The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation

The author, a teacher and practitioner of Vipassana meditation, walks the reader through the 10-day Vipassana meditation course and Buddhist philosophy. The goal of Vipassana meditation is to recognize the impermanence of everything and thereby become liberated from attachments and attain a perpetual state of equanimity, no matter what life throws at you. The Buddha taught that the self is made up of five parts -- one physical, and four mental. The four mental aspects are cognition (inputs of raw data from the outside world), perception (categorizing the data), sensation (evaluating the categories as either "pleasurable" or "unpleasurable"), and reaction (craving the pleasurable, fleeing the unpleasurable). These are all interlinked -- for example, our current perceptions can be shaped by past reactions (e.g., I reacted badly to Person A five years ago, so when I see him now my perception is negative based on that reaction, and this bad perception leads to bad sensations which leads to further negative reactions). Vipassana meditation focuses on one's breath and identifying sensations throughout the body. Through this form of meditation, the meditator comes to understand, on an experiential level, the impermanence of sensations and the impermanence and conditioned nature of the Self. Accordingly, there is nothing to be attached to (because it is impermanent) nor is there anything with which to attach (because the Self is itself impermanent and ultimately not real). This true perception of the impermanence of reality breaks the chain discussed above because sensations no longer arise, as the meditator now views sensations objectively and maintains equanimity. And with no sensations, there is no reaction. In addition to the interesting insights, the book is also highly readable.

I first completed a ten-day Vipassana course back in 2004. Back then, after the course, when we were allowed to talk again, the conversation was predominantly about how we could possibly translate the discourses into different languages, or perhaps provide subtitles. My concern was wanting to review the discourses over and over again. Of course, when YouTube arrived, the discourses have been uploaded there already in several languages. But now comes these books (along with Discourse Summaries, also by William Hart). These are amazing reminders of the valuable lessons generously given during the evening discourses at a ten-day course. Nothing compares with learning Vipassana Meditation at an actual ten-day course. Please enlist if you are called to the practice. This book is no substitute for that experience. This book gives a great review for those who have finished a course, and a valuable transcript of questions from students with answers straight from Geonkaji himself. In September 2024, I enrolled for the ten-day Vipassana course again. Yes, twenty years apart! This time, I was seething with hurt and anger at former friends who have done me great evil. My head was whirling with thoughts on revenge. Also, I did not like any of my classmates in the course. They were noisy, egotistic, smelly, ate too much, complained too much…. At the end of the ten days, however, I experienced a profound transformation and the beginning of understanding the principles of Buddhism. I have not become perfect or enlightened. But I now continue the practice every day. And I read this book after I got home from the course and it was a wonderful refresher of Goenkaji’s wisdom. Please dedicate twelve days of your life to learning Vipassana at a ten-day course, and then read this book. We shape our lives and this planet with the quality of our Consciousness. Vipassana purifies our minds from the deepest level of reality and science. If all humans practice Vipassana, there’ll be hope for our species.

Changed my view on meditation and has helped me start a very meaningful practice.

A friend who practices this kind of meditation tried to get me into it. Unfortunately I am too disabled to endure the initial program and mercifully was not accepted. I did enjoy reading the book and do meditate, but not in this highly structured fashion.

The book on the best self-improvement technique there is.

Great book, in the spirit of vipassana. Don't expect this book to teach you the meditation technique, it doesn't. It just contains the theoretical aspects which are discussed by SN Goenka in the evening discours during a 10-day course. I've read the book just before taking a 10-day course. It was a great introduction to vipassana meditation. I recommend it to anyone who want to know more about vipassana meditation. But even if you don't accept what is writen in the book, it should not be used to judge the vipassana technique itself, because the theoretical aspects are not needed to be accepted to practice vipassana meditation. Take a 10-day course to make your opinion.

If you are looking to learn more about not only meditation but for equanimity in your life, this is the book for you

Gran libro sobre la filosofia budist vista desde el pubto de vista del autor. Muy recomendable

This book explains what Vipassana meditation is, in a sequential fashion, so that the beginning student has a good foundation from which to start. When I first heard about this way of deconditioning and purifying the mind in another book on Buddhism, I wanted to learn the proper technique and applied to attend a ten-day course. I was excited at first to be accepted but gradually self-doubt crept in and almost made me quit before I even started. This book came to the rescue. As I read it, I realized that what Vipassana offered was what I had been looking for and what I was now ready to undertake. Every beginning student should read this book but it will also help those who are contemplating taking up meditation.