VIPASSAN? (SANSKRIT, VIPA?YAN?)

Vipassan? (Sanskrit, vipa?yan?; insight) is direct intuition of the three marks that characterize all worldly phenomena: anitya (P?li, anicca; impermanence), du?kha (P?li, dukkha; suffering), and an?tman (P?li, anatta; no-self). Buddhism classifies the cultivation of vipassan? as one of two modes of meditation (bh?van?), the other being tranquility (?amatha; P?li, samatha). Vipassan? meditation entails perfecting the mental faculty of mindfulness (sm?ti; P?li, sati) for the purpose of analyzing objects of meditation, such as mental states or the physical body, for manifestations of the three marks. When fully developed, vipassan? leads to the attainment of liberating prajñ? (P?li, pañña; wisdom) and the ultimate goal of nirv??a (P?li, nibb?na) or the cessation of suffering and freedom from rebirth. Samatha meditation entails the cultivation of mental concentration (sam?dhi) for the purpose of strengthening and calming the mind. When fully developed it leads to the attainment of dhy?na (P?li, jh?na), meditative absorption or trance, and the generation of various abhijñ? (P?li, abhiññ?; higher knowledges).

The most common method of meditation described in the P?li canon relies on vipassan? and samatha practiced together. In this method, jh?na is first induced through samatha. The meditator then exits from that state and reflects upon it with mindfulness to see that it is characterized by the three marks. In this way jh?na is made the object of vipassan? meditation. One who uses this method is called a tranquility worker (samatha y?nika), and all buddhas and their chief disciples are described as having practiced in this way. A less common method found in the canon relies on vipassan? alone. Developing concentration to a lesser degree than jh?na, the meditator examines ordinary mental and physical phenomena for the three marks as described above. The meditator who uses this method is called a bare insight worker (suddhavipassan?y?nika).

By the tenth century c.e., vipassan? meditation appears to have fallen out of practice in the Therav?da school. By that time it was commonly believed that the religion of Gautama Buddha had so declined that liberation through insight could no longer be attained until the advent of the future Buddha Metteyya (Sanskrit, Maitreya) many eons from now. In the early eighteenth century, however, renewed interest in the Satipa??h?na-sutta (Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness) led to a revival of vipassan? meditation in Burma (Myanmar). After encountering initial resistance, the practice of vipassan? was endorsed by the Burmese sa?gha and embraced by the royal court. By the late nineteenth century, a distinct praxis and organizational pattern had emerged that set the stage for the modern vipassan? movement of the twentieth century. Led chiefly by reform minded scholar-monks, a variety of simplified meditation techniques were devised based on readings of the Satipa??hana-sutta, the Visuddhimagga (Path to Purification), and related texts. These techniques typically follow the method of bare insight. The teaching of vipassan? also prompted the development of new Buddhist institutions called wipathana yeiktha or insight hermitages. Initially attached to monasteries, these evolved into independent lay oriented meditation centers. A related development was the rise of personality cults devoted to the veneration of prominent meditation teachers as living arhats. In terms of impact, the popularization of vipassan? represents the most significant development in Burmese Buddhism in the twentieth century. Thailand has also witnessed a revival of vipassan? practice in the modern period, and both Burmese and Thai meditation teachers have been instrumental in propagating vipassan? in Sri Lanka, India, and the West.

See also:Abhijñ? (Higher Knowledges); An?tman/?tman (No-Self/Self); Anitya (Impermanence); Dhy?na (Trance State); Duhk?a (Suffering); Prajñ? (Wisdom)

Bibliography

Kornfield, Jack. Living Buddhist Masters. Santa Cruz, CA: Unity, 1977.

Mahasi Sayadaw. The Progress of Insight through the Stages of Purification: A Modern P?li Treatise on Buddhist Satipa??hana Meditation, tr. Nyanaponika Thera. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Forest Hermitage, 1965.

Mendelson, E. Michael. Sangha and State in Burma: A Study of Monastic Sectarianism and Leadership, ed. John P. Ferguson. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1975.

Swearer, Donald K. "The Way to Meditation." In Buddhism in Practice, ed. Donald S. Lopez, Jr. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995.

Patrick A. Pranke