In contrast with samatha meditation, which aims at calming the mind, Vipassana (‘insight meditation’) is a form of Theravada Buddhist (see Theravada Buddhism) meditation, which aims at experiencing the true nature of reality, which is the prerequisite for nirvana. In particular, Vipassana directs the student to meditate on Buddhism’s three ‘marks of existence’—anatta (insubstantiality, the absence of a permanent enduring self or soul), anicca (impermanence), and dukkha (unsastisfactoriness)—which, according to Buddhist teaching, are the three fundamental characteristics of the world.
Although there is no evidence for the Vipassana movement’s claim that the Buddha himself taught the practice, it is an ancient technique, but died out in the fourteenth century. In 1914 it was rediscovered by the Burmese monk, Ledi Sayadaw (1856-1923), who wrote a treatise on it, aimed at European students. Being written in Burmese, however, the treatise made little impact. The practice gained momentum in Burma and Thailand, where U Narada (1868-1955), U Kyaw Din (1878-1952) and U Ba Kin (18991971) promoted it. Maharsi Sayadaw (1904-82) and S.N.Goenka (b. 1924) are particularly noteworthy for teaching it to western students, and interest grew from the 1950s. Sayadaw’s students included Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzburg and Christopher Titmuss, who are the leading exponents of the practice in the West, and who founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts in 1976. Other organizations that teach the practice include the Dhiravamsa Foundation (formerly the Vipassana Fellowship of America); the English Sangha Trust, headed by the American monk, the Ven. Sumedho, also teaches Vipassana.
Although the present-day practice is believed to be a revival of the ancient one, there are a number of significant innovations. The Vipassana movement is currently taught by lay Buddhists as well as monks, with female as well as male teachers and practitioners; the practices are available in written form, in contrast with traditional oral teaching.
