Dhamma Medini New Zealand Vipassana Meditation Centre

21/05/2025

ANICCA (pali word) for IMPERMANANCE

1. Understanding Anicca
Anicca means impermanence—the reality that all things, physical and mental, are in a constant state of flux.
This insight is central to Vipassana. It’s not just philosophical—it’s something to be directly experienced.

2. Practicing Vipassana on Anicca
Vipassana meditation begins with Anapana (awareness of breath), which sharpens concentration. Then, you move to Vipassana proper, where you observe bodily sensations and mental phenomena with equanimity.

Observe Sensations:

Scan your body slowly and systematically.
Note sensations: heat, tingling, pain, pressure, itching, etc.
Understand Impermanence:

Notice how sensations arise and pass away.
Even pain or discomfort, when observed calmly, changes over time.
Maintain Equanimity:

Do not cling to pleasant sensations or resist unpleasant ones.
Realize that all are impermanent, so no need to attach or aversion.
Decondition the Mind:

By repeatedly observing anicca, you start to break the habit of craving and aversion, leading to liberation from suffering (dukkha).

13/05/2025

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN THE 5 PRECEPTS ON DHAMMA LAND?

It is important to observe the Five Precepts everywhere but it is especially important on Dhamma land. The first reason is that it is so difficult to observe these precepts in the outside world. In daily life there are many reasons why people break their sila (morality). But on Dhamma land, where there is a wonderful Dhamma atmosphere, the influence of Mara is much weaker than in the outside world, so you should take advantage of this to strengthen yourself in sila. If you cannot observe silain an atmosphere like this, how can you expect to maintain sila in the world? How will you develop in Dhamma?

Secondly, it is meritorious to observe sila anywhere, but observing sila on Dhamma land is more meritorious. Equally, it is harmful to break sila anywhere, but breaking sila on Dhamma land is more harmful. Understand why this is so. As soon as a defilement is generated in the mind you contribute a bad vibration to the atmosphere, and you can’t break any sila unless some impurity first comes in the mind and then manifests as an unwholesome action of speech or body. If you generate that kind of vibration in a marketplace full of unhealthy vibrations, you contribute something bad to the atmosphere, no doubt. But it is already full of bad vibrations, so your contribution is inconspicuous — just as a new stain on a dirty shirt is inconspicuous. But if you generate mental defilements in the good atmosphere of a centre, you pollute the atmosphere in the same way that even a tiny spot of dirt spoils a clean white shirt.

The mind doesn’t stay idle; it generates either impurity or purity. When you don’t generate impurity you generate purity, good vibrations, and these are your positive contributions to the atmosphere. After all, how does land become Dhamma land? By the meditation of goodhearted people generating good vibrations, which permeate the atmosphere. This is your dana to the centre, and it is far superior to material dana.

The more people who meditate in one place, the stronger the vibration becomes. And the good vibrations at a Dhamma centre are helpful not only to those who attend the present courses; they also accumulate. This atmosphere of pure Dhamma will support students for generations, for centuries. You don’t know who will come to your centre after five or ten generations, after centuries. What a wonderful gift you are giving to those unknown people. Your dana is wonderful.

Equally, the negative vibrations you generate are harmful not only to the present meditators, but also to future meditators who won’t get the strong, good atmosphere that they should. That is why it is important to observe sila on Dhamma land. It is fruitful for the one who generates good vibrations by observing sila, and fruitful for others now and in the future.

Therefore observe sila. It is the foundation of Dhamma. Keep this foundation strong.

04/05/2025

Vipassana Meditation
Sayagyi U Ba Khin

Impermanence (anicca) is the essential factor which must be experienced first and understood by practice. A mere reading of books on Buddhism or a book-knowledge of the Buddha-Dhamma will not be enough for the understanding of true anicca because the experiential aspect will be missing. It is only through experience and understanding of the nature of change (anicca) as an ever-changing process within your very self that you can understand change in the way the Buddha would have you understand it. This understanding of anicca can be developed as it was in the days of the Buddha by persons who have no book-knowledge whatsoever of Buddhism.

Today, with the world facing serious problems, many of which threaten mankind, the time is ripe for everyone to take to Vipassana meditation and learn how to find a deep pool of quiet in the midst of all that is happening. Impermanence is inside everyone. It is within the reach of everyone. Feel anicca, impermanence, experience anicca, become engrossed in the awareness of impermanence, anicca, and it will be possible to cut away from the world of ideation outside. Anicca will be the gem of life which you will treasure to create a reservoir of calm and balanced energy for your own well-being and for the welfare of society.

When the awareness of impermanence, anicca is properly developed, it strikes at the root of your physical and mental ills and gradually removes whatever is bad in you—the sources of your physical and mental ills.

There is no special technique for activating the awareness of impermanence, anicca other than the use of the mind set to a perfect state of balance and attention projected to the object of meditation. In Vipassana the object of meditation is impermanence, anicca. Therefore, if you are used to drawing back your attention to body sensations, you will be able to feel impermanence directly. You should first experience anicca on or in the body in the area where you can easily fix your attention, changing the area of attention from place to place, from head to feet. At times you should probe into the interior. No attention is to be paid to the anatomy of the body. Direct attention is given to the formation of matter, kalapas, and the nature of their constant change.

25/03/2025

"It is a basic human need that everyone wants to
live a happy life. For this, one has to experience
real happiness. The so-called happiness that one
experiences by having money, power, and
indulging in sensual pleasures is not real
happiness. It is very fragile, unstable and fleeting.
For real happiness, for lasting stable happiness,
one has to make a journey deep within oneself and
get rid of all the unhappiness stored in the deeper
levels of the mind. As long as there is misery at
the depth of the mind all attempts to feel happy
at the surface level of the mind prove futile." ~ S. N. Goenka

11/03/2025

Gonekaji's on dealing with life's challenges ... excerpt from a letter to his younger brothers and their spouses written in December 1968:

"1. Sorrow should not arise on the mind. Why should we be sad for those things that were meant to pass away anyway? Why should we agonize over losses when what slipped through our hands was meant to be lost sooner or later?

"2. Not a trace of hatred towards anybody should arise in the mind. Those who were responsible for us losing our wealth, our assets, are worthy only of our compassion, not our anger. They were only an apparent cause. If not them, somebody else would have become that cause. The businesses could have been impacted adversely in another way. There could have been a natural calamity like a fire, flood, or an earthquake, and whom could we have blamed then? In light of this, take whatever has happened now as consequences of our past kamma, and forbear it peacefully. Herein is the victory of the Dhamma. By being wrathful, we will generate unwholesome mental deeds and will be doing harm only to ourselves, none other.

"3. Let not fear overpower the mind. ‘Oh, what will happen now? How will the future be?’ Letting such apprehensions consume the mind will lead it astray from the path of the Dhamma. We should trust in our good deeds. Understand that whatever is happening is for our good. Even if that means that we will have to face economic adversities. The many unwholesome deeds we committed in our infinite past lives have not yet been consumed in the purifying fires of Vipassana. When such actions come to fruition, the best way to be rid of their debt is to bear the hardships that follow with a smile. The path ahead will thus be rid of thorns. The mind should be filled with joy that these are coming up in the wake of our wisdom gained from the Dhamma. Just imagine if these had arisen in a life when we had no trace of understanding of the Dhamma! In such an existence, if miseries became unbearable, we would have just multiplied them several times over by generating defilements, and then performing numerous unwholesome actions. Thankfully, such is not the case. There is no sorrow on the mind, no anger stemming from that, nor do we fear for the future with apprehension."

02/03/2025

Suffering, war and conflict are as old as history. Do you really believe in a world of peace?

Mr. S. N. Goenka: Well, even if a few people come out of misery, it is good. When there is darkness all around and one lamp has started giving light, it is good. And like this, if one lamp becomes ten lamps, or twenty lamps, the darkness will get dispelled here and there. There is no guarantee that the entire world will become peaceful, but as much peace as you can make yourself, that much you are helping the peace of the world.

17/02/2025

10/02/2025

The Importance of Daily Meditation*.
(Discourse given by Goenkaji to some 5,000 old students in Nagpur, India, on October 8, 2000.)
My dear Dhamma sons and Dhamma daughters:
I am very happy that we have sat together and practiced pure Dhamma.
Meditating together is of great importance.
"Sukho buddhanam uppado. Sukha saddhammadesana. Sukha sanghassa samaggi. Samagganam tapo sukho."
"Happy is the arising of the Buddhas in the world.
Happy is the teaching of pure Dhamma.
Happy is the coming together of meditators. Happiness is meditating together."
🪷 Two thousand six hundred years ago, Gotama the Buddha arose in this country and taught pure Dhamma, bringing great happiness to the world.
People started living in accordance with the teaching. They started meditating together just as we have done today. There is no greater happiness than this.
When Dhamma brothers and sisters sit and meditate together, our practice is strengthened because the
meditation of others is strong and the entire atmosphere is charged with Dhamma.
Whenever possible, meditators should have joint sittings at least once a week.
Every meditator has to develop the strength to face the ups and downs of life.
To do this, it is necessary to meditate one hour in the morning and evening daily, to meditate
together once a week, and to take a ten-day course at least once a year.
Then you will keep progressing on the path.
Householders face many difficulties and obstacles.
Even those who have renounced the household life tell me that they are not able to meditate regularly.
But we must not give up!
In spite of all difficulties we must meditate daily, morning and evening.
🪷 To keep the body healthy and strong, we do physical exercises, such as yoga, jogging or walking; otherwise our bodies will become weak and diseased.
It is even more necessary to keep our minds healthy and strong; we should not allow them to become weak or diseased.
We live in a complex and stressful world.
When our minds are not strong, we lose our balance and become miserable.
Sometimes meditators come to me and say:
"I have stopped meditating. What can I do? I am too busy!"
This is a feeble excuse. We give food to the body three or four times a day, do we not? We don't say, "I am such a busy person, I don't have time for food today."
The meditation that we do every morning and evening makes the mind strong.
When we forget this, we harm ourselves.
Even when we have a very heavy workload, we must do this mental exercise.
Those who have not learned this meditation are unfortunate.
But those who have received this benevolent teaching and are not using it are even more unfortunate.
It is a great good fortune to be born as a human being.
Only a human being can eradicate mental defilements from the depth of the mind. This work cannot be done by animals, birds, reptiles, insects or other lower beings. Even a human being cannot do this work if he or she does not practice this technique.
Suppose someone is born as a human, finds this wonderful technique, learns to use it, benefits from it and still discontinues the practice - what a misfortune!
Suppose a bankrupt person finds a treasure, then discards it and becomes bankrupt again; a starving person receives delicious food, discards it and becomes hungry again; a sick person finds medicine, discards it and becomes sick again-very unfortunate, indeed!
We should never make this mistake.
You have attained a human birth.
You have come in contact with this wonderful Dhamma.
You have developed faith in this technique because you have benefited from it.
And yet you have stopped meditating.
Do not be heedless.
You are not doing anyone a favor by meditating twice a day.
You are not doing your teacher a favor; you are doing yourself a favor.
🪷 When someone starts feeling sensations on the body, understand that the door of liberation has opened.
A person who cannot feel sensations on the body is unfortunate; the door of liberation has not opened for them.
When one learns to remain equanimous towards the sensations, not only has the door opened but one has entered and started walking on the path of liberation.
At the time of death some sensation will arise, and if we are not aware and react with aversion, we will go to the lower planes of existence.
But a good meditator who remains equanimous towards the sensations at the time of death will not go to a lower plane.
This is how we make our own future.
Death can come at any time. We do not have an agreement with death that it should come only when we are ready. With Dhamma, we are ready whenever it comes.
🪷 Vipassana is a priceless gem that can liberate us from the cycle of birth and death.
It will improve not only this life but future lives, leading ultimately to full liberation from all suffering.
Some may say, "But we do not have time, we have so much work."
These are poor excuses for squandering an invaluable jewel.
When there is sorrow, despair or dullness in daily life for whatever reason, this technique will help.
Vedana samosarana sabbe dhamma-Whatever arises in the mind (dhamma) flows together with sensations.
Mind and body are interrelated.
When a defilement arises in the mind, some sensation will arise in the body.
This is the law of nature.
A meditator understands that there is a defilement in the mind and observes sensation in the body.
One practices this thoroughly, not just once or twice but again and again.
Every sensation is impermanent; the defilement connected to it is also impermanent.
When we observe sensations, the defilements become weak and drain away - like a thief who enters a house and, finding that the master of the house is awake, runs away.
Such a great benefit!
No matter what defilement arises, whether lust, egotism, envy, fear or anything else, we will not be overpowered.
We have learned the art of living.
Negativities will keep occurring throughout our lives, for this reason or that.
We have a very effective weapon in the sensations.
No enemy will be able to overpower us; we are the masters.
Vipassana is the technique to make us our own masters.
You have come on the path of Vipassana.
Understand that you have received an invaluable jewel.
Now you must meditate regularly to be happy and peaceful for the whole life.
May all beings be happy, be peaceful, be liberated.
(Vipassana international newsletter.July' 04)

05/02/2025

“When you start realizing the fact that even the most pleasant sensations you experience are dukkha (suffering), then you are coming nearer to liberation…If you start craving pleasant sensations, you are inviting misery.”

S.N. Goenka

22/01/2025

“Nobody causes suffering for you, you cause suffering for yourself by generating tensions in the mind. If you know how not to do that, it becomes easy to remain peaceful and happy in every situation.”

S.N. Goenka

12/01/2025

Good
to have mastery over speech, good to have physical mastery, but one who is master of his mind is a warrior of real courage.