Vipassana meditation is the oldest of the Buddhist meditation practices, used and taught by the Buddha himself. Developing Vipassana leads to a gradual and direct cultivation of mindfulness.

As we develop in Vipassana meditation, we learn to listen to our thoughts without becoming entangled in them.  We learn to train the mind and to develop insight, which is the literal translation of Vipassana.  We then can use the mind to understand the true nature of reality which leads to liberation rather than the mind running here and there and creating anxiety and frustration and separation within and among us.

Vipassana trains us to see clearly.  We see what is actually happening in our minds and our bodies and our experiences. 

The ultimate purpose of practicing Vipassana or Insight Meditation is to cultivate clear and direct seeing of the truth of:

·        impermanence (anicca),

·        suffering or the all-pervasive unsatisfactory nature of life (dukkha), and

·        not self (anatta). 

These three truths reside below the surface of our lives and if we look, we realize it is wise to recognize their truth rather than live in ignorance of them. 

Living in the delusion that there is something permanent in our lives, or that we can find lasting happiness in some material manifestation of life, or that we ourselves are solid and substantial and never changing creates suffering.  The wisdom and insights gained in cultivating Vipassana Meditation allow us to let go of clinging and thus let go of suffering. 

Theravada Monk, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, writes, “Life has a much deeper texture … if we bother to look, and if we look in the right way.”

We at RMI are here to help you look and look in the right way.