On a scale of all knowledge from 0 (Nothing), to Infinity (Everything), its really nice to know a little more about myself – though who knows after a few years if I look at the number 0.000011 I might laugh at having overestimated it 😀 But anyway I’m really happy to have learnt a little more as I return from my fourth Vipassana course in the very excellent international center in Chennai.
This one was a special course of slightly shorter duration with a bit more theory, but the idea of the pre-requisites being 3 courses is that people gain experience first and then get into theory. Though I compared it to a PhD, the fact remains that I’m only a kindergarten student 😀
As an engineer, I really appreciated the beauty and clarity of the theorotical aspects. But anyway me being only a beginner – it was more of a “you are here” kind of roadmap 🙂 Buddha for me seems to be a perfect engineer – he starts with clearly identifying and defining the problem. And then after evaluating different approaches, he defined the optimal solution.
I’ve sometimes considered giving a long detailed explanation of exactly what I learn/go through in a course. But the thing is that when I first heard about it from a total stranger whom I met for a few minutes, he never told me anything more than the bare minimum. He just spoke of having “found himself”. I had absolutely no clue about what to expect but somehow there seemed to be something about it. Later… in fact many months later, I managed to dig up the URL and go through the site, and even later managed to wring out the required leave from work and make it to my first course in 2001. The lack of any kind of dogma, and also the strict code of discipline attracted me (because though I’ve usually been indisciplined all my life, I’ve always liked the idea of being disciplined – and I did pretty well there without any difficulties in this aspect). Now some audio public talks are also available.
Hence just as I’ve refrained all these years, I’ll continue to limit it to merely superficial concepts – not for the sake of any secrecy 😉 – just to avoid spoiling the surprise of discovery, or building up any false expectations.
Having been the indisciplined type I haven’t really practiced it as regularly daily as I would’ve liked to. Inspite of that, whatever little I’ve managed so far has made my life immensely satisfying. But I don’t want to list out all the benefits I have received, because they may be quite different from what you receive if you do it.
Having attended a few management kind of programmes as part of my corporate career, I can attest that though I’ve found them pretty useful, this is something that goes beyond any psychological personality development programme.
But anyway, now I’m going to get on with my life as usual. So far its rarely come into conversation, but on occasions when it has – I’ve found the following are frequent questions/comments in italics. It must be noted that my own comments are merely a beginner’s opinions.
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This is something Tibetans do.
Maybe they do, I have absolutely no clue. I’m not sure how this matters. I suppose the comment might imply “abandoning the treasury of Indian culture and scriptures and so on why are you getting involved with what some foreigners in some other country do”. Well, the originator, Buddha, was an Indian 🙂 and part of the treasury as well. And I dropped many blind/superficial misunderstandings I earlier had, and developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of everything Indian.
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Are you becoming a Buddhist, or is this a Buddhist practice?
This was discovered by the Buddha, but Buddha did not invent Buddhism, his followers did – and in fact many different variations of it. I haven’t changed anything in my routine social or family life and continue to live as a Hindu, but am able to relate much more to any person independent of his religious background. In fact, people of diverse relgions come to take courses.
Btw the practice was supposed to be known in India a long time before Buddha as well, but since he discovered it again – I’ve often seen it referred to as a Buddhist practice.
In India, though I’ve seen plenty of families of all religions have a picture/statue of Buddha at home, they generally don’t want anything more to do with him 😉 Because of the widespread misconception that Buddha declared that there is no God – there is a great deal of insecurity out of the possibility that anything that sounds remotely Buddhist may mean ‘abandoning God’. I am not about to list out my very personal theory out here, but what I do NOT subscribe to even after over four years of practice, is any belief that defines God as just a Void/Nothing/Does not Exist. To the best of my knowledge, Buddha has simply not answer the question clearly at all (he has definitely not explicitly denied God) – and has instead encouraged people to find out about themselves instead.
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It is the toughest path.
I’d say its the least glamorous path – but in fact I’ve found it to be a very gentle and incremental approach. Inside the camp, distractions are minimalistic. Hence our internal difficulties get the least place to hide 🙂 Of course in usual circumstances, its not easy for us to acknowledge or even be aware of any internal difficulties stored within us, esp when life is going on smoothly, until they come to the surface at the least expected moments. We feel no need to learning swimming unless our safe and secure boat sinks 🙂 Henry David Thoreau had said “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.â€
In India, the path of Bhakthi – devotion – is usually considered to be the easiest meant for the average man. I have a close friend who’s a firm advocate of this path – when he sings a devotional song – or listens to one – he really feels it – tears of happiness may silently roll down his eyes, such is his intensity. Just enjoying devotional music is easy – and it is certainly useful because atleast at the superficial level one without worry or anger or other negativities – but its not so easy to really getting into such a depth of Bhakthi either.
It may appear that other paths are easier, but that’s because they (whatever little I’ve come across so far including being with a Zen dojo in the UK for a few months while I was working on a project in Bristol) are not as clearly defined, complete and balanced (in my personal opinion). There’s relatively more room for abstraction or ambiguity. But certainly its a matter of an individual’s personal choice and judgement.
Btw the word “path” is mere terminology, over time I find that this path appears to crisscross, interleave, diverge and converge with others – as if in a kind of orchaestrated dance! 🙂
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Why meditation? Tried alcohol – drugs – anti-depressants – psychatrist?
🙂 True I have some difficulties here and there just like anybody else I think, and won’t pretend that life is a bed of roses – my blog does not represent my entire life. But so far nothing that keeps me awake all night 8) So certainly the idea of my going to this course was not to solve any particular problem. However as one of the mere side-effects, it generally gives me tremendous strength to brace any storm.
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Is it some religious thing?
Its something as simple as say yoga – only an analogy (though some people do imagine that Yoga is a ‘Hindu’ thing). Here in this course, the teachers have no paraphenalia – and there are no blind belief or rituals. The teachers have many years of experience and have undergone many rigourous long courses. But unless you yourself feel like it, you’re not even asked to bow down to them. Even in appearance, they’re down-to-earth ordinary people. You might’ve passed them on some street without noticing earlier 😀 Indeed that’s what they are – ordinary people! No tall claims or credentials or certificates. In fact they are more ordinary than most of us, being full of compassion (and unfortunately in our rat-raced lifestyle, it appears as if such a thing is extraordinary!) Over time I discover more and more things about them, but its best such a discovery is left to each student who persists on the path. Anyway the course is not about them – its about you.
Even after four years, I sometimes find that that suddenly some thing or the other that my main teacher has been saying all the while in the most casual way and I’ve been hearing again and again – suddenly sinks in with a deeper level of understanding!
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Is it the same as the Art of Living course started by Sri Sri Ravishankar? Or something similar?
Though there’s an essay called Art of Living and its also the title of a book describing the course. The Art of Living Foundation (commonly referred to as AOL) is a totally different independent establishment that has nothing to do with the VRI. I haven’t attended any AOL course, and in any case I don’t want to get into comparing and evaluating two seperate entities. I know of people who have abandoned or benefitted from either, so this is purely a personal choice. My opinion is that they should be evaluated independent of just one or two ad hoc good/bad opinions based on somebody else’s experiences. Either (or neither) may or may not be for you at this point in time, but you won’t really know until you try it out 😉
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Is there a center in Bangalore?
There has so far been no permanent center in the whole of Karnataka – courses have been conducted in makeshift camps. But finally there is a center in Bangalore as well in Alur – though currently its in a temporary structure with construction yet to commence for a permanent one (at the same site). Afaik (but not sure) due to lack of infrastructure, for the time the courses are being held for men only. But the courses so far have been going on well at full capacity.
Though this is being more and more prevalent in several states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh with government support – with many centers, even granting government employees paid leave to attend courses. This could really be a key factor to help in reduction of corruption – the bane of our country! Because for example, people understand not merely from idealistic moral science lectures, but from their own personal experience, that trying to maintain integrity is actually a self-beneficial scientific way of living. Like how one learns that keeping one’s hand in fire burns it (but so far has been too insensitive to realise it!)
The key idea is that I’m free from suffering – that my happiness & peace of mind – to a large extent – does not depend on any circumstances such as my backache going away. Its independent* of my current physical conditions, finance, status and countless other parameters.
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