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Dipa Ma
Dipa Ma
When the mind is thus occupied and silence is not observed, it finds release in
speech. Otherwise, this kind of silence might put undue strain on the senses and
possibly result in ill-health. But when the mind is turned inward, not only can
there be no injury to health, but more than that, by constantly dwelling on the
thought of God, all the knots (granthi) that make up the ego are unravelled, an
d thereby that which has to be realized will be realized.
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DIPA MA'S INSTRUCTIONS FOR VIPASSANA
The following questions and answers were recorded in interviews with Dipa Ma in
India in the 1970s and at Insight
Meditation Society in the 1980s.
How do I practice vipassana [insight] meditation?
Dipa Ma: Sit [with your back straight] . Close your eyes and follow the rising a
nd falling, the rising and falling of the abdomen as you breathe. Feel the breat
h. When watching the breathing in and out, ask yourself, "Where is the touch of
the breath?" Keep your mind on the touch only. You are to do nothing with the br
eathing, only feel the touch. If it is heavy, let it be heavy. It if is short, l
et it be short. If it is fine, let it be fine. Just feel it.
When your mind wanders away, notice this and say to yourself, "Thinking," and th
en come back again to the rising and falling of the breath. If you feel a sensat
ion somewhere else, like pain m the leg, then take your mind to the pain and not
e, "Pain." And when it goes away or fades, then again come to watching the touch
of the breath. If restlessness comes, note "restlessness."
If you hear a noise, say to yourself, "Hearing, hearing,"
And again come back to the feeling of the breath. If memories come, know them as
"memories." Anything you see, anything that comes to mind, just be aware of it.
If you see visions or lights, just note "seeing" or "lights." There is no need
to
keep any of it, to make it stay. Simply observe.
In insight meditation, you are observing the rising and
falling of the breath and the phenomena that arise in the mind and body. So ther
e is a shifting of the mind from sensations felt, both painful and pleasurable,
to thoughts as well. Whatever is happening is to be noticed, then that will go a
way, and another thing will come. In this way, insight practice is a method of o
bservation. All six senses [the mind being the sixth] will arise.
Just watch them arise and pass away and come back to the feeling of the breath.
Anything you see, anything that comes to mind, just be aware of it.