Vipassana Meditation

Guest post by Artjom.

Finally I have finished the Vipassana 10 day course and now I'll tell you how it was.
At first a little overview of what is Vipassana anyway. Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.
The scientific laws that operate one's thoughts, feelings, judgements and sensations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is understood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, self-control and peace. More information you can find out here: http://www.dhamma.org/en/about/vipassana

So, about Vipassana I found out through website www.lonelyplanet.com/india. And applied online for 10 course from 5th to 15th of August. About after few days I got confirmation letter and that they'll prepare a room for me. Also they've sent me a text document describing how can I get from New Delhi to Vipassana center. It took me 24 hours by train, 2 hours by bus and about 30 minutes by rickshaw.

During Vipassana course I had to follow 5 obligatory rules.
1. All electronic devices must be locked in a safe during course.
2. Noble silence(May speak only to teachers only about health problems and ask questions concerning course).
3. Avoid any eye contact.
4. Avoid reading and writing.
5. Follow everyday schedule.

Here's a photo of everyday schedule:

As you see we were busy all day long. And moustly during free time I was sleeping.

There aren't any particular fee for this course but you are welcome to make a donation. And basically the whole center works only on donations, all food they buy on money which gave previous Vipassana students. For 10 days you live for free, you have a roof over your head, shower and plus they feed you three times a day( only no meat, real veg food, which was very delicious )
The day I arrived I got registered and confirmed that I will follow all Vipassana obligatory rules. After that I went to my room and took a shower I went to see the campus.
Here are some pictures:

Later that evening we were all called to Meditation hall(Dhamma hall) and teachers showed us our places. Each of us had a numbered place.
In course there were about 100 males and 50 females. During Meditation in Dhamma hall females and males were together but all other activities according to schedule were separate(including, breakfast, lunch and supper)

Day 1 to 3 was actually quite good. It wasn't very complicated for me to sit all day, only my back and knees hurted a bit. During these first 3 days we were learning how to breathe correctly cause the base of all meditation is breathing.

Day 4 to 6 was very difficult for me. I thought I will give up and even had and idea of packing my bag and leave. The reason for this was that I got food poisned and It was extremely hard to meditate esspecially when it is + 35 outside. My body was sweating all the time and I was not feeling good.
Also during these two days we were introduced to Vipassana meditation.

Day 6 to 8 was a bit better although I had a very strong weakness in my body I think It's because I ate only rice, vegetables and bananas. During these days we continued practising Vipassana meditation and now from 04:30 am to 06:30 am we had to meditate in such called cells or small rooms. In the picture you can see what kind a cell was it. In these isolate cells the meditating is much easier.

Day 8 to 10 was just a disaster for me. I think my brain got overheated and it was impossible for me to concentrate on meditation more than 10-15 minutes. But somehow I managed to finish the course succesfully.

And the last thing which I wan't to tell you is the effect after morning meditation(every other person has different effect). When I exit my cell and walked to the dining room about 50 meters I was very sensitive in all ways. The colors were really bright like FULL HD TV, my ears and nose were really sensitive, hearing every little sound and during breakfast I eated very slowly to enjoy every small peace. But this feeling lasted only for about 1-3 minutes( depends on how I meditated )

P.S. I hope you enjoyed this article even though there are a lot grammatical mistakes and somewhere is mixed up word order.