The Importance of Self-Observation

　　- by S. N. Goenka

　　(The following has been translated and adapted from the fourth in a series of 44 Hindi discourses broadcast on Zee TV. It was originally published in the September 1998 issue of the Vipaśyana Patrikā.)

　　When one comes to a Vipassana centre to learn to purify the mind with the technique of Vipassana, one has to stay at the centre for ten days, follow all the rules and regulations, and observe the five precepts scrupulously. The work starts by focussing one”s attention on one”s own respiration and developing awareness of the truth manifesting within oneself. It is a technique of self-observation, observation of the truth.

　　This entire body-aggregate-is it ”I”

　　 Is it ”mine”

　　 Is it ”my soul”

　　 One must understand this at the experiential level. Since childhood, one has been hearing that this body is mortal, impermanent, transitory. How can it be ”I”

　　 How can it be ”mine”

　　 How can it be ”my soul”

　　 One accepts it because there are layers of conditioning of this belief on the intellect. One has been hearing and accepting since childhood that the body is different, the soul is different. But is this the truth

　　 We have to understand the truth at the level of direct experience.

　　Similarly one calls the mind-aggregate ”I” and ”mine”. Is it really ”I”

　　 Is it really ”mine”

　　 Is it really ”my soul”

　　 On the basis of whatever we have heard since childhood we say, "This mind is impermanent, it is ephemeral, it is transient. How can this be ”I”

　　 How can this be ”mine”

　　 How can this be ”my soul”

　　" This is a belief; it is not knowledge based on actual experience.

　　One has to gain full understanding of the body, the mind and mental states at the level of direct experience. Initially, one experiences gross truths. One starts with the experience of gross truths. As one develops in the field of direct experience, one gains knowledge of progressively subtler and subtler truths. If one keeps observing objectively, without reacting, layers of negativities are removed from the mind. The eradication of these layers of negativities results in the experiencing of subtler truths. As more and more layers are removed, more and more subtle truths are experienced. Thus one progresses from observation of the grossest truths of the body to the stage where one experiences the subtlest truths of the body; one experiences the subtlest truths of this material world.

　　Similarly, one starts by observing the gross states of the mind. As one continues to observe subtler and subtler truths, the negativities of the mind are gradually removed. Thus, one observes the entire field of body and mind at the experiential level and finds that it is impermanent, ephemeral, changing every moment. This is not a mere belief; one understands this truth of impermanence at the level of direct experience, until one reaches a stage beyond mind and matter, which is the ultimate truth. One starts on this path with the base of truth, the truth that one experiences oneself. If one just imagines something that one has heard or read somewhere, or accepts something based on devotion or intellectualisation, one will not progress. One must examine the truth about oneself at the level of experience.

　　One sits erect in a comfortable posture with eyes and mouth closed and starts the work of investigation of the truth of oneself. What truth is being revealed about this body and mind

　　 The first truth that is revealed is the incoming and outgoing breath. One is not imagining it; one is actually experiencing it. The breath is coming in; the breath is going out. One remains aware of natural, normal respiration. It is difficult to concentrate the mind using the object of natural respiration, but it is important in order to progress on this path.

　　I know…

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