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Quote:By the way, Im happy to share my experience when I see you 🙂 movie night?
I’m guessing that’s at me! Yeah, let’s do that in the next few days, I’ll give you a shout.
Quote:By the way, Im happy to share my experience when I see you 🙂 movie night?I’m guessing that’s at me! Yeah, let’s do that in the next few days, I’ll give you a shout.
Quote:Hey Charlie, if youre interested, theres plenty of resources on the internet about Vipassana. And its true, you can practice different meditation techniques by yourself. However, reversing bad habits from applying this particular technique wrong is a waste of time. Thus learning under a teacher the correct way from the beginning is both practical and saves you time, especially since you take ten days initially to really dive into this reality.I googled before posting my previous reply, and couldn’t find much besides “in zazen, you sit for 20 minutes, whereas in vipassana you sit for an hour”. Didn’t find any mention of vipassana qualifications. I don’t really know much about vipassana but I’m curious what the next step that you mentioned is. Perhaps we can make this an internet resource where you can share some of what you learned?
The meditation course sounds like a good experience though, it’s a valuable life skill to have.
Quote:By the way, Im happy to share my experience when I see you 🙂 movie night?I might be struggling to find another movie with references to Estonia, and it almost definitely will not star Pauly Shore..
Quote:Hey Charlie, if youre interested, theres plenty of resources on the internet about Vipassana. And its true, you can practice different meditation techniques by yourself. However, reversing bad habits from applying this particular technique wrong is a waste of time. Thus learning under a teacher the correct way from the beginning is both practical and saves you time, especially since you take ten days initially to really dive into this reality.I googled before posting my previous reply, and couldn’t find much besides “in zazen, you sit for 20 minutes, whereas in vipassana you sit for an hour”. Didn’t find any mention of vipassana qualifications. I don’t really know much about vipassana but I’m curious what the next step that you mentioned is. Perhaps we can make this an internet resource where you can share some of what you learned?
The meditation course sounds like a good experience though, it’s a valuable life skill to have.
Quote:By the way, Im happy to share my experience when I see you 🙂 movie night?I might be struggling to find another movie with references to Estonia, and it almost definitely will not star Pauly Shore..
Hey Charlie, Ill give an outline to my understanding of the differences between these meditation techniques- based on my experience purely. The basic difference between the technique of zazen and vipassana is that zazen, or zen, emphasizes mindfulness- observing the mind. zazen will use an object for concentration, such as counting breaths, a visual aid, a mantra or some puzzle. Mindfully engaging in daily activity is also very important. The final aim is to observe and remain in the the present moment of the mind, without thinking and reacting with desire or aversion. Vipassana also aims at remaining in the present moment without reacting with aversion or desire. However, this is achieved by observing the reality of the body without any outside object for aiding concentration. Also, understanding of the reality of the mind comes with observing the reality of the body and its sensations. Mindfully engaging with the mind is thus not stressed in Vipassana as a mindful mind is considered the natural byproduct of understanding that comes by observing the wealthy reality of the body. The reason for concentrating on the sensations of the body is that desire and aversion are not just habits of the mind but actually reactions to sensations in the body. The understanding that sensations in the body just happen, just like life just happens, is the next step I referred to before. If we want to become freed, we must change the way we react to these sensations. And for this, we need to become aware of the sensations.
Im lucky to have had first hand experience of all this at the course and I encourage anyone to also take the time for themselves and attend a course. All the work you do there is essentially up to you, the teacher is useful in guiding you to do Vipassana and not become confused or entangled in other techniques. As said earlier, there are many different ways of meditating, all with their own aims. The aim of Vipassana is to reveal the root of desire and aversion which, according to the Buddha, are the reason for our unhappiness. Why this is important is a wide subject itself. If anyone is interested, they should read more about Buddhism. However, a practical experience of his teachings, such as gained from Vipassana, is much more useful.
Hey Charlie, Ill give an outline to my understanding of the differences between these meditation techniques- based on my experience purely. The basic difference between the technique of zazen and vipassana is that zazen, or zen, emphasizes mindfulness- observing the mind. zazen will use an object for concentration, such as counting breaths, a visual aid, a mantra or some puzzle. Mindfully engaging in daily activity is also very important. The final aim is to observe and remain in the the present moment of the mind, without thinking and reacting with desire or aversion. Vipassana also aims at remaining in the present moment without reacting with aversion or desire. However, this is achieved by observing the reality of the body without any outside object for aiding concentration. Also, understanding of the reality of the mind comes with observing the reality of the body and its sensations. Mindfully engaging with the mind is thus not stressed in Vipassana as a mindful mind is considered the natural byproduct of understanding that comes by observing the wealthy reality of the body. The reason for concentrating on the sensations of the body is that desire and aversion are not just habits of the mind but actually reactions to sensations in the body. The understanding that sensations in the body just happen, just like life just happens, is the next step I referred to before. If we want to become freed, we must change the way we react to these sensations. And for this, we need to become aware of the sensations.
Im lucky to have had first hand experience of all this at the course and I encourage anyone to also take the time for themselves and attend a course. All the work you do there is essentially up to you, the teacher is useful in guiding you to do Vipassana and not become confused or entangled in other techniques. As said earlier, there are many different ways of meditating, all with their own aims. The aim of Vipassana is to reveal the root of desire and aversion which, according to the Buddha, are the reason for our unhappiness. Why this is important is a wide subject itself. If anyone is interested, they should read more about Buddhism. However, a practical experience of his teachings, such as gained from Vipassana, is much more useful.
Hi Nele, are you talking about Goenka retreat? 10 days, well I suppose so, just to double check. There are 2 or 3 Vipassana schools, Goenka being the most popular one. I’ve been on it few years ago, would also be interested to join in regular sittings. 🙂
how to go about it.. we need a quiet place to start with 🙂 Any ideas?
Quote:Mindfully engaging with the mind is thus not stressed in Vipassana as a mindful mind is considered the natural byproduct of understanding that comes by observing the wealthy reality of the body.Interesting, thank you for sharing that! My personal interpretation of meditation is very simple: I see it as a tool to quell the mind’s idle chatter and achieve focus. If you can breathe, you can meditate. I’m a secular Buddhist though, I believe in modern science and Nietzsche more than theology or existence of the supernatural.
Quote:how to go about it.. we need a quiet place to start with 🙂 Any ideas?Usually these things just happen in someone’s house. I would suggest my rooftop garden but it can be noisy up there since the building isn’t very tall. Anyone have a large rug or carpet?
Hey Charlie, which part did you consider linked to theology or the supernatural? Vipassana is also non-secualr compeletly and nothing supernatural about it- just a finer reality our minds pierce when we apply the technique.
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My apartment near Jiuyanqiao is available for mediation, if the area is suitable to people. My apartment is protected by other complexes around it so no noise. And my livingroom is big, I can seat about 15 people maximum. However, round 8-10 is comfortable.
I have no idea what you guys are talking about and it all sounds really weird but I’m not opposed to it. I would like to join.
My place is up for grabs. If jiuyanqiao area is suitable and you are interested in taking part, how about you reply with ” Im in ” and list your free times underneath.
Quote:Hey Charlie, which part did you consider linked to theology or the supernatural? Vipassana is also non-secualr compeletly and nothing supernatural about it- just a finer reality our minds pierce when we apply the technique.Meditation is intimately bound up with the religious context within which it was practiced for thousands of years. Things like rebirth, nagas, bodhisattvas, cosmology, etc are supernatural beliefs which are generally not believed by secular buddhists because they cannot be empirically substantiated. Goenka’s non-sectarian approach is progressive and was not shared by his mentor Sayagyi U Ba Khin, who was a Theravadan buddhist (like the vast majority of Burmese). But the idea of secular Buddhism and meditation was a radical and reformist viewpoint until very recently. The program which you attended in Hong Kong looks great, I personally do not know very much about Goenka or vipassana, although vipassana is generally understood to be a Buddhist practice from what I can see: vipassana movement. Although I haven’t read Goenka’s actual literature, it sounds like he has a good approach which many people from different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds can relate to.
Quote:how about you reply with ” Im in ” and list your free times underneath.I’m in. Only available on weekends.
Great Charlie, we can attend a course together soon then! 🙂 Im heading back for a session 11-22 September this year.
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I just realized there arent many people on the thread, so collecting interested parties is not so difficult. I would suggest Sunday evening then, 8pm? Would that suit your friends too, Charlie?
We should probably keep the meditation time short as we have meditators from different levels interested in sitting together. How does 30 minutes sound? Since its a short time, we can also spice it up after and socialize, share experience, etc.
I’d join for meditation and socializing 🙂 Do you think we can start earlier? Or perhaps we could all get there by like 7:45 so we start 8 pm sharp. Btw busses don’t run that well in the evenings.
Thats a great idea, Anna. We can arrive at 7.30pm then, and start at 7.45pm. Meditate for 30 minutes initially and see how it sinks in with everyone. According to the initial sessions, we can adjust the meditation time later. And later, if people want, they can stay around, have tea and talk 🙂 or even go out somewhere. Hemp house is 5 minutes away from me!
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