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VIPASSANA MEDITATION
Vipassana (insight) meditation is the method the Buddha himself taught, involving
concentration upon the breath. As the Buddha said of the meditator, ‘Mindfully he breathes
in, mindfully he breathes out’. In these simple words lies the kernel of the practice. One is
‘mindful’ of the breath to such an extent that not a whisper of it passes in or out unnoticed.
The meditator watches the breath with the total awareness with which a good sentry
watches the comings and goings at the main gates into the city.
Normally, this watching is done at the tip of the nostrils, where one is most sensitive
to the feeling of the cold air entering and the warm air exiting. But an alternative is to be
aware of the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen. Both places are equally acceptable The
former is more subtle, the latter in closer touch with the body. Choose which you prefer, but
don’t keep switching between them. And if you decide on the nostrils, be careful not to
follow the breath down into the lungs. The sentry does not leave his or her post without
permission.
Once this mindfulness of the coming and going of the breath has been fully
established, the meditator develops insight into the breathing. As the Buddha put it,
‘Breathing out a long breath [he] knows “I breathe out a long breath”, breathing in a long
breath he knows, “I breathe in a long breath”.’ And ditto for a short breath. What the
Buddha was emphasizing was an awareness of the quality of the breathing, and once the
concentration has deepened to this point the meditator can at last allow the sentry to leave
the gates of the city and, using a technique called sweeping, allow awareness to travel
minutely down the face, down the arms, down the body and legs, and back up again to the
nostrils, travelling with infinite slowness and becoming conscious of each subtle sensation
as it goes.
Gaining insight in this way immeasurably strengthens the powers of concentration
and perception, and allows the meditator in due course to turn the attention upon the mind
Vipassana (insight) meditation is the method the Buddha himself taught, involving
concentration upon the breath. As the Buddha said of the meditator, ‘Mindfully he breathes
in, mindfully he breathes out’. In these simple words lies the kernel of the practice. One is
‘mindful’ of the breath to such an extent that not a whisper of it passes in or out unnoticed.
The meditator watches the breath with the total awareness with which a good sentry
watches the comings and goings at the main gates into the city.
Normally, this watching is done at the tip of the nostrils, where one is most sensitive
to the feeling of the cold air entering and the warm air exiting. But an alternative is to be
aware of the gentle rise and fall of the abdomen. Both places are equally acceptable The
former is more subtle, the latter in closer touch with the body. Choose which you prefer, but
don’t keep switching between them. And if you decide on the nostrils, be careful not to
follow the breath down into the lungs. The sentry does not leave his or her post without
permission.
Once this mindfulness of the coming and going of the breath has been fully
established, the meditator develops insight into the breathing. As the Buddha put it,
‘Breathing out a long breath [he] knows “I breathe out a long breath”, breathing in a long
breath he knows, “I breathe in a long breath”.’ And ditto for a short breath. What the
Buddha was emphasizing was an awareness of the quality of the breathing, and once the
concentration has deepened to this point the meditator can at last allow the sentry to leave
the gates of the city and, using a technique called sweeping, allow awareness to travel
minutely down the face, down the arms, down the body and legs, and back up again to the
nostrils, travelling with infinite slowness and becoming conscious of each subtle sensation
as it goes.
Gaining insight in this way immeasurably strengthens the powers of concentration
and perception, and allows the meditator in due course to turn the attention upon the mind