NOTES FROM A TEN-DAY CONCENTRATION CAMP
A decade back when a friend asked me if I was interested in attending the ten-day Vipassana meditation course along with him, my instant reaction was: “Sitting silently for ten days without talking? Are you mad?” It was definitely not my kind of thing. Forget about sitting cross-legged, I can’t sit without moving even for five minutes. I had missed the bus the first time.
A couple of years later, when I was struggling to cope up with the restlessness of my mind, I was reminded of my friend's idea of going for S N Goenka’s concentration camp. But this time I was even more scared because it was not just sitting, I had to put up with my restless mind too. Also, I always had this notion that you should cultivate perfect stillness of the body before you sit down for meditation. I missed the bus for the second time again.
Though I missed the bus, I set sail on the journey by enrolling for its physical counterpart, yoga. In the next five years I diversified to running, and eventually to cycling, and I was pretty happy with my exercise regimen. But that nagging feeling was always there that I should have gone for the Vipassana course.
So, in 2009 when I felt confident enough that I can withstand the rigors of the concentration camp, I enrolled for the course at the Vipassana International Academy in Dhammagiri. But still I had my apprehensions: Will I be able to withstand the ten-day solitary confinement in the midst of people? Will I be able to sit for so many hours watching my breath? What if I go crazy watching the thoughts in my mind? These and a thousand other questions preyed on my mind when I stepped into the sacred precincts of the Academy.
As you can see, I have come back alive, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this book. And this book is a humorous account of the trials and tribulations, the joys and sorrows, and the agony and ecstasy I had gone through during those ten days. Seriously funny and funnily serious, it gives a thorough insight into what the meditation practitioners do, how they do it, what they eat, and how they cope up with the maddening meditation hours.
If you are planning to attend the course, this book will tell you what to expect from it. If you are attending the course, it will dispel your myths and fears. And if you have already attended the course, you can recall your sweet memories reading the book.
May the book bring you real joy and happiness.
A decade back when a friend asked me if I was interested in attending the ten-day Vipassana meditation course along with him, my instant reaction was: “Sitting silently for ten days without talking? Are you mad?” It was definitely not my kind of thing. Forget about sitting cross-legged, I can’t sit without moving even for five minutes. I had missed the bus the first time.
A couple of years later, when I was struggling to cope up with the restlessness of my mind, I was reminded of my friend's idea of going for S N Goenka’s concentration camp. But this time I was even more scared because it was not just sitting, I had to put up with my restless mind too. Also, I always had this notion that you should cultivate perfect stillness of the body before you sit down for meditation. I missed the bus for the second time again.
Though I missed the bus, I set sail on the journey by enrolling for its physical counterpart, yoga. In the next five years I diversified to running, and eventually to cycling, and I was pretty happy with my exercise regimen. But that nagging feeling was always there that I should have gone for the Vipassana course.
So, in 2009 when I felt confident enough that I can withstand the rigors of the concentration camp, I enrolled for the course at the Vipassana International Academy in Dhammagiri. But still I had my apprehensions: Will I be able to withstand the ten-day solitary confinement in the midst of people? Will I be able to sit for so many hours watching my breath? What if I go crazy watching the thoughts in my mind? These and a thousand other questions preyed on my mind when I stepped into the sacred precincts of the Academy.
As you can see, I have come back alive, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this book. And this book is a humorous account of the trials and tribulations, the joys and sorrows, and the agony and ecstasy I had gone through during those ten days. Seriously funny and funnily serious, it gives a thorough insight into what the meditation practitioners do, how they do it, what they eat, and how they cope up with the maddening meditation hours.
If you are planning to attend the course, this book will tell you what to expect from it. If you are attending the course, it will dispel your myths and fears. And if you have already attended the course, you can recall your sweet memories reading the book.
May the book bring you real joy and happiness.
