What Is Vipassana?

Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation.
Long lost to most of humanity, it was rediscovered by Gotama the Buddha more than 2,500 years ago.

Vipassana means — in the ancient Pali language of the Buddha — ‘to see things as they really are.’ It is the process of self-purification
through self-observation.

  • The entire path is a universal remedy for universal problems, and has nothing to do with any organised religion or sectarianism.

- S.N. Goenka

The History

The technique originated with the Buddha but was not kept as a Buddhist practice — it was taught as a universal law of nature, applicable to all.

For many centuries it flourished across the Indian subcontinent. Over time, however, it faded from India and most of the world.

It survived intact only in Myanmar, preserved in an unbroken chain of teachers.

In the twentieth century, Sayagyi U Ba Khin — a senior civil servant and teacher of great depth — entrusted the technique to S.N. Goenka.

In 1969, S.N. Goenka returned to India and began teaching Vipassana there, reintroducing the technique to the land of its origin.

Since then, millions of people from every background — Hindu, Muslim, Christian,
Jewish, Buddhist, agnostic, atheist — have completed courses and benefited
from the practice.

What Vipassana Is Not

  • Not a rest cure, a holiday, or an opportunity for socialising
  • Not an escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life
  • Not a religious conversion of any kind
  • Not hypnosis, suggestion, or any form of external influence on the mind

What Vipassana Is

  • A technique that eradicates suffering at its root
  • A method of mental purification
  • An art of living
  • A direct experience of universal truths
  • A non-sectarian practice open to all

The Three Foundations of Practice

Sila

For the duration of a course, students observe five ethical precepts: refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxicants. This moral foundation calms the mind and creates the conditions for deep concentration.

Samadhi

Students begin by practising Anapana meditation — the observation of natural breath. This simple, objective practice gradually sharpens the attention until the mind becomes still enough to begin the real work.

Panna

With a concentrated mind, students observe physical sensations throughout the body with equanimity — neither craving pleasant sensations nor recoiling from unpleasant ones. This direct experience dissolves the deep habit patterns of the mind.

Who Can Practise?

Anyone in good physical and mental health, aged eighteen or over, who is willing to follow the course schedule and code of discipline.

The technique has been practised by people of every religion, culture, and walk of life.

There is no conversion, no faith requirement, and no conflict with any existing belief system.