Vipassana Meditation - by Ram Dass

[MtShastaPeter]

Vipassana allows you to see the human mind from outside itself, from the universal consciousness. Try watching the breath, the inbreath and outbreath, labeling thoughts as "thinking," then coming back to the breath. If you keep the eyes slightly open, looking downward, you will be able to stay more in present time/space instead of drifting away. Check out the Shambhala Training.

[dhsheajr]

Funny how everybody gets twisted with verbal interpretation of " what most call heaven god hereafter etc" Let's just say Ram Dass is the first person who ever verbally expressed in words what I use to call" maybe heavens like this or the afterlife might be like" And here the most interesting thing, I was so enlighten by Ram dass bio documentary Only lightenment had to find me cust didn't know it for 6 months because I was judging a person belief system etc And did no

[ruzickaw]

only two months? Not a big deal. And where comes the spirit in?

[Svenrox]

There is a cabin rental in Pine, AZ where for about $10 to $15/ night you can rent the cabin and do longterm personally guided retreats. YouTube "Pine AZ Spirit Falls Cabin".

As an aside, when worldwide vipassana centers are booked, or when group wish for retreats to be created just for their groups, i fly to most states in the Western US to provide these retreats. Prices are very reasonable and the growth one experiences is extraordinary. You may email 'JohnPositive at Live.com'.

[benatssu]

vipassana is the best thing that ive experienced in my life up until now, but ram dass is talking about anaphana meditation, the awareness of breath. vipassana is the awareness of sensations and the practice of not reacting to them in order to free one from misery. either way, it doesnt really matter :) any spiritual practice that dissolves one's ego gets two thumbs up :)

[eduardoitriago]

a little spiritual ego ?

[salmonroses]

Ram Dass is great. This is such a clear explanation. In just a few mintues, he's chosen the most consise words to explain vipassana.

[yacket]

"form is emptiness, emptiness is form. emptiness is not other than form, form is not other than emptiness. In the same way, feeling discrimination, compositional factors, and consciousnesses are empty... in that way all phenomena are empty, without characteristic, unproduced, unceased, stainless, not stainless, undiminished, unfilled" - Prasastrasena's Commentary on the 'Heart' of the Heart Sutra.

~Tadyatha Om Gate Gate Paragate Parasamgate Bodhi Svaha~

[gregjustsitting]

two month meditations watching the breath, paying your dues you certainly did.

[alukuhito]

Yes, but this is seeking. Doing this is creating time. You expect a result in the future from your actions now, like war. True meditation is NOW, not when you're on retreat next weekend.

[iowdiva]

where would you go to do this silent retreat?

[Saattya]

Google these following lines (no #'s):

1: goenka vipassana

2: lama foundation hermitages

3: tat foundation retreats

Should be the first hit for each of them. 1 is the classic 10 day formalized program. 2 is personal rental of your own cabin out in the hills of New Mexico. 3 Shows a big list of retreat locations all over.

[iowdiva]

Thank you very much

[marilyndating09]

Please tell me website of Forest and huts vipassana meditation. thks

[benoblest]

@iowdiva Check out Ram Dass's book "Journey of Awakening", which covers his views on meditation as a whole, as well as an entire section of listings of meditation centers and retreats in every city and state.

[RevNagi]

@iowdiva Mountain Light Sanctuary in Barnardsville, NC just outside Asheville

[Thelilah1]

I went to a Vipassana silent retreat...there was total silence for 10 days except for 5 minutes a day talking to teacher. The silence wasnt difficult as I imagined it would be. But I was only able to get up to 5 and half hours of meditation a day and was pretty proud of myself with that. It was quite an experience and was very helpful to me. I want to do it again.

[CloudshadowMan1]

To simultaneously hold one's awareness of one's humanness and the divininity of formlessness is a worthy goal. To sit in meditation for twenty hours a day for two months could be quite a help. But after retreat would it not fade?

[pacificador24]

Sitting in meditation for 24 hours would be hella bad for you. If this guy wants to talk about the extremes of form and formlessness, then he should mention the extremes of activity and inactivity. Because just as you can get burnt out from working for 24 hours without a break, so you can cause many physical problems by not moving. But yah, if you did that to experience something blissfully powerful, then just like a dope trip it will eventually fade. You have to connect to the ordinary moment.

[taikomari]

Pacificador24,I suggest you go and try Vipassana meditation and then you will understand what the man is saying.Then you will know about the ordinary moment!Much love to you.

[pacificador24]

Sorry but you dont even know what they hell your talking about. I hate blind faith, and I cant stand assholes who think they are better than everyone else just because they have a romantic view about thier meditation. If you want to know the kind of Vipassana that I love and appreciate I suggest you read ¨Cutting through spiritual materialism¨. It might help you take a healthy approach towards spirituality by dropping the act and doing it just to do it. Not to increase your ego via meditation.

[Paahau]

pacificador24: Thumbs up man on the way you bombed that motherfucker. And what was with that homo shit, 'much love to you' ? I too hate blind faith, and people that try to tell me stuff like I don't know. Shit don't get me started! I hate all them assholes. All of them! What I'd really like to see happen is me come down from some mtn top all full of truth and such, glowing like a 80 watt bulb. Then when one of these fucks try to talk to me I turn them into a gooy soup by my Holiness.

[drkulvinder]

vipasana meditation by ram dass where he tells he goes in monasret for 2 vmths when he is only respiring & taking in air & taking out airright from 3am in morning till 9pm at night & with that breathing comes the relationship with god & thoughts are forming & matter is there you may be tal;king or not talking but matter is there & laser energy is created & human baing has emotions & it is this contol which is possible by controlling the respiration.

[wonkerman4]

@drkulvinder Please try to write better. I tried to get what youre sayin but its really hard....

[TheInfiniteMind]

Ram Dass is an excellent teacher. His method is indeed Vipassana. Before you do vipassana you must first concentrate Minds to develop a foucssed penetrative awareness. You do not necessarily then move on to observing the sensations. That is only one method as used by Goenka. However if you read the Satipathana sutta you find there are four subjects of vipassana - Body, feelings (sensations), mental factors and phenomena. He is then contemplating mental factors and phenomena which is vipassana.

[gldanny]

do you know what are the differences between the Goenka technique (sensations) and the Ram Dass one (mental factors & phenomena) ?

[fenderwasher]

funny, anyone who is not aging is dead :) Ram Dass means servant of god, and his name was previously Richard Alpert Phd

[AznKid767]

anyone want to chat

this video was good 5r

[ehtep]

This master has a unique given Hindi name of... Ram D Ass, his given name was originally

Ben Dover but as one grows in wisdom and becomes enlightend they evolve their name too to their higher level of consciences . Namaste, Blessings to all.

[epytel]

i love Ram Dass and your comment is offensive, but it is funny as hell! thanks for the chuckle... =)

[eddiebriggs]

He is going on about Annapuana and not Vipassana. You can only go so far following your breath. You can have mastery over the mind but you won't clear you past sankara's (pain body, past ingrained preconception, etc) and work become liberated.

[5imonwillis]

Your right he is only concentrating the mind, like in the first 3 to 4 days of a 10 day Vipassana but not moving onto sensations and the body. He is doing a good thing though. I have done a Vipassena in Nepal and it was one of the best things i have done. I take it you must have done one. Best wishes Simon

[fntime]

eddie, how do you clear past sankara's.

What method do you use.

I have been meditating for 10 years.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!

[nycballer4life]

i am interested in that too, is it possible with vipassana to clear all the emotional past time experiences? i read once that beside meditation one needs some kind of rebirthing method to deal with deep rooted emotions from the past.

[1dread2dread]

ritual helps these methods vary much.

[ignorence]

vipassana is for mind what microscope is for science

[snpmurray]

blah blah...

Alpert never escaped rabbiting constantly. No matter how many people told him the first trick was to shut your mouth. Ego. Start to finish with no respite.

[ArgotMay]

There are free Vipassana rehab and recovery centers around for those who need it. Also, Ram Dass is still teaching. His book 'Still Here' is great for anyone who is aging : ).

[budik33]

this is very nice we have to think something

[zubwind]

Thanks for posting this.

[rgn39]

I like Ram Dass but I think he has spent the last couple of decades trying to recapture the experiences of LSD and his guru with all these different techniques and they just wont get the job done.

[qbit77]

I don't agree. I believe that he really really understands that Vipassana is meant to help one to look at all those "experiences" as just passing clouds in the sky. "Nothing special." This is a very important aspect of practice: that all of your "spiritual" experiences are nothing special. You learn to just look at your story and see it for what it really is. Now, I do agree that he sorely misses his guru however.

[trifoicupatrufoi]

very nice job saattya

[kirk7524875248]

wow!  This guy's intense.

[Saattya]

I plan on posting more by him and others.

[ramanaross]

Thanks for posting this one. Ram Dass is wise and a good teacher.