Twenty men and forty women attended the ten day Vipassana course in a remote and peaceful valley 50 miles north of Auckland.
Vipassana meditation is a technique that was developed by the Buddha 2,500 years ago. It is not religious or sectarian. It has proved to be successfully used in prisons in India, also in a women's prison in America, all with dramatic results.
The days were long and hard: 17 hours, with two vegan meals,
rising at 04.00, breakfast at 06.30 and lunch at 11.30. Twelve hours were spent with eyes closed meditating in a hall
under subdued light. The sexes were strictly segregated. The only sound in the total silence was a gong which summoned one to start and finish meditating and to come to the silent meal times. It was revelatory to have unresolved thoughts come to the surface, which had lain buried, in the unconscious, for years and to be able to work on them.
Top. In thespian mode
Centre. A quiet glade
Below.
The Vipassana Retreat
No comments:
Post a Comment