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While backpacking through India, I crossed paths with a martial artist friend at the House of Travelers Hostel in Agra.
Our friendship began over a simple gesture—he offered me some boiled eggs after his workout, and I gratefully accepted.
During our conversations, he mentioned attending a meditation course seven times after each fight, a practice that helped him release the aggressive and negative energy accumulated from intense battles.
As someone who came to India to deepen my understanding of meditation and spirituality, this immediately piqued my interest.
He recommended the Vipassana meditation retreat, and it triggered a memory—another friend had mentioned the same course just a few months prior.
At the time, I didn’t know much about Vipassana, only that it was supposed to enhance meditation.
The website he gave me was Dhamma.org, where I tried to book a course in India, but the retreats were fully booked months in advance.
Eventually, I enrolled in a Vipassana course in Lamphun, Thailand, after returning to my Muay Thai training.
The 10-day retreat answered many questions about the 8 Limbs of Yoga, reaching higher states of consciousness, cleansing the subconscious mind, and mastering meditation.
What to expect from this Blog
Obviously, the blog post title is misleading 😆 .
I highly recommend you to attend a 10 Day Vipassana Meditation Retreat.
In this blog, I will share some insights:
1. What Vipassana is
2. 10 Day Course Schedule and rules
3. My personal experience and interpretation
WHAT IS VIPASSANA?
“Vipassana is one of India’s most ancient meditation techniques. Long lost to humanity, it was rediscovered by Gotama the Buddha more than 2500 years ago.
Vipassana means seeing things as they really are.
It is the process of self-purification by self-observation. One begins by observing the natural breath to concentrate the mind.
With a sharpened awareness one proceeds to observe the changing nature of body and mind and experiences the universal truths of impermanence, suffering and egolessness.
This truth-realization by direct experience is the process of purification.
The entire path (Dhamma) is a universal remedy for universal problems and has nothing to do with any organized religion or sectarianism.
For this reason, it can be freely practiced by everyone, at any time, in any place, without conflict due to race, community or religion, and it will prove equally beneficial to one and all.”
(S.N, Goenka, Vipassana Welcome Email)
What Vipassana is not:
Welcome Email:
- It is not a rite or ritual based on blind faith.
- It is neither an intellectual nor a philosophical entertainment.
- It is not a rest cure, a holiday, or an opportunity for socializing.
- It is not an escape from the trials and tribulations of everyday life.
What Vipassana is:
Welcome Email:
- It is a technique that will eradicate suffering.
- It is an art of living that one can use to make positive contributions to society.
- It is a method of mental purification which allows one to face life’s tensions and problems in a calm, balanced way.
“Vipassana meditation aims at the highest spiritual goals of total liberation and full enlightenment. Its purpose is never simply to cure physical disease.
However, as a by-product of mental purification, many psychosomatic diseases are eradicated. In fact, Vipassana eliminates the three causes of all unhappiness: craving, aversion and ignorance.
With continued practice, the meditation releases the tensions developed in everyday life, opening the knots tied by the old habit of reacting in an unbalanced way to pleasant and unpleasant situations.
Although Vipassana was developed as a technique by the Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. There is absolutely no question of conversion.
The technique works on the simple basis that all human beings share the same problems and a technique which can eradicate these problems will have a universal application.
People from many religious denominations have experienced the benefits of Vipassana meditation, and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.”
(S.N, Goenka, Vipassana Welcome Email)
SCHEDULE
Class Schedule
- 4:00 a.m.———————Morning wake-up bell
- 4:30-6:30 a.m.————– Meditate in the hall or in your room
- 6:30-8:00 a.m.————– Breakfast break
- 8:00-9:00 a.m.————–Group meditation in the hall
- 9:00-11:00 a.m.————-Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher’s instructions
- 11:00-12:00 noon———-Lunch break
- 12noon-1:00 p.m.———-Rest, and interviews with the teacher
- 1:00-2:30 p.m.————– Meditate in the hall or in your room
- 2:30-3:30 p.m.————–Group meditation in the hall
- 3:30-5:00 p.m.————– Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher’s instructions
- 5:00-6:00 p.m.————– Tea break
- 6:00-7:00 p.m.————–Group meditation in the hall
- 7:00-8:15 p.m.————–Teacher’s Discourse in the hall
- 8:15-9:00 p.m.————–Group meditation in the hall
- 9:00-9:30 p.m.————–Question time in the hall
- 9:30 p.m.———————Retire to your room; lights out
PRECEPTS
The Precepts: Rules for 10 Day Vipassana Course
All those who attend a Vipassana course must conscientiously undertake the following five precepts during the course:
- 1. to abstain from killing any living creature;
- 2. to abstain from stealing;
- 3. to abstain from all sexual activity;
- 4. to abstain from telling lies;
- 5. to abstain from all intoxicants
There are three additional precepts which old students (that is, those who have completed a course with S.N. Goenka or one of his assistant teachers) are expected to follow: - 6. to abstain from eating after midday;
- 7. to abstain from sensual entertainment and bodily decoration;
- 8. to abstain from using high or luxurious beds.
(S.N, Goenka, Vipassana Welcome Email)
Experience & Understanding
During the 10-day Vipassana Meditation, I learned several key points that students are encouraged to experience firsthand.
The Points:
- 1. Equanimity – a state of mental balance and even mindedness
- 2. The Law of Impermanence – states all things are in a constant state of change and will eventually end or pass away.
- 3. Vipassana – See things as they really are.
- 4. Samskara
a. psychological imprints that are formed in the unconscious mind from daily experiences;
b. the roots of our physical, mental, and emotional conditioning and habit patterns
In the first few days of the Vipassana meditation retreat, the focus is on building brain sensitivity within what I like to refer to as the “Golden Triangle.”
This involves directing attention to the small area from the upper lip to the top of the nose, observing the natural breath without trying to control it.
By narrowing your focus to this specific region, you begin to observe reality as it is.
Whether you feel air entering through the right nostril, the left nostril, or both, the practice is to simply acknowledge it.
Each sensation—whether it disappears or shifts—should be observed without reaction, maintaining equanimity, which is a core principle in the Vipassana meditation retreat.
Once sensitivity in the Golden Triangle is heightened, participants are encouraged to expand their awareness, scanning the entire body to feel more subtle sensations.
By going piece by piece, head to toe, and from toe to head, a deepened awareness of your truth. This is seeing the reality as it is in Vipassana.
Some may describe vipassana as a “mental surgical operation,” which helps individuals observe the mind and body connection with clarity.
Surface and Roots: Understanding Samskaras
During the Vipassana meditation retreat, a vital insight emerges: the mind creates misery through two key forces—craving and aversion.
Reacting to these forces, whether positively or negatively, multiplies them.
Through disciplined observation and mindfulness, Vipassana teaches students how to break this cycle, leading to a more balanced and peaceful mind
1. The Nature of Addiction and Samskaras
In a Vipassana meditation retreat, one of the key lessons is that addiction isn’t just to the substance, but to the sensations and emotions it generates.
The habit pattern of the mind forms around these feelings, creating deep psychological imprints known as samskaras.
These imprints are like unwelcome guests that take residence in the subconscious mind, shaping our physical, mental, and emotional conditioning.
The mind naturally reacts to cravings and aversion, reinforcing these samskaras.
Whether it’s the pleasure of enjoying a cool breeze or the pain of unpleasant memories, samskaras take root through repeated reactions.
In a Vipassana meditation retreat, you learn that avoiding or reacting to sensations only deepens these patterns, leading to suffering.
2. Breaking the Cycle of Craving and Aversion
During the Vipassana meditation retreat, practitioners are taught to break this cycle of craving and aversion by practicing equanimity—the ability to remain balanced and objective in the face of both positive and negative sensations.
This means neither attaching to pleasant experiences nor resisting unpleasant ones.
Through body scanning, a core Vipassana technique, sensations are observed without reaction. Whether the sensation is physical pain, an emotional trigger, or a positive feeling, the practice encourages you to observe it as it is, without judgment.
By doing so, the deep-seated samskaras that govern our subconscious mind begin to unravel, relieving the suffering they cause.
3. Healing at Deeper Levels of the Subconscious
A pivotal insight from a Vipassana meditation retreat is that pain and suffering come in layers. As you meditate, focusing on painful sensations can reveal suppressed memories and emotions.
These layers of pain, once acknowledged and observed without reaction, slowly dissipate. As one layer clears, a deeper layer emerges, often accompanied by stronger emotions or traumas.
This process can be challenging, but it’s also a sign of healing. As deeper levels of samskaras are released, the mind becomes lighter, more peaceful, and free from the subconscious patterns that previously controlled it.
Ultimately, the consistent practice of Vipassana allows practitioners to experience sensations throughout the entire body at will, without attachment, leading to profound inner peace and emotional resilience.
Warning: Once you are able to feel subtle sensations throughout the body, these sensations will generally feel good. You must not attach to or seek these sensations or you will be doing the opposite of Vipassana Meditation.
Conclusion
To conclude, it’s important to remember that Vipassana meditation is entirely based on personal experience.
You cannot enter a Vipassana meditation retreat expecting to have the same experiences or sensations as someone else.
While you may encounter similarities, your journey will be uniquely yours.
Understand:
DO NOT SEEK OUT EXPERIENCES OR SENSATIONS. THEY WILL FIND YOU.
This post reflects my personal insights from a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat and serves as a guide for both new and experienced meditators.
By sharing my experience, I hope to help others better understand the process of cleansing the subconscious mind, and reassure them that they are on the right path in their meditation practice.
I genuinely believe that this technique has the potential to transform lives, regardless of culture, religion, or background, which is why I am passionate about spreading its teachings.
If you are human, you will benefit.
If you’re interested in learning the technique firsthand, I highly recommend attending a Vipassana meditation retreat.
It is an invaluable opportunity to dive deep into your practice and experience the profound effects of this timeless meditation technique.
If you found this post helpful, please share it with someone who might also benefit from Vipassana meditation.
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