My friend, Philippe Leduc, wrote this short article in May, 2007 to describe his experience at one of the retreats we hosted in Pembroke, Ontario:
I recently did a 13-day Vipassana retreat
in the Ajahn Tong tradition. I wanted something to help me get out of my head
and be more in the present moment. And this is exactly what I got, though my
mind refused categorically to stop worrying about past or future!
Vipassana is about practising
present-moment awareness, ie mindfulness. The mind is like a monkey,
perpetually leaping from branch to branch, reaching mindlessly for the closest
banana. Try focussing only on the present moment for even ten seconds, for
example by looking at any object around you and see what your mind does... I
dare you to try it right now! In Vipassana, the goal is to tame the monkey,
gently.
Our minds are usually busy with the past or
the future, ie remembering, regretting, planning, dreading, looking forward,
and this brings about pleasant and unpleasant emotions. However, all these
thoughts and emotions are not based on reality, as neither the past nor the
future exist right now! Only the present is real, and Vipassana teaches us to
live there.
In Vipassana, the mind is constantly
brought back to the present moment. In walking meditation, we move in full
awareness of the movement. When the mind wanders off, we acknowledge the
wandering, and come back to the exercise. It is quite simple and yet very
difficult. I found myself thinking and feeling more than walking! With none of
my customary distractions available to me – whether it's work, the phone,
eating, going for a run, or even sleeping –, I quickly found myself flooded
with mind-stuff. The mind loves to keep busy.
But Vipassana is not an exercise in
repression. We are not telling the mind to shut up. On the contrary, for once
we pay very close attention to its movements and acknowedge each and every one
of them. Everything that comes up is let go of through acknowlegement. No
dwelling, no analysis, no thinking about causes, just acknowledgement and
letting go. Sitting meditation is similar to walking, only the mind does the
walking now. We guide it gently through a sort of mental gymnastics, and
patiently bring it back to the exercise when it wanders.
In both walking and sitting meditation,
much stuff "comes up". It is not so much that it comes up, but rather
we have no way of avoiding noticing it. Our daily lives are so full of
distractions we rarely notice the anger, the boredom, or the happiness. For
myself, I tend to dwell on negativity and to analyse causes to "try to get
to the bottom of things". Some people are unaware of their negative emotions,
some express them right away, others deny them. Vipassana proposes another way:
that of the witness, which acknowledges and lets go.
The result of Vipassana practice is
increased attention in the present, ie less daydreaming, worrying, fantasizing,
and more alertness and ability to attend to whatever is going on right now. The
mind is a very useful tool for daily living, and Vipassana sharpens the tool so
it becomes more effective. Finally, Vipassana is a great way of managing
emotions, because it trains us to recognize instantly what is going on inside
us and to acknowledge that it is just monkey business.
