The Universal Meditation Technique of S.N. Goenka
(Extract from an article in the Lion’s Roar with S.N. Goenka)
In the first year when I moved to India from Burma, there was a big public function put on by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s followers, who had become Buddhists. They invited me to their annual celebration of the day that Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism.
There were some one and a half million people in attendance. His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited, along with me and the Japanese teacher Fuji Guruji. We were invited as chief guests, and each of us gave a speech. Mine was translated into Tibetan and His Holiness liked it so much that he said that he wanted to meet me and discuss things.
We started at nine o’clock the next morning and at two-thirty or three we were still talking—all about technique. He was very happy with my teaching. But when I said, “Quite a few people on the second day or third day see light,” he responded, “No, no. That must be illusion. How can somebody see light in three days? It takes years to see light.”
I replied, “Venerable sir, I saw light in my eyes. And so have many other people. I would not say it is an illusion. You better send a few of your lamas and let them experience it. If I am wrong, I will rectify it. I don’t teach them that they must see light. It is merely a sign, a milestone on a long path, not the final goal.”
So he sent three lamas to my next course in Sarnath. All three of them saw light, and they were so happy. When they went back and explained that to His Holiness, he was also happy. He said, “Goenka, come here and give a course to my people.” Then I wrote him back, “When I give a course these are the rules. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, but if your high lamas don’t agree to my rules, I cannot teach.” He sent a message back to me, “Goenka, they will follow whatever you say for the full ten days. So don’t worry; they will follow your rules.”
The course took place in the Tibetan library in Dharamsala, not far from where His Holiness was living. On the first day, when I told all the very top-ranking lamas my rules, they protested:
“But every day, we have rituals to perform, we have to chant so many recitations, we have to prostrate so many times.”
“Nothing doing,” I replied. “For ten days, nothing doing.”
And they said, “No, we can’t break our life-long vow.”
So I sent word to the Dalai Lama, “Sir, I can’t teach. Your people don’t agree. I’m sorry, I have to go.”
And he sent word to the lamas through his private secretary, “You have to follow Goenka’s instructions, even if it means breaking your rules. Whatever he says, you must agree to do.”
They all did it, and they got the same result. Rites or no rites, rituals or no rituals, the technique gives results.
Normally I don’t go out during a course, but the Dalai Lama wanted to discuss how it was going, so I visited him two times. We had long discussions in detail about the technique I teach and about his technique also—without judging, just exploring with inquisitiveness. We each enjoyed our discussions tremendously. Since then we have been friends.
I am not interested in any kind of politics. Of course I have great sympathy for whatever is happening to the Tibetan people, but I can’t take up that cause. It’s not part of my duty as a dharma teacher. Even the most undemocratic person, even the greatest tyrant, will be a good person if he practices. Just as Buddha was not interested in the politics of the different kings of his day, so that’s not my job either. His Holiness understands that very well. We are not political friends, but rather dharma friends.
He did keep asking me about sunnata, emptiness. “You’ve got no sunnata?” he would ask. But after I explained my understanding of it, he accepted what I said: that when all solidity is dissolved in the technique, and there’s nothing but vibration remaining, that is sunnata. Then you experience something beyond mind and matter—sunna—nothing to hold there. You have sunna of the mind and matter sphere and sunna of the beyond mind and matter sphere. His Holiness seemed to be quite happy with that explanation. He had no objection.
Dalai Lamar Dalai Lama Group
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Excerpted from the IndianExpress July 2010 - ‘You have to work out your own salvation’
And what about the Dalai Lama, have you followed his teachings?
We are very good friends, but his teaching is little different. They have some rites and rituals like prostrating in front of a teacher.
You don't encourage that?
Once at a confluence in Nagpur, Dalai Lama and I were invited as teachers. In my speech, I had said that in vipassana, a large number of people start seeing light within three days. He said, 'Impossible, we take years just to see light'. I asked him to send some of his lamas and let them experience it. He sent two lamas to my course at Varanasi. Fortunately, they both saw light on the third day. They went and reported it. So the Dalai Lama asked me to give a course to his leading lamas. I said yes, but they have to accept my rules and regulations, no more rites or rituals. I went there, some 50 or 60 top lamas took part. The next day, they bowed before me. "These rites and rituals are not allowed," I said. They said if we don't do that, we cannot remain lamas. Word reached Dalai Lama, who was staying a few yards away. He sent them a message: "Accept whatever Goenka says. If you think you are committing a sin, consider it mine. But you have to work according to him".
Ten days later, the result was so good that the Dalai Lama met me and said, "All these days, we were under the wrong impression that you were part of the old tradition. You have all the love and compassion for which we are so proud." So now I say we are very good friends.
And you take him to be a genuine Buddhist?
Genuine Buddhist in the sense that if he comes out of these rites and rituals.
You disagree with rites and rituals?
Yes. I don't agree with that.
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