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A little vipassana help please...

BonsaiDougBonsaiDoug Simply, on the path. Veteran
edited December 2010 in Meditation
Over the past year or so of (breath) meditation, I continually read about the importance of Vipassana meditation.

I read about "what" it is, but I haven't really found a very basic, Vipassana-for-dummies kind of "how to."

Any website, link, book, CD recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

ॐ

Comments

  • TheJourneyTheJourney
    Just see what is. Don't conceptualize. There's nothing to it. People complicate things endlessly.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited December 2010
    Hi

    Vipassana means seeing clearly the three universal characteristics, namely, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness & not-self.

    There is no "how to do" method of vipassana.

    What we have to develop is establishing the mind in natural unforced watchfulness.

    There exists a "how to do" for establising natural unforced watchfulness but there does not exist a "how to do" for vipassana.

    For example, picture the branches of a tree moving in the wind. There is no "how to do" about how to see the movement. The tree is already moving. The impermanence is already there. All we have to do is see the movement.

    It is the same for the five aggregates or the four satipatthana. They are already impermanent. Our mind just has to see the impermanence.

    For example, the breathing in & out. All we have to do is learn to connect with it in an unforced natural way. This is the difficult part. The difficult part is developing right concentration (rather than wrong concentration).

    Once right concentration or right watchfulness is developed, the vipassana arises naturally because the in & out breathing are constantly impermanent.

    Most meditation techniques actually promote wrong concentration because they are based in willful forced concentration (craving) rather than letting go.

    The mind or consciousness by nature "sees". We are not required to do anything to make the mind "see" but we must do something to facilitate the mind seeing in the right way (which is letting go, being gently still, non-craving, non-judging, etc).

    There are techniques like the Mahasi noting "rising & falling" but this is brainwashing rather than vipassana.

    Vipassana is like watching the tree branches moving in the wind. The tree branches are already moving but we must learn how to access watching that movement.

    Kind regards

    DD

    :)
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited December 2010
    People complicate things endlessly.
    What are these "people" being referred to? Is the perception of "people" vipassana?

    :confused:
  • buddhajunkiebuddhajunkie
    edited December 2010
    This is a good one that got me started, and it's free.

    http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html


    You can also listen to these. Gil Fronsdal is a great teacher. Listening to these podcasts is a great way to feel like you're in a Sangha, and to keep to motivated.

    http://amberstar.libsyn.com/category/Introduction to Meditation
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