The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation

The author, a teacher and practitioner of Vipassana meditation, walks the reader through the 10-day Vipassana meditation course and Buddhist philosophy. The goal of Vipassana meditation is to recognize the impermanence of everything and thereby become liberated from attachments and attain a perpetual state of equanimity, no matter what life throws at you. The Buddha taught that the self is made up of five parts -- one physical, and four mental. The four mental aspects are cognition (inputs of raw data from the outside world), perception (categorizing the data), sensation (evaluating the categories as either "pleasurable" or "unpleasurable"), and reaction (craving the pleasurable, fleeing the unpleasurable). These are all interlinked -- for example, our current perceptions can be shaped by past reactions (e.g., I reacted badly to Person A five years ago, so when I see him now my perception is negative based on that reaction, and this bad perception leads to bad sensations which leads to further negative reactions). Vipassana meditation focuses on one's breath and identifying sensations throughout the body. Through this form of meditation, the meditator comes to understand, on an experiential level, the impermanence of sensations and the impermanence and conditioned nature of the Self. Accordingly, there is nothing to be attached to (because it is impermanent) nor is there anything with which to attach (because the Self is itself impermanent and ultimately not real). This true perception of the impermanence of reality breaks the chain discussed above because sensations no longer arise, as the meditator now views sensations objectively and maintains equanimity. And with no sensations, there is no reaction. In addition to the interesting insights, the book is also highly readable.

I first completed a ten-day Vipassana course back in 2004. Back then, after the course, when we were allowed to talk again, the conversation was predominantly about how we could possibly translate the discourses into different languages, or perhaps provide subtitles. My concern was wanting to review the discourses over and over again. Of course, when YouTube arrived, the discourses have been uploaded there already in several languages. But now comes these books (along with Discourse Summaries, also by William Hart). These are amazing reminders of the valuable lessons generously given during the evening discourses at a ten-day course. Nothing compares with learning Vipassana Meditation at an actual ten-day course. Please enlist if you are called to the practice. This book is no substitute for that experience. This book gives a great review for those who have finished a course, and a valuable transcript of questions from students with answers straight from Geonkaji himself. In September 2024, I enrolled for the ten-day Vipassana course again. Yes, twenty years apart! This time, I was seething with hurt and anger at former friends who have done me great evil. My head was whirling with thoughts on revenge. Also, I did not like any of my classmates in the course. They were noisy, egotistic, smelly, ate too much, complained too much…. At the end of the ten days, however, I experienced a profound transformation and the beginning of understanding the principles of Buddhism. I have not become perfect or enlightened. But I now continue the practice every day. And I read this book after I got home from the course and it was a wonderful refresher of Goenkaji’s wisdom. Please dedicate twelve days of your life to learning Vipassana at a ten-day course, and then read this book. We shape our lives and this planet with the quality of our Consciousness. Vipassana purifies our minds from the deepest level of reality and science. If all humans practice Vipassana, there’ll be hope for our species.

I actually read this book after taking the 10 day course. I was first introduced to this technique through the 10 day discourses on a CD that a monk gave to me; they are available to purchase online in mp3 format as well. The technique is incredibly practical, logical and showed immediate results in my daily life. Where does this book come in? It explains a lot about the fundamentals of the technique, the reasons behind some of the peculiarities that make it different than many others, the difficulties one may encounter and what to do about them. I found the Q&A sections in the book to be wonderful; full of many questions I myself had, or that many people had asked me. I found that this book made a strong case for logically explaining the reasoning behind this form of Vipassana and it's goal of destroying the negative habit patterns of the mind and ultimately reaching liberation from suffering (nirvana). Nothing compares to taking a 10 Vipassana course at one of the hundreds of centers around the world and learning the technique first hand. I practiced on my own for hours daily for months before I took the course, but by taking the course I had progressed perhaps twice as much as those several months in just the first day of being there. No amount of reading will ever give you the experiential knowledge required for eradicating the habit patterns of the mind which is what will really change one's life for the better. Reading is good for inspiration to practice, and hopefully this book will do that for one who hasn't taken the course, and if they have already taken a course, I know for myself, it can clear up several importation questions or confusions. This book is not a 'How To' (which is what the course is [necessary] for), but rather an exposition of theory and explanations about the technique. It also goes over the core principles in Buddha's teachings, the Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eight Fold Path, Anapana-sati, Kayagata-sati, and Vipassana-Bhavana as well as some other key issues.

Great book, in the spirit of vipassana. Don't expect this book to teach you the meditation technique, it doesn't. It just contains the theoretical aspects which are discussed by SN Goenka in the evening discours during a 10-day course. I've read the book just before taking a 10-day course. It was a great introduction to vipassana meditation. I recommend it to anyone who want to know more about vipassana meditation. But even if you don't accept what is writen in the book, it should not be used to judge the vipassana technique itself, because the theoretical aspects are not needed to be accepted to practice vipassana meditation. Take a 10-day course to make your opinion.

Very simple, concise, straight to the point. Easy to read and understand. Well-structured book as well. I finished the entire book once, and perhaps I'm going to go through it again. "Perhaps" here is because I mainly read the book to get hands-on experience so that I can do and practice myself, so I don't remember much some of the terminologies being used in the book. So if someone asks me what it is inside the book that is compelling, I could only say two things which I found are more practical: 1. Anapanasati (fright awareness of your breath) There's an explanation of why the breath is the object of focus here and not the others,and it makes sense to me. 2. Attachment (mental habit of reaction) Due to ignorance, we generate reactions of "craving" and "aversion". There are things that we like, not like, or hate; and this either creates craving or aversion. Generally, that is called attachment. Your attachment to things makes you suffer as the result will either make you happy or unhappy. Ex: dumped by your girlfriend, lost a ping pong competition, not yet achieve what you want or dream about, get a present, pass the exam, win a competition.... This subsequently creates a chain of reactions and feelings, and before long, they will become you (go into your subconscious mind and reside there for good) if repeated periodically and with intensity. In short, be in a neutral state whether you succeed or fail to get something, smile and say one thing to yourself "I will try again" if you fail, and remain calm (although feeling happy) (but not overexcited or too emotional). Overrall, a must-have book in your personal development collection. Cheers.

If you are looking to learn more about not only meditation but for equanimity in your life, this is the book for you

Gran libro sobre la filosofia budist vista desde el pubto de vista del autor. Muy recomendable

This book explains what Vipassana meditation is, in a sequential fashion, so that the beginning student has a good foundation from which to start. When I first heard about this way of deconditioning and purifying the mind in another book on Buddhism, I wanted to learn the proper technique and applied to attend a ten-day course. I was excited at first to be accepted but gradually self-doubt crept in and almost made me quit before I even started. This book came to the rescue. As I read it, I realized that what Vipassana offered was what I had been looking for and what I was now ready to undertake. Every beginning student should read this book but it will also help those who are contemplating taking up meditation.