Everything You Need to Know About Vipassana Meditation

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. It is the practice of producing a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind. There are several types of meditation – out of which Vipassana meditation or insight meditation is one of the oldest Buddhist meditation practices. 

Like other forms of meditation, Vipassana meditation is beneficial for your overall well-being. It helps relieve stress, reduce anxiety, promote brain plasticity, etc. If you are seeking ways to improve your ability to perceive reality clearly, the Vipassana technique can turn out to be the best option. 

However, before you go ahead, you need to know what Vipassana meditation is, how it can be beneficial for you, why you should practice it at your home, how to perform it, etc. In this guide, we will discuss everything you need to know about Vipassana meditation.

What is Vipassana Meditation?

“Vipassana” is a Pali word, which means “insight or clear seeing”. It is derived from the two words – “Vi” and “Passana”. Here “Vi” means “in a special way”, whereas “Passana” means “to perceive”. Hence, the meaning of “vipassana” means “seeing things as they really are”. 

According to Gunaratana, this meditation comes directly from Satipatthana Sutta – the foundation of mindfulness, a discourse attributed to the Buddha himself. Usually, the term Vipassana meditation is used interchangeably with mindfulness meditation. It is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. 

How to Perform Vipassana Meditation?

Like any other type of meditation, Vipassana meditation begins with choosing a quiet place and sitting in the most comfortable position. Now place your hands on knees with palms facing upward. Keep the spine straight, and then close your eyes. 

In Vipassana meditation, the meditator cuts him off from the living light of reality by focusing his attention on a single object. Here the object of meditation is usually the breath. In this, the meditator observes his thoughts and emotions that arise in the mindstream and let them pass away without judging or dwelling on them. 

Once the mind has become comfortable with remaining mindful and letting go of distraction, the meditator uses this ability to perceive things in reality and investigate his self-consciousness. In order to practice vipassana in a way that can lead to deep insight about the world and your thoughts, you can join a vipassana 10-day course. Not only can this course help you understand the right technique to perform vipassana meditation, but it also helps you recognize your strengths and weaknesses.

What Are The Benefits Of Vipassana Meditation?

Like any other meditation technique, vipassana meditation offers the following benefits:

Relieves stress: Recognizing that your thoughts and emotions are temporary & they are going to last forever and always change can lower your stress related to negative thoughts. So, when you practice vipassana meditation, it helps you deal with your emotions and thoughts and aids in reducing the stress level.

Improves decision-making: It has been found that meditation can help reduce anxiety and depressive thought patterns that contribute to bad behavior and low quality of life. But with vipassana meditation, you will be able to observe your thoughts and behavior, which will further help you make better decisions.

Boosts concentration: When you practice vipassana meditation daily, it prevents your mind from getting distracted due to different thoughts and feelings. As a result, it helps you fully immerse and focus on an activity and improves your concentration level.

Where Should You Practice Vipassana Meditation?

While many people love to perform vipassana meditation at a retreat, it is recommended to perform it at home. Since most of the stimuli that affect our mind are at home, vipassana meditation teaches us to be less reactive to those stimuli. However, stimuli can be anything like loud voices, smells, neighbors and kids, the constant noise of vehicles, etc.

The Bottom Line

Vipassana meditation has significant spiritual benefits. It is the best way to gain insight into the world and your thoughts. In the beginning, the meditator can find it difficult to sit in one position while focusing on his breath. However, once you can control your thoughts, you will notice a huge transformation in your life.

Now that you know what Vipassana meditation is and its benefits, it is time to enroll yourself in a vipassana 10-day course. If you have any doubts, feel free to share them with us.

All the Best!

– Subscribe to https://www.youtube.com/c/KaranBajajOfficial for free startup and meditation course and 3-5x weekly videos on startups, success models and writing. 

------------------------------------

By: Edward Bishop
Title: Everything You Need to Know About Vipassana Meditation
Sourced From: marketbusinessnews.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vipassana-meditation/283490/
Published Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 23:33:04 +0000