Vipassana movement

The Vipassana movement refers to a number of branches of modern Theravāda Buddhism, for example in the various traditions of Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos and Thailand including contemporary American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield (who were inspired by Theravāda teachers Mahasi Sayadaw and Ajahn Chah Subhatto), as well as nonsectarian derivatives from those traditions such as the movement lead by S. N. Goenka who studied with teacher Sayagyi U Ba Khin. [Fronsdal, Gil (1998) p.1]

Meditation Techniques

The various movements espouse similar meditation techniques. Teachers with the vipassana movement teach forms of samatha and vipassanā meditation consistent with Buddhist meditation as taught by the Buddha. According to S. N. Goenka, they are essentially non-sectarian in character and have universal application. One need not convert to Buddhism to practice these styles of meditation. Meditation centers teaching the vipassanā popularized by S. N. Goenka exist now in India, Asia, North and South America, Europe, Australia, Middle East and Africa.

Mahasati Meditation is an example of these practices. In the tradition of S.N.Goenka, Vipassanā practice focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind [ [http://www.torana.dhamma.org/introvp.html "Vipassana Meditation: As taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin"] ] .

The [http://insightcenter.org Insight Center] was founded in Los Angeles, California to provide evidence-based training to the general public, psychotherapists and nurses in basic and advanced practices of insight meditation and mindfulness psychotherapy. The Center offers consultations and trainings accredited by the American Psychological Association and the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as a Continuing Education Provider. At the core of advanced practices is the systematic body scanning taught in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin.

Famous masters

*Ledi Sayadaw (1846 - 1943) Burmese monk and meditation master
* Sayagyi U Ba Khin (1899 - 1971) Burmese lay meditation master
*Mahasi Sayadaw (1904 - 1982) Burmese monk and meditation master
* Ajahn Chah Subhatto (1918 - 1992) Thai forest monk and meditation master

Notable living teachers

*Ajahn Sumedho
*Ajahn Amaro
*Ajahn Sobin S. Namto [cite web|url=http://vipassanadhura.com/ourteacher.htm|title=Our Teacher - |publisher=vipassanadhura.com|accessdate=2008-05-04]
*Henepola Gunaratana
*Bhikkhu Bodhi
*Christopher Titmuss
*Gil Fronsdal
*Jack Kornfield
*Joseph Goldstein
*Larry Rosenberg
*Luangpor Thong
*Rodney Smith
*S. N. Goenka
*Sayadaw U Pandita
*Sharon Salzberg
*Shinzen Young
*Sujin Boriharnwanaket
*Noah Levine
*Matthew Flickstein

Vipassanā in prisons

Vipassanā movement traditions have offered meditation programs in some prisons. One notable example was in 1993 when Kiran Bedi, a reformist Inspector General of India's prisons, learned of the success of vipassanā in a jail in Jaipur, Rajasthan. A ten-day retreat involved officials and inmates alike was then tried in India's largest prison Tihar Jail near New Delhi. This program was said to have dramatically changed the behavior of inmates and jailers alike. Inmates who completed the ten-day course were less violent and had a lower recidivism rate than other inmates. This project was documented in the documentary film, "Doing Time, Doing Vipassana". [ [http://www.prison.dhamma.org/dtdv.htm Doing Time, Doing Vipassana review] ]

ee also

*Buddhism
*Theravada
*Vipassanā

References

* Fronsdal, Gil (1998) " [http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/articles/InsightintheUS.html Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness] " from Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka, "The Faces of Buddhism in America", Chapter 9

Further reading

* "Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation". Joseph Goldstein & Jack Kornfield (2001< Reissue) Shambhala. ISBN 157062805X
* "Beyond the Breath: Extraordinary Mindfulness Through Whole-Body Vipassana". (2002) Marshall Glickman. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 1582900434.
* "Journey to the Center: A Meditation Workbook". Matthew Flickstein and Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. (1998) Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-141-6.
* "In this Very Life" Sayadaw U Pandita, [http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/pandita9.htm In this Very Life]