Vipassana Explanations

This wiki is an attempt to shed light on the path. For my (mvmacke) path I'm using the Vipassana technique. I've followed Vipassana once in Pune, in the ashram of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later known as Osho) when I was 19. When I was 63 I got introduced to Vipassana again this time by S.N. Goenka.

This wiki is my attempt to clarify. First of all, to myself. But maybe also others can benefit and contribute.

Conditions

There are important considerations that are almost a belief but are supposed to be rooted in my wisdom, they are supposed to be anchored in my experience:

• things get better when I am calm (equaniminous)
• I am not my thoughts, nor my feelings
• behavior that is necessary for my ego, is not beneficial for me nor for my environment

Concepts

• ego
• thought
• feeling
• sensation
• attention
• natural breath
• consciousness
• equanimity
• attachment
• here and now

the Path

If I understand Goenka correctly, I need to:

1. train my consciousness by watching my breath
2. use my consciousness to become aware of my sensations
3. once aware of a sensation, I can train my equanimity by constantly not reacting to the sensation

This not-reacting to sensations, will liberate me from creating attachments. Attachments create new attachments. Attachments are not good for my calmness (equanimity), distract me from simply being me. Not being calm, not being myself, is less than perfect.

Questions

1. So why do I keep on clinging to my thoughts?
2. Is there a shift?

Thoughts

• Things are not what they seem
• Time is a wrong way of looking
• We exist only in connection
• attention
• Being without thoughts, a new way of being

Toni Packer

1. If it is done with effort, it is ego
2. just see, hear and feel without judgement
3. that's it, that's life
4. to decide that the question is "why would self exist?"