Insight Meditation
Meditation, like exercise, comes
in different forms, each with its own benefits. The two main categories are (1)
concentration meditations (also called tranquility meditations), exemplified by
mantra and visualization meditations and (2) insight meditations (or Vipassana), which
are Anu’s main focus. (See Classes/Workshops
for the actual Vipassana class description).
Meditation
has been part of many spiritual traditions, including Christian, Jewish, Muslim
(Sufi), Hindu and Buddhist.
Insight meditation is a unique
form of meditation, originally taught by the Buddha, and now passed on to
millions of people around the world, Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike. The way
Anu teaches Vipassana, it is completely nonsectarian and devoid of
religious trappings.
It does come with a philosophy
and ethics, a spiritual world view emphasizing compassion, interdependency, and
the wisdom of purifying one’s motivational field of greed, hatred and narrow
self-interest. Sometimes it’s taught without reference to this context, but
that limits the scope of Vipassana : its ability to foster a
thoroughgoing liberation from the effects of stress – the stress that’s
inherent in the challenge of living a human life. We are capable of
smiling and being happy independent of circumstance. What we need is a little
guidance – and practice.
The beauty of Vipassana is its simplicity: it is the practice of
just being where we are at – with mindfulness and equanimity. (Every discipline
has its technical terms, and these are two of Vipassana’s. For beginners, awareness and allowingness are good substitute
terms).
Often the first benefit of Vipassana is an abrupt awareness of how chaotic and
undisciplined our mind and how driven are our thought processes. We are
addicted to thought.
Vipassana practice allows the
controlled release of sensations, thoughts, images, memories, desires, emotions
– the whole panoply of mental contents – while we are anchored in present-time
reality, watching the parade go by, free of our habitual prejudices. Cravings
and aversions, past and future, bubble up to the surface of the mind and pass
away without provoking a reaction, deconditioning the mind.
We become calmer, more aware and
less prone to be troubled when we encounter obstacles or don’t get our way. We
get to see our loving nature beneath self-protective layers of fear and anger,
and experience Vipassana practice itself as an expression of love.
There are four other meditations
which complement Vipassana, purposefully promoting positive states of mind,
loving kindness or Metta being
the first of these. They fall under the category of concentration meditations.
Read the Metta Sutta here;
lore has it that the Buddha gave this as his prescription for a stress-free,
loving life. It’s not an easy path, it’s a fulfilling one.
Meditation
is increasingly the subject of scientific study. Fascinating research is being
done using the new brain imaging techniques, showing that Vipassana activates the happiness
center of the cerebral cortex, actually changing
the brain in what appears to be a permanent way. Much of the later research
has been encouraged and inspired by the Dalai Lama, who recently wrote about
the use of meditation as a buffer for destructive impulses.
The scientific abstract of the 2003 Davidson study is from the
journal, Psychosomatic Medicine.
At the Massachusetts Medical Center, outcome studies of a Vipassana program for patients with anxiety and panic disorder showed not only a reduction of symptoms after the program and at three months follow-up but also sustained long-term benefits (after three years). Chronic pain patients have shown a remarkable beneficial effect on their symptoms, including less use of pain meds, increased activity levels and decreased mood disturbance as well as a lower degree of suffering. A study of treatment of psoriasis patients showed an increased rate of clearing of skin lesions in those patients who did insight meditation while they were getting their UV light treatments. Stress reduction programs based on Vipassana have lessened patients’ psychological and medical symptoms and enhanced the quality of their lives.
Three studies presented or
published in 2005 confirmed the benefits of mindfulness-based practice. First,
at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Conference, researchers from the
University of Maryland showed that practice 6 days a week significantly reduced
psychological distress, swollen joints, and sed rate (a measure of
inflammation) in a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Read the press
release of this presentation here.
Secondly, at the University of
Kentucky, researchers studied people performing a psychomotor vigilance task at
the computer. They did much worse after sleep deprivation, but after 40 minutes
of meditation, even if still sleep-deprived, their performance bounced back to
normal. 40 minutes of sleep also restored their performance, but only after
about an hour of recovery from post-sleep grogginess. In contrast, the effect
of meditation was immediate. Results were discussed in New Scientist
in November 2005.
In the third study,
brain imaging led by Massachusetts General Hospital showed that Insight
Meditation practitioners had increased gray matter in areas of the brain having
to do with attention and emotional-cognitive integration, compared to a control
group of non-meditators. The recent findings on brain plasticity make it likely
that the meditation is actually causing the brain to respond in those areas
stimulated by the meditation technique. And that meditation thus may counter
the brain atrophy that often takes place with aging.
Much more could be said about the
benefits of Insight Meditation. But we do not need to rationalize our practice
as being therapeutic in order to engage in Vipassana and to enjoy its life-enhancing properties.
It is a spiritual experience of pure openness and a creative expression of
human culture.
Want more on Vipassana
meditation? These annotated links will keep you busy for decades!
