The Vipassana Retreat

　　2. Orientation to the Practice

　　Vipassana meditation is by its nature developmental. It requires practice, that is, repeated performance or the repetition of an action to develop a skill. The skill that is being developed is that of close attentiveness to and experiential investigation of one”s own mind-body processes. In this way one progressively develops insights. Thus the practice is known as Insight meditation or Vipassana.

　　Adjusting to the Retreat Situation

　　Whether this is a first time experience of intensive meditation or you are a meditator who has some experience in this style of Vipassana practice, every meditator at the beginning of a retreat will need to make some adjustment to the retreat situation - at least in having to settle down and get into the rhythm of the practice.

　　First let us look how one relates to an intensive retreat situation and the way to adjust to the retreat environment, before the basic instructions and the framework that puts the practice into its context are given.

　　Self-regulatory Approach

　　This is not a group practice. There are no formal group sittings or any orchestrated practice. The walking and sitting meditation sessions are done inpidually to allow you to go at your own pace. As this is essentially a self-regulatory practice, it is necessary that you learn how to manage yourself in the practice so that you can make your own adjustments as you go along with the help of the teacher. To self-manage the practice requires you have a thorough understanding of what you are doing as far as techniques and strategies go.

　　For the practice to stay on track though, it is important that the teacher and the student work together in tandem. The teacher needs to be a technician of Vipassana meditation with travel experience, whose role is to instruct, inspire and guide the meditator. But even when you go along with a guide, you still have to do your own work, which in this case is quite demanding, as the practice requires honesty, patience, and above all, persistence.

　　Putting Aside Unfinished Business

　　At the beginning of the retreat, there can be a lot of busyness of an ongoing nature in the mind that is brought into the retreat. Perhaps there is some ”unfinished business” you have not dealt with, especially if it is of an emotional nature such as a problem in a relationship. So at the start of a retreat, it is useful to make a formal determination to oneself (adithani) to put aside as much as possible all outside business for the duration of the retreat. This will help you to settle and minimise the disturbances these preoccupations have on the mind.

　　Be Gentle with Yourself

　　Be gentle with yourself as perhaps you are carrying a sleep-debt or are stressed. Most people, at least initially and up to two to three days, will experience some sleepiness and restlessness at the beginning of a retreat. If you allow for that, and without reacting too much to it, you will soon find yourself settling down into the routine of the retreat. So allow for a settling-in period as you recuperate and allow the mind to settle down somewhat. Then you will be able to focus your attention on what is happening in your own mind-body and in good time as the practice matures you will experience the naturally silent mind.

　　Changing the Focus

　　In everyday life we are naturally preoccupied with the content of our minds – the internal narrative, our story. For the most part, we are externally focused on sensory objects. What needs to happen is the change in one”s focus from the sensory world with its external focus to an inner exploration of our own mind-body experience. In the intensive retreat situation, as the mind settles down, there is a switch to investigating the natural processes of the mind an…

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