You are bound to be successful...
The first step in the course is vowing to keep 5 precepts: to refrain from lying, using any kind of intoxicants, all sexual activity, stealing and killing. The latter turned out to be the most difficult to follow due to the five-lane ant highway passing right through my bedroom. The next commitment, for which this course is so notorious, is “Nobel Silence”. During the first 9 days of the course any kind of communication with other meditators is prohibited, as well as reading, writing, music and physical exercise.
All the teachings in the course are actually in remote control. “The Teacher”, S.N. Goenka-ji, is 81 years old and can hardly teach anymore. Instead, all his instructions and discourses were audio and video taped and the residing Assistant Teacher’s job is reduced to merely pressing the Play and Stop buttons at the appropriate time. Ours didn’t even speak English.
A generic meditation session begins with each meditator taking his or her designated place in the “Dhamma Hall”. I sat in the front row, usually on my knees, rarely in the Semi-Lotus posture. On my left hand side, on an elevated wooden bench, sat the course’s mascot: a shaved-head, life-sized, orange and crimson clad Buddhist monk. After we all got comfy the Assistant Teacher pressed Play and the hall was filled with Goenka-ji’s deep, vibrating voice:
Start agaaaaain….Staaaaart agaaaain….
Staaart with a caaaaalm and quite miiiind…..
Balanced and equanimous mind, equanimous mind….
Focus your entire attention on the small triangular area, with the base of the upper lip.
Whatever sensation crops up on this part of the body- just observe, just obseeeerve….
Maintaining peeerfect equanimity….
Work diligently, diligently….
Work paaaatiently and persistently, patiently and persistently….
You are bound to be successful… bound to be successful…
(Stop)
After an hour or so of meditating, Play is pressed again for five minutes of chanting, followed by a blessing in Pali: “Bavata Sava Mangelam” (may all beings be happy) and the crowd (cynical skeptics included) answers: “Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu” (well said, well said, well said).
All the teachings in the course are actually in remote control. “The Teacher”, S.N. Goenka-ji, is 81 years old and can hardly teach anymore. Instead, all his instructions and discourses were audio and video taped and the residing Assistant Teacher’s job is reduced to merely pressing the Play and Stop buttons at the appropriate time. Ours didn’t even speak English.
A generic meditation session begins with each meditator taking his or her designated place in the “Dhamma Hall”. I sat in the front row, usually on my knees, rarely in the Semi-Lotus posture. On my left hand side, on an elevated wooden bench, sat the course’s mascot: a shaved-head, life-sized, orange and crimson clad Buddhist monk. After we all got comfy the Assistant Teacher pressed Play and the hall was filled with Goenka-ji’s deep, vibrating voice:
Start agaaaaain….Staaaaart agaaaain….
Staaart with a caaaaalm and quite miiiind…..
Balanced and equanimous mind, equanimous mind….
Focus your entire attention on the small triangular area, with the base of the upper lip.
Whatever sensation crops up on this part of the body- just observe, just obseeeerve….
Maintaining peeerfect equanimity….
Work diligently, diligently….
Work paaaatiently and persistently, patiently and persistently….
You are bound to be successful… bound to be successful…
(Stop)
After an hour or so of meditating, Play is pressed again for five minutes of chanting, followed by a blessing in Pali: “Bavata Sava Mangelam” (may all beings be happy) and the crowd (cynical skeptics included) answers: “Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu” (well said, well said, well said).
posted by Electric Sadhu | 4:19 PM
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