Vol.17 No.13 December 23, 2007

Questions and Answers with Goenkaji

Question: You say we are meditating to sharpen the mind. How do we sharpen the mind?
Goenkaji: If you are with the reality and not reacting to it, naturally the mind gets sharpened. The mind gets blunt when it reacts, more and more reaction makes the mind very gross. When you don’t react, its natural reality is very sharp, very sensitive.

Question: How should we cope with pain during meditation at home?
Goenkaji: You can change your posture. It is only during the courses that the one-hour adhiṭṭhāna is necessary. During meditation at home, after some time, if you feel that there is lot of pain, you can change your posture. Change your posture slowly and with mindfulness. But try not to change your posture too often.

Question: If I continue the practice after the course, will the mental operation continue even at home?
Goenkaji: Yes it will. But for a deeper operation, you have to come to a course, or have your own self-course. Continuous practice for a long time takes you to the deeper level. But if you practise daily, morning and evening, you will be clearing whatever defilements you have accumulated during that period.

Question: Can I do Hatha yoga?
Goenkaji: Hatha yoga—āsanās and pranāyāma—are very good for your physical health. It is very much in line with this technique; it doesn’t harm in any way. At home, you can do Hatha yoga. As long as you are doing prānāyāma to make your lungs strong and healthy—perfectly all right. But any meditation in the name of Hatha yoga will conflict with this technique.

Question: If I continue to do Hatha yoga, which is the way to practise the technique in different postures?
Goenkaji: If you are in any posture, sweep your attention through the whole body and you will get more benefit than with ordinary yoga.

Question: It is difficult to meditate an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Is it important to have a whole hour? For instance would it be better to meditate one hour, or two times half an hour, if two hours aren’t possible?
Goenkaji: In your day-to-day life, there is so much tension, so many problems and storms. If you sit for meditation for fifteen minutes or twenty minutes or half an hour, you have to deal with the problem, the storm that has come. Only after that, good meditation starts. Initially you have been struggling with the storm, and then, if you stop meditation, you don’t get much benefit. So one hour is important. But someday if you don’t have much time, then something is better than nothing. Use whatever time you have.

Question: I would like to do more meditation at home but I don’t.
Goenkaji: If you have time, then yes, you should give more time to meditation, but as a householder you have got so many other responsibilities. So the minimum is one hour in the morning, one hour in the evening, if you want to maintain whatever you have gained in the course and want to go deeper.

Question: When I faced a problem, I tried to look for sensation on the body and to be with sensation but I really couldn’t find any sensation.
Goenkaji: When the mind is very agitated, you may not feel sensation. That is why two techniques are given. When you can’t feel a sensation on the body, just observe respiration. After the mind calms down a little, you may start feeling sensation.

Question: What’s the best way to work with gross physical sensations such as injury or illness in daily life?
Goenkaji: Now there is a big storm—you have suffered an injury. If you observe your sensations, your mind becomes equanimous. You take all important steps to cure your injury or illness; you go to the doctor or hospital. But at the same time your mind is equanimous because you are with the sensation. Then you find the treatment works better, quicker. If your mind is agitated, the treatment takes a long time because it has become mental agony rather than just physical agony.

Question: If I am very agitated and practise only Anapana for the full hour, is it okay to practise mettā at the end of the sitting?
Goenkaji: You can practise mettā even without Vipassana but that will not be very effective. After Vipassana, your mind has calmed down, it has become purer, then mettā has more effect. But you can practise mettā anytime—if you are agitated you can practise mettā—but that will be just on the surface of the mind.

Question: Is it beneficial or okay to visualize or picture someone during mettā?
Goenkaji: Yes, verbalization and visualization is permitted while practising mettā.

Question: I want to ask about practising mettā not just for all beings but for a specific person?
Goenkaji: Certainly besides giving general mettā to all beings, remember the person to whom you want to give mettā. Visualization is allowed, imagination is allowed because it is not Vipassana and it is just for a few minutes. You can visualize this person, remember this person, and then send mettā.

Question: You were talking about not mixing visualization, so I was asking myself, what about all the dreams we get?
Goenkaji: Dreams comes unintentionally, so if it comes, it comes. You don’t make it an object of your meditation. It comes, it passes away. So long as you are not making it an object of your meditation, imagination will not harm you. Just as a poet imagines something; an artist imagines something. Nothing wrong. But that is not the object of the meditation. The object of the meditation should always be based on reality and not on imagination.

Question: If one’s parents have died, can you benefit them?
Goenkaji: Yes, you can benefit them. After your meditation—you can remember them and share your merits with them: “Whatever merits I have gained may you share them. May you also feel happy and peaceful.” Like this, you can send mettā and share your merits.

Question: I’m not clear about what you had to say about love.
Goenkaji: Love should be pure love. If it is love where you only expect something in return, then this will bring nothing but misery. True love is one-way traffic: you give without expecting anything in return. Then it is very beneficial.

Question: I was talking in reference to what you were talking about—loving yourself—we only love ourselves?
Goenkaji: Yes, because we expect something in return. Then this is an impure love, because we only love ourselves. We say that we love the other person, but we actually love the other person in the sense that we want the other person to do things according to our wishes. You just love yourself and your desires. Vipassana will help to develop selfless love towards others.

Question: As an industrialist and in business, do you see that Vipassana could ever spread into business?
Goenkaji: Oh certainly. Earning money—just earning money—doesn’t give peace. I have passed through all that so I know having a lot of money is full of misery. But money with Dhamma will give so much peace. And this money will be used for a good cause, which is good for them, good for others.

Question: I’m an old master at multiplication of anger. You said not to concentrate on the object of anger.
Goenkaji: Yes. The more you concentrate on the object of the anger, the more you are giving fuel to this fire, it multiplies. So cut yourself off from that fuel and just observe anger. You just accept the fact that “There is anger in my mind,” and see what sensation is there. And if you start observing the sensation, you are observing the anger. Layers after layers of the anger will get eradicated, naturally.

Words of Dhamma

Continuous awareness of anicca, and so of dukkha and anattā, is the secret of success.
…If you will keep up the awareness of the anicca that is inherent in all component things, you are sure to reach the goal in the course of time.
—Sayagyi U Ba Khin

First Course in Malaysian Vipassana Centre

Dhamma Malaya is near the east coast of Malaysia, about three hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur. It has a capacity of close to 100 students. The centre was inaugurated with a three-day course for old students in October 2007, for which it was full. All five Malaysian assistant teachers were present, either sitting or serving. Following this was the centre’s first ten-day course.

It was a new experience for most of the students to have private accommodation during a course. For the past nine years, courses in Malaysia have been held in various schools, camps and temples, sometimes in crowded or noisy conditions, with mattresses on a concrete floor. The students also appreciated the quiet environment, as the centre is on a small breezy hill surrounded by plantation land.

The brand-new facilities include a spacious Dhamma hall and a smaller hall with modern audio-video equipment, large dining halls and a well-equipped kitchen. The facilities for servers are also excellent.

The land, previously used for agriculture, had been cleared for the construction. Now vegetation is returning and trees are being planted.

For more information, contact:
Dhamma Malaya, Malaysia Vipassana Centre, Part of Lot 49658, Gambang Mukim Kuala Kuantan, Daerah Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.
Office: No., 30, Jalan SM12, Taman Sri Manja; Office: Jalan Klang Lama, Batu 6 1/2; 46000 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Tel: [60] (12) 339 0089 (Mandarin Enquiry); Tel: [60] (16) 341 4776 (English Enquiry); Fax: [60] (3) 7785 1218;
Registration email: registration@my.dhamma.org
Website: www.my.dhamma.org

AT Training Workshops in 2008

The following workshops have been organized in India in 2008.
21 to 24 February: Dhamma Nāga (Nagpur)
20 to 23 March: Logicstat Farms (Delhi)
1 to 4 May: Dhamma Tapovana (Workshop for conducting Teenagers’ courses)
12 to 15 July: Dhamma Lakkhaṇa (Lucknow)
27 to 30 August: Dhamma Khetta (Hyderabad)
2 to 5 October: Dhamma Sindhu (Bada)

These workshops are for all newly appointed and trainee Vipassana assistant teachers from the region. Vipassana teachers, senior assistant teachers and assistant teachers are also welcome to attend these workshops.

Please contact the respective Vipassana centres for registration for the workshops. Please register well in advance so that suitable arrangements can be made for the workshop.

New Vipassana Centre in Italy

Since 1998, Vipassana courses have been held in Dhamma Aṭala, a leased property. The new site is a villa in the mountains of northern Tuscany, surrounded by parkland and agricultural fields. It is a beautiful, accessible spot, with job opportunities nearby. The local council has been very supportive and has approved the Italian Trust’s plans to renovate the property and hold meditation courses there. The aim is to make the site usable initially for courses of 50 students, expanding eventually to 100.

The purchase is expected to cost 1.1 million euros apart from the cost of renovation. So far the trust has received about one third of the amount in dāna. Purchase of the property has become urgent because the centre will have to leave its rental home in May 2008.

Italy was one of the first European countries to start holding regular Vipassana courses. The first translation of the book The Art of Living was into Italian. The trust currently offers 13 ten-day courses a year, plus a Satipatthana course, short courses for old students and children’s courses. There is a waiting list for most courses.

The move to a permanent centre is a very important step in the spread of the Dhamma in Italy and Western Europe. Meditators who wish to receive more information or help with this project, may contact info@atala.dhamma.org.

Goenkaji’s Discourses on Television

Aastha: Daily, 9:40 to 10 am.
Hungama: Daily, 4.30 to 6.00 am.
Bindass: Daily, 4.30 to 6.00 am.
Zee: Urja, daily, 4:30 am.
USA: Aastha TV at 6 pm EST (Monday to Friday) on WORLDDIRECT platform of DIRECTV on channel no. 2005. (Please confirm exact telecast timings.)

Vipassana Websites

Vipassana introduction: www.dhamma.org
Contains information about Course Schedules of Vipassana centres worldwide, Code of Discipline, Application Form for ten-day courses, etc.

Dhamma Giri: www.vri.dhamma.org
Contains information about Indian Vipassana centres and Schedule of Courses, VRI Newsletters, research papers, publications, etc.

Pali Tipiṭaka Website: www.tipitaka.org
Contains the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka in Roman script along with commentaries, subcommentaries and related Pali texts.

Children’s Courses In Mumbai

To serve children’s courses in Mumbai, call 98200-22990.

Date	Venue	Age	Registration
6 Jan	South Mumbai	13-16 yrs	4 & 5 Jan
13 Jan	Ulhasnagar	10-12 yrs	11 &12 Jan
21 Jan	Ghatkopar	13-16 yrs	18 &21 Jan

Course Timing: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Registration: 11 am to 1 pm.
Course Venues: Andheri (W): Dada Saheb Gaikwad Sansthan, Babasaheb Ambedkar Marg, RTO Corner, Four Bungalows. Tel: 2510-1096, 2516-2505. Ghatkopar (W): SNDT School, New Building, Cama Lane, Opp Vidyut Society. Tel: 2510-1096, 2516-2505. Matunga: Amulakh Amirchand High School, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, New SNDT College, King’s Circle, Matunga (CR), Tel: 2510-1096, 2516-2505. South Mumbai: Tel: 2308-1622. Ulhasnagar: Guru Nanak High School, Kurla Camp, Ulhasnagar-4. Tel: (0251) 252-2693.

NB Please: *bring cushion, *register on the specified phone numbers, *inform in advance if unable to attend after registration, *arrive on time for the course.

Important Notice

Meditators who send their Newsletter subscription to VRI by postal money order are requested to write their name and address in block letters at the bottom of the money order form on both sides.

New Responsibilities

Senior Assistant Teachers:
1. Mr. Umashankar Thubrikar, Nagpur
2. Mr. Namdeo Dongre, Nagpur
3. Mr. Baburao Shinde, Chandrapur
4. & 5. Mr. Robert & Mrs. Linda Warren, USA

New Appointments

Assistant Teachers:
1. Mrs. Norma Liu, Taiwan
2. Daw Yin Hla, Myanmar
3. Daw Aye Myint, Myanmar
4. Mr. Björn Kiehne, Germany
5. & 6. Mr. Andrew & Mrs. Ruth Gordon, New Zealand

Children’s Course Teachers:
1. Mr. Ulhas Fulzele, Nashik
2. & 3. Dr. Nitin & Dr. (Mrs.) Ashwini Ghaisas, Nashik
4. Mr.Mangesh Joshi, Nashik
5. Mr. Rasik Mavadia, Rajkot
6. Mrs. Jittra Teerananukul, Thailand
7. Mrs. Tassanee Yeamsiri, Thailand
8. Mrs. Varapon Parnthong, Thailand
9. Ms. Jatuporn Porwichai, Thailand
10 & 11. Mr. Chusak & Mrs. Anchan Apichonpongsakorn,
Thailand
12. & 13. Mr. Marshal Bown & Mrs. Kylie Barnes, Australia
14. & 15. Mr. Nilendu & Mrs Radha Jani, USA
16. Mrs. Linda Beverly Armstrong, Canada

Dhamma Dohas

Sāṅsa dekhate dekhate, mana avicala ho jāya;
Avicala mana niramala bane, sahaja mukta ho jāya.
Observing breath after breath, the mind becomes still;
Unwavering, the mind becomes pure
and naturally finds liberation.

Pala pala kṣaṇa kṣaṇa hośa rakha, apanā karma sudhāra;
Sukha se jīne kī kalā, apanī ora nihāra.
Moment by moment be aware,
rectify your own actions;
This is the art of living happily by observing yourself.

Kṣaṇa kṣaṇa pratikṣaṇa sajaga raha, apanā hośa sambhāla;
Rāga dveṣa kī pratikriyā, ṭāla sake to ṭāla.
Moment by moment remain alert, maintain awareness;
Strive to avoid the reactions of craving and aversion.

Sāṅsa dekhate dekhate, satya prakaṭatā jāya;
Satya dekhate dekhate, parama satya dikha jāya.
As you observe breath after breath the truth reveals itself;
Observing truth after truth, you come to ultimate truth.