Reading for Vipassana Meditators

A full-length study of the teaching of S. N. Goenka, prepared under his guidance and with his approval. Useful for meditators and non-meditators alike.

This is the first book to appear in English that accurately describes the practice of Vipassana at length for the general reader. It includes stories by Goenkaji as well as answers to students’ questions that convey a vivid sense of his teaching.

Paperback, 167 pages
Published by Vipassana Research Institute
ISBN 81-7414-008-5

Summary of the eleven discourses given by S.N.Goenka on a Vipassana meditation course including Pali passages and glossary.

"Liberation can be gained only by practice, never by mere discussion, " S.N. Goenka has said.

A course in Vipassana meditation is an opportunity to take concrete steps towards liberation. For this reason, in a Vipassana course the emphasis is always on actual practice. No philosophical debates are permitted, no theoretical arguments, no questions that are unrelated to one's own experience. As far as possible, meditators are encouraged to find the answers to their questions within themselves. The teacher provides whatever guidance is needed in the practice, but it is up to each person to implement these guidelines: one has to fight one's own battle, work out one's own salvation.

Given this emphasis, still some explanation is necessary to provide a context for the practice. Therefore every evening of a course Goenkaji gives a "Dhamma talk", in order to put into perspective the experiences of that day, and to clarify various aspects of the technique. These discourses, he warns, are not intended as intellectual or emotional entertainment. Their purpose is simply to help meditators understand what to do and why, so that they will work in the proper way and will achieve the proper results.
It is these talks that are presented here in condensed form.

The eleven discourses provide a broad overview of the teaching of the Buddha. The approach to this subject, however, is not scholarly or analytical. Instead the teaching is presented in the way that it unfolds to a meditator: as a dynamic, coherent whole. All its different facets are seen to reveal an underlying unity: the experience of meditation. This experience is the inner fire that gives true life and brilliance to the jewel of the Dhamma.

Paperback, 95 pages
Published by Vipassana Research Institute
ISBN 81-7414-023-9

Seven condensed discourses given by Goenka explaining the practice of Vipassana according to the Mahasatipatthana Sutta.

In addition to his teaching work, Mr. S.N.Goenka has presented Vipassana to the general public through hundreds of public discourses in different countries, and in different cities in India. Mr. Goenka has given the majority of these talks in Hindi;  the remainder, as in the present volume, in English. Initially, these talks were given in one session. In recent years, however, Goenkaji has developed an additional format of speaking for a series of three or five consecutive evenings, in order to treat the subject in greater depth.

The three-day series of public talks contained in this book was given in Hyderabad, A.P., India from July 22 to 24, 1993.

The Sanskrit word Dharma (which is spelled Dhamma in the Pali language) originally meant "the law of nature" or "the truth." In today's India, unfortunately, the word has lost its original meaning, and is mistakenly used to refer to "sect" or "sectarianism." Using this theme as an introduction, Goenkaji explains that Vipassana meditation teaches how to live a life of pure Dharma-a life full of peace, harmony and goodwill for others. This subject is particularly relevant in India today-and indeed the whole world-where sectarianism and communalism have divided large sections of society and caused acute suffering.

Paperback, 70 pages
Published by Vipassana Research Institute
ISBN 81-7417-015-8

This booklet presents a collection of Hindi couplets (dohas), with English translation, chanted by S.N. Goenka in his ten-day Vipassana courses.

The doha is a tradional form of inspirational poetry derived from the ancient anutthuba chandas, the poetic form most frequently used by the Buddha. In addition to the basic couplet form, the doha has a rhyme at the end of each line. Many Indian spiritual teachers have used this form as a medium for their teachings and the doha remains even today a strong part of Indian culture.

In Hindi (Roman script) and English.

Paperback, 35 pages
Published by Vipassana Research Institute
ISBN 81-7414-104-9

Three primary discourses of the Buddha that relate to the
practice of Vipassana are explained by the late U Ko Lay, scholar,
professor, and long-time student of Sayagyi U Ba Khin.

Published by: Vipassana Research Institute
Publication Date:   2002