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Part VII : Vipassana Meditation
Vipassana is the meditation that has made more people in the
world enlightened than any other, because it is the very essence.
All other meditations have the same essence, but in different
forms; something non-essential is also joined with them. But vipassana
is pure essence. You cannot drop anything out of it and you cannot
add anything to improve it.
Vipassana is such a simple thing that even a small child can
do it. In fact, the smallest child can do it better than you,
because he is not yet filled with the garbage of the mind; he
is still clean and innocent.
Vipassana can be done in three ways - you can choose which one
suits you the best.
The first is: awareness of your actions, your body, your mind,
your heart. Walking, you should walk with awareness. Moving your
hand, you should move with awareness, knowing perfectly that you
are moving the hand. You can move it without any consciousness,
like a mechanical thing…you are on a morning walk; you can
go on walking without being aware of your feet.
Be alert of the movements of your body. While eating, be alert
to the movements that are needed for eating. Taking a shower,
be alert to the coolness that is coming to you, the water falling
on you and the tremendous joy of it - just be alert. It should
not go on happening in an unconscious state.
And the same about your mind. Whatever thought passes on the
screen of your mind, just be a watcher. Whatever emotion passes
on the screen of your heart, just remain a witness - don't get
involved, don't get identified, don't evaluate what is good, what
is bad; that is not part of your meditation.
The second form is: breathing, becoming aware of breathing.
As the breath goes in, your belly starts rising up, and as the
breath goes out, your belly starts settling down again. So the
second method is to be aware of the belly: its rising and falling.
Just the very awareness of the belly rising and falling…and
the belly is very close to the life sources because the child
is joined with the mother's life through the navel. Behind the
navel is his life's source. So, when the belly rises up, it is
really the life-energy, the spring of life that is rising up and
falling down with each breath. That too is not difficult, and
perhaps may be even easier because it is a single technique.
In the first, you have to be aware of the body, you have to
be aware of the mind, you have to be aware of your emotions, moods.
So it has three steps. The second approach has a single step:
just the belly, moving up and down. And the result is the same.
As you become more aware of the belly, the mind becomes silent,
the heart becomes silent, the moods disappear.
And the third is: to be aware of the breath at the entrance,
when the breath goes in through your nostrils. Feel it at that
extreme - the other polarity from the belly - feel it from the
nose. The breath going in gives a certain coolness to your nostrils.
Then the breath going out…breath going in, breath going
out….
These are the three forms. Any one will do. And if you want
to do two forms together, you can do two forms together; then
the effort will become more intense. If you want to do all three
forms together, you can do all three forms together. Then the
possibilities will be quicker. But it all depends on you, whatever
feels easy. Remember: easy is right.
As meditation becomes settled and mind silent, the ego will
disappear. You will be there, but there will be no feeling of
'I'. Then the doors are open.
Just wait with a loving longing, with a welcome in the heart
for that great moment - the greatest moment in anybody's life
- of enlightenment. It comes…it certainly comes. It has
never delayed for a single moment. Once you are in the right tuning,
it suddenly explodes in you, transforms you. The old man is dead
and the new man has arrived. dawn16
If you can do something with the breath, you will suddenly turn
to the present. If you can do something with breath, you will
attain to the source of life. If you can do something with breath,
you can transcend time and space. If you can do something with
breath, you will be in the world and also beyond it. vbt103
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