Questions and Answers with Goenkaji

Question:Is Vipassana part of Buddhist religion? Can people of other religions practice it, or does it interfere with other kinds of religious practices? Why would Christians, for instance, want to do this?

Goenkaji: One thing should be clear—this definitely is not Buddhist religion. At the same time, it is definitely the teaching of the Buddha. One should understand that ‘Buddha’ means an enlightened person, a liberated person. Enlightened, liberated persons never teach a religion; they teach an art of living, which is universal. They never establish a sect or religion. So there is no such thing as Buddhist religion; it is an art of living. Anybody belonging to any community, to any sect, to any religious group can easily practice it because it is universal, an art of living.

Peace of mind is sought by everyone; purity of mind is sought by everyone. Christ was a wonderful person who taught not only peace and harmony but also purity of mind, love, compassion. So those who follow the teachings of Christ would certainly like to develop these good qualities of purity, love, and compassion. When they come to courses, they don’t feel that they are coming to a foreign religion. A number of times, very senior priests and nuns have told me that we are teaching Christianity in the name of Buddha.

 

Question: I am a Vipassana meditator and I wish to form a charitable trust or society. I want to include ‘Vipassana’ in the name/title of our organization. Is it okay to do so?

Goenkaji: I suggest that you refrain from using “Vipassana” in the title of your organization—whatever its objectives may be—because other Vipassana meditators may be misled and believe that your institute or society is affiliated to the Vipassana centres in this tradition. Why mislead people? Choose some other name.

Question: If local meditators wish to form a trust for Vipassana activities in this tradition, then what should we do?

Goenkaji: A new legal trust should be formed only if a new centre is being established or if there is no legal organization in the new country. The area teacher must check if they are in a position to form a centre or if the Vipassana activity in the new country merits a legal organization. If the area teacher approves, he will help in formation of the new trust and appoint trustees from among the Vipassana meditators.

Until a new centre is being established, the Vipassana activities should be carried out under the aegis of the nearest trust.

I strongly advise Vipassana meditators not to form any committees or trusts without seeking approval of the area teacher. It is the duty of the area teacher to follow the principles stated above and guide all such activities in his area.

 

Question: In the teaching of Vipassana, in the theoretical aspect, there are many things which do not seem appropriate. For example, there is the mention of innumerable lives of the Enlightened One and his supernormal power. Is it necessary to accept all this?

Goenkaji: Not necessary. People come here who have come from the tradition where they don’t believe in the past life, or future life—and still they progress. So people may not accept it. We are not imposing this: “You must accept this.”

But as a responsible teacher, with whatever experience I have, with whatever understanding I have, I have to place the facts before them. I cannot say, just to please people: “Oh no, no, there is no past life, there is no future life.” Well, then I will be misleading people. So I have to be very careful. People may accept, may not accept. It is not my problem.

Latin America: The New World of Dhamma

 

With well over half a billion people, today Latin America is one of the most dynamic parts of the globe. It is also a region in which the Dhamma is growing at an extraordinary pace. In only a decade and a half, almost every one of the region’s countries has hosted courses, and the demand continues to grow.

Before the 1990s, quite a few students from Latin America took courses in India or the West, but no course was organized in Latin America itself until September 1991. Panama was the location for that first course and, as sometimes happens; the start was a little shaky. Because of some confusion, the police came to the site on Day 7 and took the assistant teacher and students to the local jail for questioning. They were quickly released but the course came to an early end.

Despite that, the results were significant. Some of the students returned for full 10-day courses and now help organize activities in Panama. What’s more, people in other countries were inspired when they read about the course in the Vipassana Newsletter. They too began looking into the possibility of organizing courses where they lived.

Those efforts bore fruit in March 1994, when the first full 10-day course took place in Venezuela. In addition to local participants, meditators from neighbouring countries came to sit and serve on this course. From here the stream of Dhamma started flowing through many other countries of the region. In October and November 1994, courses were given in Brazil and Argentina, and again in Venezuela. The next year saw courses in Panama, Chile and Mexico, as well as Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela. Cuba had its first Vipassana course in 1996, Bolivia in 1997, Colombia and Peru in 1998, Ecuador in 1999, Uruguay in 2001, Puerto Rico and Paraguay in 2003, the Dominican Republic in 2004, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica in 2006, and Guatemala in 2007. Many countries now offer courses at more than one location. There have also been long courses, children’s courses and prison courses. On the 2010 schedule are 75 10-day courses, three Satipatthana Sutta courses, three 20-day courses, one 30-day course, six three-day courses and six children’s courses.

Permanent Vipassana centers offer ongoing courses in Mexico (Dhamma Makaranda), Brazil (Dhamma Santi) and Venezuela (Dhamma Veṇuvana). New centers are under construction in Argentina (Dhamma Sukhadā), Peru (Dhamma Suriya) and Chile (Dhamma Pasanna).

All this activity clearly shows that the clock of Vipassana has struck in Latin America, for the good and happiness of many.

 

Statistics for 10-day courses in Latin America

Year	2000	2005	2009	2010
No. of courses	24	43	66	75
No. of participants, incld. servers	1,109	2,214	3,900	4,500 (appr.)

 

 

Vipassana Centers in Latin America

Dhamma Makaranda, Mexico.

Dhamma Makaranda means “Nectar of the flower of Dhamma.” It began offering 10-day courses in 2003. It is located near Valle de Bravo, a beautiful colonial town beside a large lake, in the highlands of central Mexico. The centre is a pleasant two-hour drive west from Mexico City. The 10-acre property is in a quiet, secluded valley, surrounded by pine and oak forests and small farms.

The centre can now accommodate about 50 students, mostly in single rooms. Sleeping tents are also used during the dry season. A small Dhamma hall can hold up to 60 meditators. Plans call for construction of a proper teachers’ residence, a larger Dhamma hall and more single accommodations.

For more information, visit: www.makaranda.dhamma.org

 

Dhamma Santi, Brazil.

Dhamma Santi means “Peace of Dhamma.” The center is surrounded by pristine, protected rainforest, in an area reputed to have the cleanest air on the planet. Rio de Janeiro is two hours away, and São Paulo and Belo Horizonte are four hours away. This is the most populated part of Brazil and the area with the most Vipassana meditators.

The first course at the center was held in April 2003 and regular 10-day courses are now conducted, including courses for old students. In 2011, Dhamma Santi will offer 22 courses.

The center was built to accommodate 70 students but it often exceeds that number. Waiting lists are long. Plans call for expanding the capacity to 120 students and 20 servers. This involves improving the water and sewage systems, expanding the Dhamma hall, and building new dining halls, new meditation cells, more private accommodation for students, and rooms for managers.

For more information, contact: info@santi.dhamma.org

 

Dhamma Venuvaṇa, Venezuela.

The “Bamboo Grove of Dhamma,” Dhamma Venuvaṇa is located 90 minutes from Caracas. Located at an altitude of 1,400 metres (4,000 feet), the center enjoys wonderful temperatures all year round. Goenkaji named it after one of the places where the Buddha himself stayed; at the time, Goenkaji did not know that there were stands of bamboo on the land. More will be planted in the future so that Dhamma Venuvaṇa truly brings to life its ancient namesake.

The center was purchased in March 2006 and the first 10-day course was held in April of that year. The facility had originally been built for retreat purposes but was never used. At present the center can accommodate around 50 students; the capacity will eventually be expanded to 80.

For more information, contact: info@venuvana.dhamma.org

 

Dhamma Sukhadā, Argentina.

Goenkaji named Argentina’s first center “The Happiness of Dhamma.” It is located in a peaceful environment about 85 kilometres from Buenos Aires. The first phase of construction has started, with the aim of accommodating 60 students. The hope is to start holding courses at the center in 2011.

For more information, visit: www.sukhada.dhamma.org

 

Other centers are in the planning stage in Peru (Dhamma Suriya) and Chile (Dhamma Pasanna).

 

Non-Center Courses

Following are only two examples of how Vipassana is spreading to all parts of Latin America.

 

First Course In Northern Mexico

The first 10-day course in northern Mexico was held this August at a rented site on the outskirts of Monterrey. A total of 51 students (42 new and nine old) completed the course. The participants came from all over the country. The course was organized within five weeks’ time, shortly after a devastating hurricane hit the city of Monterrey. The success of this course has led to the scheduling of two more 10-day courses for this December, with a capacity of 90 persons in each course. The Monterrey Vipassana Group is holding weekly group sittings and one-day courses each month.

 

Island of Chiloé, Chile.

In January 2010, 185 people participated in a 10-day course on the island of Chiloé, in Chile. The largest previous course in that country had been for 70 students. It took a massive effort to handle the doubling in numbers: there were 25 servers at the January 2010 course and three assistant teachers. The students had beds but no cushions for sitting. The servers slept on the floor. The only place large enough for a Dhamma hall was an unroofed area between two wings of the facility. The amount of food ordered in advance was insufficient, and from Day 3 the course organizer scoured the markets in neighboring towns. Somehow the problems all were resolved and the course ended happily. Another course has been announced for January 2011; it filled up almost immediately and now has a long waiting list. This is a common situation in Latin America.

Pali Classes at VRI, Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri

Three-month Pali-English intensive course will be conducted from 15 May to 15 August 2011. (Western students are required to come to Dhamma Giri on/before 14 May 2011 on student visa only).

One-month Pali-Hindi intensive course will be conducted from 13 April to 13 May 2011. (Students are required to come to Dhamma Giri on 11 April 2011.)

Eligibility: three 10-day courses and one Satipatthana course; one year regular practice of two hours at home daily; observance of five precepts since last one year; and minimum 12th class pass. Recommendation by Area Teacher or Senior Assistant Teacher is necessary. Last date for submission of forms: 15 March 2011 for one-month Pali-Hindi Course and 31 January 2011 for three-month Pali-English Course.

 

Pilgrimage to the Buddha Sacred Sites

IRCTC, the tourism arm of Indian Railways, in the year 2007, started running a fully airconditioned special train named the Buddhist Circuit Special Tourist Train, touring the Buddha Sacred Sites: Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Sravasti, Rajgir andKushinagar.

This is an excellent opportunity for Vipassana meditators to do the pilgrimage in a safe, reliable and comfortable manner without the bother and hassle of organizing multiple ticketing, local transport at different destinations and hotel stays.

Global Vipassana Foundation (GVF) has negotiated a special discount of 15% with IRCTC for the benefit of Vipassana mediators.

IRCTC & GVF has additionally agreed to structure in two slots of group meditation for the Vipassana meditators, subject to the number of meditators being not less than ten. The first, GS under the Bodhi tree in the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya and the second GS at Kushinagar. The group sittings will be scheduled for after the close of visiting hours to the temple so as to provide a quiet environment for group meditation. This would be subject to no other engagement happening on the particular day in the temple premises.

The circuit of the Buddhist Circuit Special Tourist Train starts and ends at Delhi. The forthcoming schedule and tariff appear below:

	Starting	Ending
Jan 2011	8& 22 Jan	15Jan & 29Jan
Feb 2011	12& 26Feb	19Feb & 5March
Mar 2011	12& 26Mar	19 March & 2 April

Class	Rack Rate		15 % Discounted Rate
	Rs	USD $	Rs	USD $
First AC Coupe	55272	1176	46981	1000
First AC	48650	1050	41353	893
2T AC	41650	875	35403	744
3T AC	34650	735	29453	625

 

Registration: Visit www.railtourismindia.com/buddha or contact: Hemant Sharma, Mobile: 97176-44798, Izhar Alam, Mobile: 9717635912, IRCTC, Ground Floor, STC Building, 1-Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi -110001. Tel: [91] (011) 23701100, 23701101, Email: arunsrivastava@irctc.com

Vipassana for Iranians in Canada

Twenty-two Iranian students attended the course at Dhamma Surabhi, British Colombia, Canada from 4 to 15 August, 2010 including:15 women (2 old students and 13 new) and 7 men (2 old students and 5 new). In addition, there were four Iranians Dhamma servers in the course.

One of the women who sat her second course was 80 yrs old. She did her first course last year at Dhamma Surabhi. The other students were inspired by her presence.

Later, five Iranian women took part in the course in Dhamma Torana. A few Iranian students attend each course in these two centers.

 

One-day course with Goenkaji at Global Pagoda

A one-day course has been arranged within the main dome of the Global Vipassana Pagoda on 16 January 2011, Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm (instead of 19 January). Goenkaji will be present during this course.

Registration for this course is compulsory.

Contact: Mobile: 98928-55692, 98928-55945;

Tel: (022) 2845-1182, 2845-1170 (11 am to 5 pm).

Registration email: global.oneday@gmail.com

Online registration: www.vridhamma.org

 

Vipassana Websites

Vipassana introduction: www.dhamma.org

Course schedules of Vipassana centres worldwide, application form for ten-day courses, etc.

Dhamma Giri: www.vri.dhamma.org

Indian Vipassana centres and schedule of courses, etc.

Pali Tipiṭaka Website: www.tipitaka.org

The Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka with commentaries, subcommentaries and related Pali texts in Roman, Devanagari, Cyrillic, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Myanmar, and Sinhala scripts. More scripts will be added in future.

Prison Courses Website: www.prison.dhamma.org

Information about Vipassana courses in prisons.

Global Vipassana Pagoda: www.globalpagoda.org

Updated information about the Global Vipassana Pagoda.

 

New Website on Children’s Courses

A new international website has been launched about Anapana meditation courses for children and teens. The site contains information for potential participants, as well as parents and teachers. Also posted are video clips and course dates. For more information, visit: www.children.dhamma.org.

 

Mobile Version of International Vipassana Website

Now there are more ways to explore the www.dhamma.org website. Use your smartphone to visit www.mobile.dhamma.org. There is a wealth of information about Vipassana, including the worldwide schedule of courses. A Hindi-language version of the website has also been added at www.hindi.dhamma.org.

 

Online Vipassana Newsletters and Archives

For complete archives of the VRI Newsletter in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam, visit:www.vridhamma.org/Newsletter_Home

 

Mr. Yadukumar Siddhi, Vipassana Teacher fromNepal, passed away peacefully on the night of 9 November2010 after a brief illness. One of theearliest meditators and servers in Nepal, he played a crucial role in the spread of Vipassana in Nepal.

May he be happy, peaceful and liberated.

 

 

Children’s Courses in Mumbai

To serve children's courses in Mumbai, call 2500-8868 or 2500-6043.

Date	Venue	Age	Registration
21-11	Ghatkopar	10-16 years	18 and 19-11
19-12	Ghatkopar	10-16 years	16 and 17-12
16-1	Ghatkopar	10-16 years	13 and 14-1
20-2	Ghatkopar	10-16 years	18 and 19-2
20 -3	Ghatkopar	10-16 years	18 and 19 -3

 

Course Venues: Ghatkopar (W): SNDT School, New Bldg., Cama Lane, Opp. Vidyut Soc. Tel: 2510-1096, 2516-2505.

Course Timings: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm.

Registration: 11 am to 1 pm

Courses are also held every month at the following venues.

Venue	Day	Registration
Dombivili	1st Sunday	98202-71594
Santacruz	2nd Sunday	97570-19946
Chembur	4th Sunday	99690-16885
Airoli	4th Sunday	98923-29410

 

Courses will be conducted in Hindi.

To register, please call respective numbers.

NB Please: *bring cushion, *register on specified phone numbers, *inform in advance if unable to attend after registration, *arrive on time for the course.

NEW RESPONSIBILITIES

Senior Assistant Teachers:

Mr. Peter Simpson, USA

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Assistant Teachers:

1. Dr. Lakhichand Birla, Dhule

2. Mrs. Rambhaben Bhudia, Bhuj

3. Mr. K. Narahari, Nizamabad

4. & 5. Mr. Dhiraj & Mrs. Kusum Savla, Bhuj

6. Daw Mi Mi Myine, Myanmar

7. U Hla Min Oo, Myanmar

8. U Khin Maung Soe, Myanmar

9. Ms. Helena Anliot, Sweden

10. Mr. Rob Burt, New Zealand

11. Mr. Craig Baugh, USA

Children’s Course Teachers:

1. Mr. Bhavanji Gala, Kutch 2. Mrs. Anjali Solanki, Kutch

3. Mr. Avinash Gupta, Gandhidham 4. Mrs. Kanchan Patel, Kutch

5. Mr. Shivji Kannar, Kutch 6. Mrs. Pushpaben Joshi, Kutch

7. Mrs. Padma Jain, Kutch 8. Mr. Nathubhai Patel, Kutch

9. Mr. Pramod Bhowate, Chandrapur 10. Mr. Gopal Janbandhu, Nagpur 11. Ms. Asha Koshti, Yavatmal

12. Mrs. Sharda Raipure, Chandrapur 13. Mr. Sidhartha Raut, Nagpur 14. Mrs. Seema Shirpurkar, Nagpur

15. Ms. Takako Tsuchiya, Japan 16. Mr. Richardo Lee, Malaysia

17. Ms. Alexandra Lapierre-Fortin, Canada

Goenkaji’s Discourses on Television

UTV Action TV channel is telecasting Goenkaji’s discourses every Monday to Saturday, from 4.45 am to 5.45 am.

 

 

DHAMMA DOHAS

Dukhiyāre dukhamukta hoṅ, bhaya tyāgeṅ bhayabhīta;

Baira choḍa kara loga saba, kareṅ paraspara prīta.

May the wretched be freed of suffering,
May the fearful be rid of fear;

 

May all people forsake enmity; may they love each other.

Dveṣa aura durabhāva kā, rahe na nāma niśāna;

Sneha aura sadabhāva se, bhara leṅ tana mana prāṇa.

Of hatred and ill will, may not a trace remain;

May love and good will fill body, mind and life.

 

 

 

Dūra rahe durabhāvanā, dveṣa hoṅya saba dūra;

Niramala niramala citta meṅ, pyāra bhare bharapūra.

May ill will be far away, may all aversion be dispelled;

May the pure and stainless heart brim over with love.

 

Jyoṅ ikalaute pūta para, umaḍe māṅ kā pyāra;

Tyoṅ pyārā lagatā rahe, hameṅ sakala saṅsāra.

As a mother overflows with love for her only son;

May we keep feeling love for all the universe.