After a long silence (August, 2017) a rather extraordinary experience this February is bringing me back to this place. Extraordinary experiences do not happen every day and therefore deserve some thinking not only while they last but also after. Now that the memory is still fresh is just the right time to put it in writing, before it slowly fades away.
From Feb 13th to 24th I attended a 10 day Vipassana meditation training on the Dhamma Sacca facility in Avila (Spain). It all began a few months ago, surfing the Internet. I found a 10 day yoga retreat, in complete silence, and my adventurous heart began to pound!. Suddenly I was excited with the idea, but then my husband nicely pointed out that the country the training was taking place was not too safe. Not wanting to press hard I went back to search for more options and then the Vipassana meditation (VM from now on)10 day training found me.
The only two things I got right about the VM training was that I would spend 10 days in silence and that I would meditate during those days. Surely, the Dhamma Organization makes it very clear for students what this training is about, and ensures you accept their Code of Discipline as a prerequisite for enrolment... but I just missed the full meaning of what I was reading because I had made up my mind to go and I did not need further details that might actually stop me.
Although the VM is not my cup of tea I am extremely happy I spent my time having a glimpse into it. There's a few things I experienced that I would highly recommend to anybody.
The prolonged silence: in a world so full of noise silence can be a blessing. This is of course very personal but to me being in silence was a soothing experience. No discussions, no unwanted noise (produced by somebody's mouth), no misunderstandings, no energy spent in clarifications of any sort, no complaints. The drawback was of course that face-reading is not such an accurate means to interpret how well others were doing or feeling. I noticed some long faces as the days were passing by.
Sharing: the facilities are shared, nothing you can call your own except your personal belongings. Respect for others becomes more relevant than usual. And that respect must be expressed by your acts only: neatly keeping the line for showering, peeing, eating; following schedule to the minute, keeping your room tidy, if not for your own sake, for the sake of your room mates.
Introspection: when you are deprived of all distraction (TV, Cellular, Tablet, Book...even paper and pencil) your mind will sooner or later focus on yourself. Your might not resolve any of your troubles but you will certainly end up thinking on unresolved issues that matter to you, even if you do not want to.
Realization of your mind habits: Funny my latest post in this blog talked about the importance of being present. VM asks you to focus your attention in your body, to feel the sensations in every part of your body, with equanimity and knowing that all of them are only temporary. I found myself having real trouble focusing my attention - that was constantly wandering off - in my body, and real trouble in feeling my body (except those parts that were painful). Constant practice made me better each day though
Patience and compassion: in a context in which you are being fed with information (each day you hear a speech by S.N. Goenka) with no possibility to ask questions you necessarily develop patience. Patience also to bear the long silences in the Meditation Hall, the repetition of the exact same instructions over and over again, patience to hear the non-verbal noises produced by the human beings sitting close to you (you not being allowed to change places or just quit). In these situations you do learn one or two things about yourself!
Attitude toward rules: throughout my life I'd say I have been good at following rules, probably too good. My guess is that many people would consider the rules at Dhamma Sacca (see Code of Discipline) to be too strict, maybe unacceptable to them. I'm fine with them because I understand their purpose but I must admit that there were two occasions in which I found it very hard to follow them: One night I heard a colleague from other room crying. After a few days your nerves can become very tight and this lady seemed to have reached her breaking point. I was on the brink on breaking my silence vow, because hearing another human in distress and not providing assistance did not feel right to me, vow or not vow. Thankfully another kind heart quickly took action and I could keep my mouth shut as I was supposed to. The second time I decided to be flexible with rules was during meditation hours outside of the Meditation Hall. Every day I was getting more and more tired, and my head was feeling heavier and heavier. So I decided I had to give myself some respite, no matter what the schedule said. The good news for me is that I did so without a trace of regret.
Vipassana is not just a meditation technique. Rather it is a way of life that encompasses moral rules, a focused mind and a method to cleanse our mind from impurities that are the root cause of human suffering. The Dhamma Organization presents Vipassana to us as a "universal remedy for universal ills", a cure against unhappiness, against suffering.
I first tried Meditation in the spring on 2017 and I've managed to incorporate it to my life ever since. This meditation practice is called Okuni Dynamic Meditation. My life has been deeply touched by this meditation, by the Energy Polarization technique and by the teachings of Okuni's team.
At the end of the Vipassana training I was strongly advised not to mix Vipassana with any other meditation techniques, nor with practising energy therapies. I think my attending this training was just an opportunity to explore, to compare, to learn how other meditation techniques work and to learn a few things about me.
But there is more. I had the pleasure to share the room with five very respectful ladies, each with different backgrounds and reasons to be there, and all eager to share some good conversation on our last day together! Also, I met a nice lady that talked to me about some travelling activities that very much captured my attention. Hopefully we will soon continue the conversation and take it to the next level.
I wish all my companions in this adventure found what they were looking for, or at least found some open door to take them there!
