Vipassana at the World Economic Forum

S. N. Goenka, the Teacher of Vipassana Meditation and founder of over seventy-five Vipassana centres around the world, was invited to participate in the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland from 27 January to 1 February 2000. This is the highest level meeting of the global leaders in politics, business and media where they meet informally to discuss various issues facing the world. The WEF Annual Meeting is often referred to as the summit of summits and this year’s meeting had a special significance being the first such meeting in the new millennium. It was noteworthy that spirituality was added to the business affluence and the political influence of the world leaders in those fields.

 

Goenkaji spoke in the gathering in various sessions on "The Future of Religion", "Death: Exploring the Taboo", "Anger and How to Deal with It" and "The Meaning of True Happiness".

 

The participants in the Annual Meeting in Davos included Prime Ministers, Presidents and Kings of over forty countries including U.S.A., Germany, U.K., Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, Mozambique, Indonesia, Jordan, South Africa and Egypt. Deputy Prime Ministers, Vice-presidents and finance ministers of many other countries were also present. The richest and biggest businessmen, highly influential media barons, and top scientists and academicians were among the participants. This was the first time that the message of Vipassana was transmitted in this elite gathering.

 

In the world today that is largely dominated by economic concerns, what is the future of religion? This was the theme of the panel discussion on the morning of 27th January. Because of his success in taking Vipassana to people of all religious and racial backgrounds, Goenkaji was requested to describe how the practice of a tradition transcends dogma and cultural elements.

 

Richard Block, President, World Union for Progressive Judaism, Israel; Prof. Tu We Ming, Harvard University, U.S.A.; Kassis Nabeel, Minister and Coordinator General of Bethlehem 2000 project and Prof. Keith Ward, Professor Of Divinity, University of Oxford, U.K. were on the panel with him.

 

In this session he emphasised that the inner core of every religion is morality, love and compassion. The outer shell of religion is rites, rituals, dogmas and philosophical beliefs. One should not condemn these but one should be careful not to confuse these with the essence of religion.

 

Goenkaji explained how the teaching of the Buddha is non-sectarian, universal, practical and result-oriented. The teaching of morality (sīla) is common to all the religions and acceptable to all. The teaching of samādhi, (concentration of the mind) and of paññā (purification of mind) is also universal and acceptable to all. Undue attachment to one’s own beliefs and intolerance of other cultures and beliefs causes strife. If the essence of the Teaching were given all importance nobody would find anything objectionable in it. Goenkaji proposed the idea of a generic religion whereby the commonalties of all religions would be emphasised. In Vipassana people will find such a generic religion that will allow them to continue with their cultural traditions while teaching them to live a happy and harmonious life. This will bring an end to the violence and wars that go on in the name of religion. The audience were pleased with Goenkaji's exposition and listened attentively.

 

On 27th January, in the evening, Goenkaji participated in a session where the topic was "Death: Exploring the Taboo". Richard Block, President, World Union for Progressive Judaism, Israel; Prof. Kathleen M. Foley, Department of Neurology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, U.S.A. and Prof. Keith Ward, Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford, U.K. were on the panel.

 

Speaking about death, Goenkaji said that death is a taboo because of fear about death. He explained how a Vipassana meditator eradicates fear by exploring the reality within and dies fearlessly. He said that there were numerous examples of Vipassana meditators who die in a fully conscious and peaceful state of mind. When one experiences anicca (impermanence) within, the attachment to the physical and mental structure starts decreasing and so does the fear of death. A practitioner of Vipassana knows from his own direct experience that one dies and is born every moment. Later in Zurich while answering a question about birthdays, he said smilingly that when you learn the truth about mind and matter, you would say "Happy birth-moment to you!" instead of "Happy birthday to you!".

 

"What Should You Do When You Are Angry" was the topic of the evening session on 28th January. Goenkaji was the speaker while John R. O’Neil, President, Center for Leadership Renewal, U.S.A. was the moderator.

 

The points of discussion were: In our time-compressed and competitive world there seem to be more and more opportunities than ever to get upset when things don’t go our way. Anger can ruin relationships, professional careers and health. What should be done to eradicate anger?

 

Goenkaji explained, "The law of nature is such that one who generates anger is its first victim. One is bound to become miserable as one generates anger. It is quite obvious that anger arises when something undesirable has happened, when someone has created an obstacle in the fulfilment of one’s desires. Undesirable things keep happening even in the life of the most powerful person in the world, and he or she is helpless to prevent it. Even when one knows that anger is bad and wants to get rid of it, anger continues to overpower the mind from time to time. To solve this problem, one has to seek the deeper reason for the anger within oneself. Simply diverting one’s mind to some other activity is only a temporary solution. One must go to the root of the problem. One must learn to observe anger." He then explained how the simple technique of Vipassana, which involves equanimous observation of sensations with the understanding of their impermanent nature, helps one to come out of anger.

 

On Monday, the 31st of January, Goenkaji was the sole speaker in the session titled "Is This As Good As It Gets? The Meaning of Happiness". Derrick de Kerckhove, Director of the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at University of Toronto in Canada introduced Goenkaji.

 

Goenkaji said that an individual or a nation must strive for material growth and scientific advances, but material prosperity can lead to true happiness only if there is a base of spirituality. He said that "Secular Spirituality" helps one to progress in worldly affairs, and yet, one realises at the experiential level that material comforts, worldly pleasures, fame and power are fragile and ephemeral and they alone cannot give lasting happiness. He explained how Vipassana is a practical way to get true happiness that is beyond superficial pleasures. The audience listened with rapt attention and later asked many questions about Vipassana.

 

When Vipassana meditators in Europe learned about Goenkaji’s visit to Davos, they naturally wanted him to visit Vipassana centres in their respective countries. There are Vipassana centres in U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland. But due to his busy schedule and his health, he could not go to these centres. He did, however, stop in Zurich for a couple of days on his way back from Davos so that assistant teachers, trustees, Dhamma workers and meditators from different European countries could meet him.

 

On the morning of 2nd February, Goenkaji meditated with about 250 meditators from different parts of Europe and also met most of them. Many meditators were able to get clarifications on various aspects of their meditation practice from Goenkaji.

 

In the evening of 2nd February, Goenkaji gave two public talks in the Congress Hall of Zurich. The first one (at 6:00 p.m.) was only in English and was addressed to a select audience of about three hundred people. In this talk Goenkaji explained the practical, result-oriented and scientific nature of Vipassana.

 

The next talk (at 7.30 pm) was open to the public. It was simultaneously translated into German by an interpreter. The one thousand capacity hall was almost full. This is rare for a public talk in Europe where an audience of five hundred is considered quite big for a public talk. This is an indication that more and more people are getting attracted to Vipassana. The audience included intellectuals, businessmen and professionals. It was announced that the talk would last an hour and would be followed by questions and answers for half an hour. But such was the interest in the talk that the question-answer session lasted for an hour. During the two hours of discourse and question-answers, the audience listened in rapt attention, savouring the nectar of Dhamma.

 

On the morning of 3rd February, representatives of a local Buddhist organisation and journalists of the leading Swiss newspaper came to interview Goenkaji. They were keen to know why the discipline was so strict in the tradition in which Goenkaji teaches and how this tradition was different from that of some of the other traditions that claim to impart the Buddha's teaching. Goenkaji explained how he was attracted to the pure Dhamma as taught by his teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin because of its universal and scientific nature. Though he came from a different background, he could not find any fault with it. Most importantly, he started getting great benefit even with the initial few steps on the path of Dhamma. He said, "I feel immense gratitude towards the country of Myanmar (Burma) which preserved the Dhamma in its pristine purity. It is the bounden duty of everybody who has received this peerless gift from Myanmar to preserve it in its pristine purity. The results of this pure teaching are seen all around the world. To protect this purity, strict discipline is very important. If the discipline is lax at the Vipassana courses, the teaching will soon become impure. If the teaching becomes corrupt, it does not give optimum results and eventually disappears."

 

The interviewers also wanted to know why Goenkaji dissociates himself from some of the meditators who have learned Vipassana from him and have started teaching on their own. Goenkaji replied that there were two things about which he was very careful: the first was to prevent Dhamma from getting commercialised and the second was to keep the sanctity of the teacher-disciple relationship in Dhamma.

 

Goenkaji said, "Dhamma is invaluable. It gets devalued the moment one starts charging money for it. How could I associate with those who have commercialised Dhamma? A teacher of Dhamma teaches others to come out of passion. It is out of question for me to accept when a so-called Dhamma teacher has sexual relations with his/her student. I can never agree to such a thing. I am very particular that a Dhamma teacher’s dealings with his/her students are full of compassion and are totally devoid of passion. These are the two issues on which I cannot compromise." There could be some differences in various techniques but these were the issues, according to Goenkaji, on which all those who claim to be the followers of the Buddha should never compromise.

 

The two days in Zurich were a further proof that the clock of Vipassana has struck in the remote corners of the world, even in places where the words of Dhamma were totally unheard of just a few decades back. Goenkaji went to Europe after a gap of almost ten years. These ten years saw a steady growth of Dhamma there. The seeds that he had carefully planted, patiently nurtured and lovingly guarded have now grown into big trees in the form of Vipassana centres in many European countries and are giving the cool shade of Dhamma to many a wary traveller in saṃsāra.

 

May more and more people walk on the path of Dhamma to come out of misery and to live a happy life.

 

May all beings be happy.

Sayagyi U Ba Khin Centenary Year Projects

Dhamma Tapovana: Construction is progressing ahead of schedule in the first exclusive centre for long courses. The construction of about sixty rooms have been completed and finishing work, that is, flooring, painting, water proofing of the roof, plastering is in progress. The construction of the Dhamma Hall and pagoda cells is also in progress. Presently, Dhamma workers are regularly meditating in the emerging Dhamma Hall.

 

Sayagyi U Ba Khin Village: Work on the first phase of the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Village consisting of 20 bungalows has commenced. Seventeen meditators have booked bungalows, out of which seven have paid the full amount. The work is progressing in several stages. Thirteen plinths have been completed, out of which three buildings are awaiting RCC roof to be cast. Earthwork has been done to fill low-lying areas. Work on temporary roads is also being completed.

 

Grand Vipassana Pagoda: After consideration on the merits of building the Pagoda in steel or stone, it has been decided to build the Grand Vipassana Pagoda in stone. Plans have been drawn up and help is being taken from two reputed architectural firms, an Indian firm that has built numerous similar stone monuments, and a British firm that has designed a structure of similar magnitude in Calcutta. Sufficient funds have been collected or have been promised for the construction work, which will restart soon.

 

Questions & Answers

Question: In what way must meditators approach the observation of their own body?

Goenkaji: In the beginning, the meditator finds gross, solid, apparent truth, that is, gross physical sensations, and from that point begins to penetrate these physical sensations, moving towards increasingly subtle truths, up to the most subtle, which was described by Sayagyi U Ba Khin as kalāpa (the smallest unit of matter, subatomic particle). Through direct experience the meditator realises that contact of the eyes with a visible form gives rise to eye-consciousness, that is, to mental congnition of the fact that contact has occurred. Furthermore, the meditator realises that the contact produces a vibration, a sensation that spreads throughout the body, as when you strike a bronze container at one point and the contact makes the entire vessel vibrate. When the contact has been acknowledged, the process of perception manifests: the visible form becomes recognized: for example, as a man or a woman, white or black, ugly or beautiful. Not only is the contact identified but it is also evaluated, as good or bad, positive or negative, pleasant or unpleasant; finally if the sensation, due to the contact, is experienced as pleasant, the mind reacts with craving; if unpleasant, the mind reacts with aversion.

 

Then the meditator begins to understand clearly how these four parts of the mind cognition, perception, sensation, and reaction actually work. Craving intensifies pleasant sensations, and pleasant sensations intensify craving. Aversion increases unpleasant sensations, and unpleasant sensations increase aversion. Whoever meditates properly will understand how, just based on bodily sensations, these vicious circles begin and continue to manifest moment after moment. This is the wheel of becoming, of suffering.

 

The same process arises following contact of the ear with sound, the nose with smell, the tongue with taste, the body with a tangible object, the mind with a thought. In this way the wheel of becoming continues to turn, pushed by craving and aversion. In order to attain liberation from the wheel of becoming and gain real happiness, it is necessary to observe objectively this process that arises from bodily sensations.

 

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Gujarati Vipaśyana Patrikā

The first issue of the Gujarati Vipaśyana Patrikā has been published and has been dispatched to subscribers. Subscription charges are Rs 50/- for three years and Rs 20/- for one year. Those who wish to subscribe should send demand draft in favour of Saurashtra Vipassana Research Centre (Kotharia Road, Near Khokaddad Village, Rajkot 360 002) payable at Rajkot.

Prison Courses

Goa: Nineteen inmates took part in the first prison course in Goa, which was held at Central Jail, Aguada from 3 to 14 May 2000. Weekly group meditation has been arranged every Sunday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. The next prison course will be conducted from 18 to 29 June at the jail at Soda, Vasco.

 

Ratnagiri: The first course was conducted here from 29 April to 10 May for 27 inmates. The success of this course is of special significance because Ratnagiri Jail is a special prison where habitual offenders and hardened criminals are incarcerated.

 

New Zealand: Regular prison courses are being organised at the start of every three month rehabilitation programme run by a rehabilitation centre called Te Ihi Tu in New Plymouth. Inmates who have a strong wish to change their habit pattern of repeated offending attend the rehabilitation course in the last three months of their sentence. Two programmes have begun with a Vipassana course so far, and the staff at the centre find that those inmates who complete the Vipassana course can complete their rehabilitation course successfully. Prior to Vipassana there was a very high drop-out rate, because of the demanding programme. The third course will start from about 18 May 2000.

 

NOTICE: Meditators are requested to send their e-mail addresses with their postal addresses and phone numbers to <harshadm@vsnl.com> so that they can be informed of Dhamma activities in their respective areas by e-mail.

 

Change in Course Schedule of Dhamma Giri

TSC: 15 November to 16 December, 2000.

 

30-day: 1 January to 1 February 2001. (A separate 30-day course will start from 14 January to 14 February only for assistant teachers unable to join the course starting from 1 January because they are serving courses.)

 

44-day: 1 January to 15 February.

 

AT meeting with Goenkaji: 21 to 28 December, 2000.
(only for Teachers and assistant teachers)

 

Vipassana in Ireland

A Vipassana course was organised in Northern Ireland from 19 to 30 April 2000. Forty students participated in the course and worked very seriously. The course was held in a large Catholic priory in Armagh, an area which has seen a lot of killing during the last 30 years.

New Responsibilities

Mr Chris & Mrs Sachiko Weeden

To serve non-centre courses in Europe

New Appointments

Assistant Teachers

Mr G. John Hemant Kumar, Hyderabad, India

Mr J. Durga Rao, Secunderabad, India

Mr Janak Adhikari, Nepal

Mr Raj Ratna Dhakhwa, Nepal

Mr Bishwa Bandhu Thapa, Nepal

Mr Bekha Raj Shakya, Nepal

Dr (Mrs) Keshari Manandhar, Nepal

Ms Mila Sayami, Nepal

Ms Ratna Devi Shakya, Nepal

Mrs Kamala Suwal, Nepal

Mr Edward & Mrs Junko Giorgilli, Japan

Mr Patrick & Mrs Sachiko Klein, Japan

Mrs Saskia Ishikawa-Franke, Japan

Mr Tim Lanning, Japan

Ms Sheryl Keller, Thailand

 

Children Course Teachers

Mrs Raj Nagpal, Pune

Miss Vaijayanti Pandit, Pune

Mrs Dipti Rajiv Agrawal, Pune

Mrs. Usha Anil Jakhotia, Pune

Mr Om Prakash Saluja, Bhandara

Dr Suresh Kotangale, Bhandara