Sep 1, 2010

Vipassana Meditation Course 04

Yesterday I posted the daily schedule that appeared in the material that they sent me when I was accepted for the course. Today I thought that I would tell you what I actually did during the day.
4:00 a.m. Morning wake-up bell
Since 4 a.m. is my usual time to wake up, I had no trouble with this. In fact, on many of the mornings I was awake between 3:30 and 4. At exactly 4 a.m., one of the old students walked through the building ringing a gong in front of each door. I slept in my clothes so when I stood up, I was dressed. I walked to the washing facility and, after going to the toilet, brushed my teeth and washed my face. I also combed out my long beard and hair. Then I returned to my room and folded up the sheets. I did not need blankets because it was so hot. Then finally I folded up the futon (matresses) and put everything in a pile at the end of the bed. I still usually had 10 or 15 minutes left before the call to the first meditation period so I went outside and got some fresh air.

4:30-6:30 a.m. Meditate in the hall or in your room
Actually they rang a gong at 4:20 to let everyone know that they had only 10 minutes to get to the mediation hall. I was usually in the first two or three to arrive. After settling into my chair, I started the mediation for the day. Each day we had a different mediation to do, getting progressively more advanced and more difficult. A few minutes before 5, the teachers arrived and played a tape recording of Goenkaji singing and chanting. This lasted for about half an hour. Goenkaji's voice is very strange and sometimes he can sing two notes at the same time, one guttural and the other nasal. It is very hypnotic. On the tenth day I saw a book that listed everything on all the tapes and it was part Pali and part Hindi. The contents included a lot of poems that Goenkaji wrote himself as well as quotes from Buddhist sources. Just before 6:30 the teachers left, but we continued meditating, and then exactly at 6:30 a gong rang, indicating that breakfast was ready.

6:30-8:00 a.m. Breakfast break
I left the mediation hall and when straight to the dinning room. Breakfast consisted of the remains of the previous day's lunch plus lots of toast. During the 10 days I saw five different kinds of dark bread, all delicious. To my surprise, there was instant coffee. My usual breakfast consisted of a glass of hot water with lemon extract, a cup of coffee, some vegetables and maybe a little rice, and finally a couple of pieces of toast. When I finished, I got a change of clothes from my bag and when to the washing facility for a shower. There were too many people trying to take them when we first got up so I waited. I never had any problem getting a stall. After the shower, I went across the dirt road to the walking area and walked a kilometer. There was a path and I discovered that it was just over 100 meters long, so I walked around it 10 times every morning. Then I hung around unto the 7:50 gong rang, indicating that it was again time to meditate.

8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall
For this hour, everyone in the compound came to the meditation hall and meditated together. The period began with taped instructions from Goenkaji, ofter they were different for the new and the old students. For the first three days, these periods were quite easy for me. We were doing exercises to strengthen our concentration and I have done all of these in the past. However, on the fourth day we started something new. We had to sit for the entire hour without moving. We could not move even our fingers or toes. This, I found, was quite difficult. Also each day the meditation exercise became more complex and difficult. At the end of the hour the teacher played another short tape in which Goenkaji chanted a three word Pali phrase three times. It meant MAY ALL BEINGS BE HAPPY. Every meditation period ended with this.

9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions
At 9 the teachers left and the students took a five minute break and then returned to the mediation hall for another two hours of mediation. On a few of the days, the teachers returned and gave some instruction for something new before we started, but on most days we just continued with the same exercise we had been doing.

11:00-12:00 noon Lunch break
This was the biggest meal of the day. As always it was completely vegetarian but there was something different every day. Almost everyone relaxed a bit and took there time over lunch. However, it was very strange to be in a room full of people with absolutely no one talking. After finishing any meal, the students washed, dried and replaced the utensils they had used. I often had a up of coffee after I had finished the food.

12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher
There was only one day on which I felt the need to talk to the teacher, and my question along with his answer only took about five minutes. I used this time to wash the clothes that I had taken off when I took my shower earlier. Both my shower time and my clothes washing time were carefully selected. There was seldom anyone in either place at these times, so it was very easy. The washing facility had buckets, soap, a spin dryer, and a covered area with clothes lines and hangers. It was so hot that my stuff was usually dry by tea time, although I usual left them until the next morning when I took my shower. I generally had 45 minutes or so of free time left so I went to the walking area and sat on a chair under a large beach umbrella, watching the bugs and the few birds that were around. At 12:50 a gong rang telling us that it was ten minutes to the start of the next mediation period.

1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room
This was basically the same as the 9 to 11 session. The teachers came at the end and played the recording of "May all beings be happy" but otherwise we were on our own. We were encouraged to take a short break and walk around outside if the meditation got to be too much for us. Some of the new students did this frequently with long breaks rather than short, but most of us hung in there. When I was meditating well, the times passed rapidly, and even when I was not, it did not seem boring.

2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall
This was another of the no-movement meditations. I should point out that the room was absolutely quiet. I could sometimes hear people's clothing rattle as they breathed. Although not moving was very difficult and hurt, sometimes a lot, I found these sessions to be extremely rewarding and discovered that I actually looked forward to them.

3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions
This was just like the morning and early afternoon sessions. However, a few times, particularly toward the end of the course, part of this time was use to play a recording of new instructions from Goenkaji.

5:00-6:00 pm Tea break
Tea break meant exactly that. There was no food. The new students could drink milk or soy milk but the old students were limited to tea or juice. I found something that tasted good and gave me enough energy for the rest of the day. I drank a glass of hot water that contained a teaspoon of lemon extract, a teaspoon of fresh, ground ginger, and a lot of honey. After eating, I went to the walking area and walked another kilometer around the path. Actually we got quite a bit of exercise. I found that during each day we climbed 20 flights of stairs and then later came down those stairs again. The mediation hall and the dining hall were both on the second floor and there were stairs in front of the large building.

6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
This was a repeat of the previous two group meditations.

7:00-8:15 pm Teacher's Discourse in the hall
During this time we heard a dhamma talk by Goenkaji. The students were divided up by language so I am not sure what the others heard. There were four native speakers of English and we went to the dinning hall where we watched a video of Goenkaji speaking. He discussed discussed the program, what we had done, what we were going to do, and why. He also present the basic ideas from Buddhism on which the course is based - for example, the Four Nobel Truths and the Noble Eight-fold Path. These are the basics of all Buddhism but he presented them in a completely nonsectarian way. In fact he spoke against sects of all kinds. He did frequently point out that the material in the course did not conflict with any of the major religions, so it is possible to take the course and keep your religion.

8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall
Whatever the Japanese heard during the discourse (a translation?), it took longer than the video that we watched, so we would go outside and watch the moon rise over the trees until they had finished. Then, after they had a 5 minute break, we all went back to the meditation hall for the remainder of the time until 9. If there was enough time, we meditated. If not, we heard a bit of a Goenkaji tape. At nine the teachers released us for the night.

9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall
Anyone who had questions could stay and speak with the teacher, but I always returned to my room. After brushing my teeth, I would get into bed and put a towel over my eyes to keep out the light. I was always asleep before the other students finished whatever they were doing.
9:30 pm Retire to your own room--Lights out
At 9:30 someone from the room would turn out the lights, or so I presume because the next time I woke up they were always off.




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