VIPASSANA

One of the world’s oldest techniques of meditation is vipassana, often referred to simply as “insight meditation.”  Gautama Buddha is credited with rediscovering it.  The purpose of vipassana is seeing reality as it really is.

The meditator focuses on body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind, paying particular attention to how they change from moment to moment, in fact how all of existence seems forever coming and going.  He sees that what he considers to be himself, and the world, is an illusion, smoke and mirrors.  The realization of this results in the so-called not-self, a state of consciousness only.

Vipassana is one of two forms of Buddhist meditation, the other being samatha.  In samatha, the meditator focuses on the body and mind, pacifying and calming them.  It is a practice found in many traditions in the world, most notably yoga. 

Samatha is used as a preparation for vipassana.  With the mind steadied and the body stilled the real work of insight meditation proceeds.  It is said that samatha can calm the mind, but only vipassana can reveal how the mind became disturbed to begin with.