Vipasana Gyan

Experiential wisdom that comes from meditation practice confirms that we alone are solely responsible for who and what we are. We cannot escape this law of nature. This understanding strengthens our desire to practice and serve Dhamma. It has a strong driving power that supports us in the dark moments of meditation or at times when we are tired and the mundane world seems to be winning us over. As plants from sprouted seeds eventually bear more such seeds in future, in our daily lives momentary thoughts, words, and deeds sooner or later give their results accordingly. That future might be bright or dark. If in the present we make right efforts toward wholesomeness, awareness, and equanimity, the future becomes brighter. If through ignorance we react with craving and aversion, the future will be fraught with darkness. The teachings of the Buddha show us how to develop the awareness of anicca and the habit pattern of equanimity in the face of both pleasant and unpleasant sensat...

Address by S. N. Goenka to the Millennium World Peace Summit, UN General Assembly Hall, United Nations, New York 29 August 2000 In late August of 2000, Goenkaji participated in the Millennium World Peace Summit, a gathering of 1000 of the world’s religious and spiritual leaders. This address was delivered to the participants at a session in the General Assembly chambers at the United Nations, under the auspices of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The purpose of the meeting was to promote tolerance, foster peace, and encourage interreligious dialogue. With the many different viewpoints represented, the potential for disagreement was strong. In his presentation to the delegates, Goenkaji tried to highlight what they, and all spiritual paths, have in common: the universal Dhamma. His remarks were received with repeated ovations. Friends, leaders of the spiritual and religious world: This is a wonderful occasion, when we can all unite and serve humanity. Religion is religion only...

This article about wisdom was originally published in the Hindi Vipaœhya Patrika. This has been translated and slightly adapted. Let us liberate ourselves from the bondage of ignorance. To become liberated from ignorance means to be liberated from the bondage of dukkha (suffering) in this life and duk-kha resulting from the cycle of future births and deaths. It is ignorance that keeps us bound to dukkha in this life and in future lives. What is ignorance?  It is the state of dullness, heedlessness, unskillfulness. Because of ignorance, we keep generating new saªkh±r±s (mental reactions) and keep defiling our minds with fresh negativities. We are barely aware of what we are doing: how we imprison ourselves with the bonds of craving, with the bonds of aversion; and how, in our ig-norance, we tighten the knots of these bonds. We can eradicate ignorance by remaining aware, alert, and attentive every moment. Then we will not allow new saªkh±r±s to make deep impressions...

ANNUAL MEETING: Dhamma Giri, India March 3, 1989 Question: It is said, "Ātmā is immortal." What happens to ātmā after nirvāṇa? If it does not exist after nirvāṇa then the belief that ātmā is immortal is wrong. Would you throw some light on this issue? Goenkaji: Believing that Ātmā is immortal is a philosophical belief. First one has to believe that there is an ātmā, a soul, and then one has to believe that it is immortal. Both these beliefs are strongly interconnected. If ātmā, or the soul, is not immortal then ātmā is useless to me. I accept ātmā simply because somebody says that it is immortal, and by ātmā I understand it is "I." If somebody whispers in my ear, "Well look, everything is mortal, impermanent in this world, but you are permanent, you will always remain," I feel elated by this belief, "Wonderful, I will remain! Everything, the body, mind and the entire universe passes away, but I will remain!" The tremendous amount ...

An individual desirous of mediation very often asks “What shall we do? How do we do it?” In such instances, what have we got to explain to them? How can we motivate him? The proper answer to such questions, that is in keeping with the Dahamma, is that we should practise four activities: Listening to Dhamma, participation in Dhamma discussion, Samatha and Vipassana. Only the individual who practises these four activities together develops his/her mind and develops the motivation to continue further. Therefore one should direct one’s mind to all these four aspects. Listening to Dhamma and participating in Dhamma discussions help us gain a good knowledge of Dhamma. From Samatha and Vipassana we develop concentration. In short we need the knowledge of Dhamma and also simultaneously practice meditation. Some of us want to start meditating after studying the Dhamma. Some others think of studying the Dhamma after completing meditation. This is incorrect. We should select both. The...

Annual Meeting: Dhamma Giri,  India February 2, 1985 Closing Address My dear Dhamma sons and Dhamma daughters The time has come once again for many to learn Dhamma. As Sayagyi U Ba Khin used to say, "The clock of Vipassana has struck." We are fortunate to have the opportunity to develop our pāramīs by assisting Dhamma to spread. It will spread because it is bound to, not because of the efforts of a particular person or group. We are only tools of the Dhamma. How swiftly things have been moving, and all because of Dhamma! Dhamma is so great, so powerful! It can give full competence to the most incompetent person, highest ability to one lacking all ability. Dhamma finds the means to help those whose time has ripened to become liberated. Therefore in the last fifteen years so many people have taken up the burden of serving others by spreading Dhamma. Actually this is not a burden but rather a good fortune. And in this way Dhamma has spread beyond all expectat...

Everyone seeks peace and harmony, because these are what we lack in our lives. From time to time we all experience agitation, irritation, disharmony, suffering; and when we suffer from agitation, we do not keep this misery limited to ourselves. We keep distributing it to others as well. The agitation permeates the atmosphere around the miserable person. Everyone else who comes into contact with him becomes irritated, agitated. Certainly this is not the proper way to live. One ought to live at peace within oneself, and at peace with others. After all, a human being is a social being. One has to live in society to live and deal with others. How to live peacefully? How to remain harmonious within ourselves, and to maintain peace and harmony around us, so that others also can live peacefully and harmoniously? When one is agitated, then, to come out of it one has to know the basic reason for the agitation, the cause of the suffering. If one investigates the problem, it soon become...