When Sovichet Tep headed to Kompong Cham province for his first Vipassana meditation course, surprisingly he was no stranger to the practice. In fact, his grandfather had taken the same course over a decade ago and his older siblings had also practiced it.
At the center, the Vipassana Organisation of Cambodia (VOC), 21-year-old Tep, in April, was introduced to the foundations of one of India’s most ancient techniques that the Buddha brought back into practice 2,500 years ago.
The programme spanned 10 days. The whole time, he needed to abide by the “code of discipline”, which included the five core rules of no killing, stealing, lying, participating in sexual activity or using intoxicants.
The code also included the noble silence. This meant that Tep couldn’t talk to anyone, except with his meditation teacher and head of the programme. His only company was himself and his experience was the acute awareness of the changes happening in his body.
The actual Vipassana meditation started on the third day. Before then, he was instructed to only observe the natural flow of his breath, specifically the area around his nose as each breath enters and leaves. There was no deep breath or chanting in-and-out, and no visualisation. The mind was to be blank and silent.
The “monkey in our minds”, as he put it, inevitably made him wander to other thoughts. When that happened he simply needed to bring his attention back by focusing on his breath.
The Vipassana meditation was a full body scan from the head down to the toes. When pain or discomfort occurred, at any area, he wasn’t to ignore it – but rather to focus intently on the source.
Vipassana meditation has been recommended for cancer patients and a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology documents that breast cancer survivors who practiced it were found to have less physical pain – after learning to overcome it through mindfulness.
“In meditation, there is suffering. One will sweat, feel itchy, hot and cold, and have all kinds of pain in their body,” Tep said. “When we meditate, we observe all of this. When it happens and when it goes away, we don’t react to it.”
So, for instance, if his legs hurt, he had to stop himself from moving them or feeling angry.
“When the pain comes, we were taught to just observe and focus on it. Then just as fast as it appears, it disappears,” Tep said.
“It’s in one of Buddha’s teachings. Nothing is permanent and everything is in a state of flux.”
Pain could also come from one’s habits. A lot of the time, Tep is in front of his computer. When focusing on his eyes during Vipassana meditation, he felt how weary they were and a squeezing pain came on.
Even though the pain of his body was too much to handle by the seventh day, Tep found benefit in the practice.
“What I gained from meditation is it makes me have a sense of peace. Whenever there is a problem, which comes out first in the form of pain, I recognise it, and I can control my emotions towards it – especially anger,” he said.
However, Tep compares what he has learnt to only “a grain of rice”.
“Meditation is a long journey and going there for the first time it is only the first step,” he said.
One of the people continuing this long journey is author Chanpal Sok. After participating in the same 10-day programme twice, but in Battambang province, he brings the practice to his home.
Although his busy schedule prevents him from following the recommended two one-hour sessions per day, he still starts out his day meditating for an hour. If he’s particularly busy, he’ll meditate for at least half-an-hour.
He also goes to the VOC centre in Phnom Penh, to sustain the practice with other older students.
“It’s like growing a seed. When we come back, we still grow it every day,” Sok said. “If we stop, our plant that’s grown will wilt away.”
Through the practice, he understands that whatever he goes through in life, whether it be sadness, anger, or joy, none of that stays permanently. The goal of Vipassana then is to accept these feelings as they come and learn to live in harmony with them.
“Our emotions, they are wild. If we do not control them, they cause danger to ourselves and other people,” he said. “But when we learn to recognise them and tame them, that’s beneficial for us.”
The lessons both Tep and Sok learnt in the programme were created by the late Satya Narayan Goenka. They were distributed worldwide in the 181 centers and 134 non-centers of the Vipassana organisation, which is present in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
In a talk given in Switzerland, Goenka explained that Vipassana is a practical way in which to observe ourselves. Rather than focusing on abstract concepts such as anger, one learns to notice its physical manifestations.
“The more one practices this technique, the more quickly negativities will dissolve,” he said. Upon reaching a balanced state of mind, “it is no longer possible to do anything vocally or physically which will disturb the peace and happiness of others.”
Vipassana meditation group sittings are held every Monday, Thursday and Saturday from 6 to 7 pm, and Sunday from 8:30 to 9:30 am at Wat Lanka in Phnom Penh.https://www.khmertimeskh.com/98522/mindfulness-overcome-pain/
