Vipassana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vipassana - Essay Example In 528 BCE, after his enlightenment, the Buddha spent the 45 years of his life that remained teaching on the way out of suffering. Vipassana symbolizes the most vital part of his teachings. For 5 centuries, millions of people in the Buddha’s homeland- India were helped by Vipassana. However, after around 500 years, the practice had vanished from India. Luckily, an uninterrupted chain of meditation teachers in the neighboring country of Burma maintained it until the present day. In recent times, the practice of Vipassana has been to India and to individuals worldwide. This has been done by a retired industrialist named S. N. Goenka. He is of Indian heritage but was born in Burma. Mr. Goenka was taught the technique of Vipassana by Sayagyi U Ba Khin. U Ba Khin was a famous lay Vipassana teacher and was the first one to teach westerners in English. In 1969, Goenka was appointed by U Ba Khin to teach Vipassana (Hart, 1987). Vipassana is translated to mean ‘insight’. It utilizes awareness to take note of all details of our physical as well as mental experiences from time to time with an attitude that is without bias. There are three methods of practicing Vipassana. The main focus of all three is on breathing and the difference is the points on which attention is focused when breathing. The first method involves watching the belly. The belly is regarded as the location where the Hara center is. The Hara is a point of awareness that is regarded as the center of one’s subtle body. It is found just behind and below the navel. One can easily achieve a meditative state of mind by focusing their attention on the Hara center (Catherine, 2011). The second method is watching the coolness in the nostril. When the air enters an individual’s body through the nostril, it creates a little coolness that is soothing. This method involves focusing one’s attention on this