we checked in. The menu was fruit. 1 banana. half an orange or apple. tea. That was it. Then meditation from 6-7. At 7 we watched Goenka on video for an hour and learned more (he was pretty interesting actually. Very relevant to what i was feeling that day. I was surprised) Then, usually about another 30 minutes of meditation before it ended at 9pm. Lights out at 9:30.
From day 4, when we started the actually Vipassana meditation technique three sittings a day became sittings of strong determination. We had to sit from 8:00-9:00, 2:30-3:30 and 6:00-7:00 perfectly still. No movement of legs, hands, etc. No opening eyes. This was BRUTAL for me. My eyes are such inquisitive little creatures!
On Day 3, I started to get sick, and it was decided for my own good (and the good of all the others in the dorm) I would move to a tent – which was actually really great. It was nice and cool on my face, but I had a nice warm nest. Plus being alone and not speaking is MUCH easier than being with a group of girls and not speaking!
On Day 6, I thought I was losing my mind. My calm, quiet mind I was searching for, became a broiling, rolling mess that was thinking of EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD. I couldnt sit still. I thought I was losing my mind. Turns out, that is my mind all the time- I just never listen
Anyway, the experience was amazing, and I can’t properly do it justice here. I am not saying I agree with all the teachings, but so much of it I can apply to my life and use it to make myself happier. I came to a lot of good realizations about myself, my relationships and how I am living my life. It was the best way to make new years resolutions ever!
This is getting a bit long… I might continue on next week
What did you say??