Vol.8 No.9 September 6, 1998
Words of Dhamma
Dhammārāmo Dhammarato, dhammaṃ anuvicintayaṃ; dhammaṃ anussaraṃ bhikkhu, saddhammā na parihāyati.
- The bhikkhu who dwells in the Dhamma, who delights in the Dhamma, who meditates on the Dhamma, who well remembers the Dhamma, does not fall away from the sublime Dhamma.
- Dhammapada 364
Building the Dwelling of the Dhamma
- by S. N. Goenka
The hour of Vipassana has struck at many places throughout the world. For many years, devoted students from many countries have worked diligently to make the Dhamma available to others. Now, with the establishing of many centres throughout the world, their efforts are coming to fruition.
The development of centres marks a new stage in the spread of Vipassana. It is important to understand its significance.
Centres of Vipassana meditation are not clubs designed for the enjoyment of their members. They are not temples in which to perform religious ceremonies. They are not places for socialising. They are not communes where members of a sect can live in isolation from the outside world, according to their own peculiar rules.
Centres are instead schools that teach one subject: Dhamma, the art of living. All who come to these centres, whether to meditate or to serve, come to receive this teaching. They must therefore be receptive in their attitude, trying not to impose their ideas, but rather to understand and apply the Dhamma that is offered.
To ensure that the Dhamma is offered in its strength and purity, strong discipline is observed at the centres. The more carefully this is maintained, the stronger the centres will be. Many ordinary activities are forbidden by this discipline, not because there is anything wrong with them, but because they are inappropriate at a centre for Vipassana meditation. Remember, these are the only places where one can learn this type of Vipassana. The discipline is a way of preserving the unique purpose of these centres; it should be guarded carefully.
The foundation of the edifice of Dhamma that is being constructed at these centres is sīla (moral conduct). Undertaking sīla is the essential first step in a Vipassana course, since without it meditation will be weak. It is equally essential that all who serve at the centres keep the five precepts as carefully as possible. The rule of Dhamma has been established at these centres: there should be no killing on the Dhamma land, no stealing, no sexual activity, no wrong speech, no use of intoxicants. The careful upholding of the five precepts will create a calm and peaceful atmosphere conducive to the work of self-purification.
With the firm base of sīla, the practice of self-purification can proceed. Keep in mind that this is the most important task at the centres first, last and always. All who come to serve at them, even for a few hours, must not neglect their duty to meditate there as well. By doing so, the Dhamma atmosphere is strengthened and support is given to the other meditators.
These centres are not, of course, the only places at which meditation and the teachings of the Buddha are practised; but they are the only places devoted to this particular transmission of the teachings, to this particular form of Vipassana. They must be kept specifically for this purpose at all times.
The final essential part of the technique is mettā, and this must be practised by all who come to the centres, whether to attend a course or to serve. For meditation and service to be beneficial, it must be performed joyfully, selflessly and lovingly. All tasks that are undertaken should be done with the volition: "May all beings be happy." The centres must always radiate love and goodwill so that all who enter feel that they have entered a sanctuary of peace.
May each and every centre become a true dwelling of Dhamma, in the shelter of which, many may find the way out of suffering. May Vipassana spread to every land around the world. May all beings everywhere be happy. May all beings be happy. May all beings be liberated.
Questions & Answers
Student: When I go home and continue the practice, will the operation be able to continue even at home?
S.N.Goenka: Yes, certainly. But for a deeper operation you have to come to a course, or have your own self-course. Sitting continuously for a long time takes you to the deeper level. But even if you practise morning and evening, you will be clearing whatever impurities you have accumulated during that period.
Student: If it is necessary sometimes to take less time, is it important to have a whole hour? For instance, would it be better to meditate one hour, or for thirty minutes two times, if two hours is not possible?
S.N.Goenka: In your day-to-day life, there is so much tension, so many problems and storms. And if you sit for meditation for fifteen minutes, twenty minutes or half an hour, you have to deal with the problem, the storm that has come. Only after that, good meditation starts. And for fifteen minutes you have been struggling with the storm, and if you stop meditation, then you do not get that much benefit. So one hour is important. But if on some day you do not have that much time, something is better than nothing! Use whatever time you have. As a householder you have so many responsibilities. But the minimum is one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening, if you want to maintain whatever you have gained here and go deeper.
Student: What is the best way to work with gross physical sensation in daily life while moving around?
S.N.Goenka: In moving around when you are busy with any other responsibility, all attention must be on your work. At that time if you start feeling sensations then you are half outside, half inside, you cannot do your work properly. But whenever you are free, your attention must be on the sensations. Or whenever there is a problem a big storm has come give importance to sensation.
Student: If an individual has an injury...
S.N.Goenka: Yes, now there is a big storm because of the injury. If you observe your sensations, your mind becomes equanimous. Take all the important steps to cure your injury going to the doctor or hospital and whatever else is needed. But at the same time, your mind is equanimous because you are observing your sensations. Then you will find that the treatment works better, quicker. If your mind is agitated, the treatment will take a long time because it has become mental agony as well as physical agony.
Student: I can feel that I am dealing with sa?kharas from actions in the past but I find that the great sorrow that I hold and keep with me is for things that I haven't done. Regrets for a kindness that I might have done. A help that I might have given that I was just too thoughtless to do.
S.N.Goenka: But this kind of repenting will not help. You understand of course, "I should have not done that, I should have done that, in future I will do it." that's all. Whatever wrong you have done in the past, you won't do that wrong. Whatever good you did not do in the past, you do it. Enough. But if you keep on repeating that in your mind with guilt, you are multiplying your misery. This makes you more miserable. And every seed that you are sowing now is a seed of misery; the future will bring nothing but misery. So come out of this habit.
Student: Let go?
S.N.Goenka: Yes, let go. Whatever happened in the past is past. You can never rectify the past. You can be master of the present. So at present, I will take any opportunity to do whatever is good for me and good for others. Whatever I did or did not do in the past, that's gone.
Student: If one’s parents have died, can you benefit them?
S.N.Goenka: Yes, you can benefit them. After your meditation you can remember them and share your merits with them: "Whatever merits I have gained, may you share them. May you also feel happy and peaceful." Like this, you can send mettā. The vibrations will reach them wherever they are. It is not that the vibrations themselves will do some miracle for them, but they may get attracted towards Dhamma, they may get a path. That is the only way: share your merits.
Student: Should we try to avoid our ego and try to push it down or should we just let it be?
S.N.Goenka: Never push it down. You cannot push out or suppress the ego. It keeps on multiplying by that. It will naturally get dissolved if you practise. Let it happen naturally and this technique will help. Dhamma will help.
Student: I want to ask about mettā. Not just mettā for all beings, but for a specific person?
S.N.Goenka: Certainly. Besides giving general mettā to all beings, remember the person to whom you want to give mettā. There, visualisation is allowed because it is not Vipassana. It is just for a few minutes. You can visualise this person, remember this person, and then send mettā. Nothing wrong. Do that.
Student: When I'm becoming angry in my life, I should notice my breath and my sensations. Should that be a matter of scanning my body for sensations?
S.N.Goenka: At that time when you are angry you cannot go in detail throughout the whole body. So wherever there is a strong sensation, keep on observing that sensation for some time. But later, when you sit for your daily meditation, close your eyes and scan the body so that whatever remnant of the anger is there, that will pass away.
Student: Yesterday and today I've been sitting and saying, "This is too hard…".
S.N.Goenka: Dhamma is very easy and Dhamma is very hard. It can be both. It is very easy when you practise properly. When you don't practise properly it becomes very hard. So don't allow it to become very hard. Smilingly, make it easy, "I am not to do anything." It is easy not to do anything don't do anything. Let things happen. It is so easy. But when you try to do something, "I must do. I must stop this aversion. I must stop this craving." Then you create difficulty. Let things happen. You are just a silent witness of things happening. And it becomes so easy. Make it easy.