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Annual Meeting: Dhamma Giri, India January 1992

Questioner: I am a college student and I come here for Vipassana meditation. When I go back, my teacher says, "You are too young to practise meditation." What should I do in such a situation?

Goenkaji: You are not at fault; your teacher is mistaken. There is a wrong concept in our country that things like meditation should be practised in the fourth and last period of life. This is wrong. At that time the body becomes very weak, the mind becomes weak, all the sense organs become weak—you cannot practise properly. Actually, yours is the age when one should start practising meditation because it is an art of living. Then through the rest of one’s life this meditation will be so helpful. So continue to meditate whatever your teacher says. Don’t worry. §

Quite often it is necessary to take strong action. But as you say, this should be done with mettā and compassion. On such occasions, if mettā and compassion are not generated, should one then take no action? If so, the wrongdoer could be encouraged. What should be done in such situations?

Never encourage injustice. One has to oppose injustice, but with the base of mettā and karuṇā. If you oppose someone without this base, don’t justify it. Understand that this was your defect, and the next time any such thing happens you will try to generate mettā and karuṇā, and oppose the injustice with that base. If you keep justifying your mistakes, you can’t rectify yourself. §

What is the definition of sin?

Whatever defiles our mind is a sin. All vocal or bodily actions which disturb the peace and harmony of others, which harm others, first defile one’s own mind. Only then will one perform unwholesome actions. These are all sinful actions. §

Much Dhamma literature is coming out in English from VRI. Please give importance to Hindi. The Buddha gave his teaching in the local language. Our view is that all work should be done in Hindi. What is your policy in this regard?

If Hindi were the language of the entire world then yes, we should work only in Hindi. But this is not the case. There are many people around the world who speak English. For them, the meditation instructions must be in English. To offer literature in the English language does not go against the teaching of the Buddha. It is true that we have to work in this country where Hindi is the national language, and already quite a bit of literature has been published in Hindi. Certainly we would like more and more writers of Hindi to translate things that have already been published in English, as well as write original things with the basis of the Buddha’s teaching. § Sometimes someone offers to donate land for a centre but wishes to keep a portion of it for their own use. In such situations, what should our policy be?

To accept a situation where the donor is living next door and has given part of his or her land for establishing a meditation centre should never be done in future. We have already made three such mistakes and that is enough. Every time someone gives land which is near to his or her own residence, at a deep unconscious level there is a feeling, "This is my land, which I have given." And then, as the centre grows, a tendency develops to have some kind of control over it, which has given a lot of difficulties. In future, whether I am here or not, such donations should never be accepted. §

What qualities do you take into consideration in the appointment of assistant teachers and trustees?

A long list of qualities, but I keep them private. However, I would like to say something that disqualifies somebody from becoming an assistant teacher or a trustee. If someone is eager to become a teacher, eager to become a trustee, a secretary, a manager, eager to have some position, status or power, then a red line is marked under the name of this person. Such a person is not fit to serve in the field of Dhamma. Somebody who has the volition, "I want to serve and I am willing to serve in any position. If I am asked to stand as a watchman, I will serve as a watchman; if you ask me to sweep the latrine, I will sweep the latrine"—and he or she does that, then this person is fit. One day, as he or she develops other qualities, such a person can reach the highest position. Dhamma service is not to develop the ego. It is to dissolve the ego. §

A number of Western Vipassana teachers of other traditions, as well as Western psychologists, are saying that Vipassana is not enough to deal with life’s problems, and that psychological therapy is necessary because it teaches one how to deal with painful emotions and helps translate meditation experiences.

This is what other Vipassana teachers say. It is their problem, not ours. There is no comparison between the two. Vipassana takes you to such a depth! Mankind has not found a psychotherapist to compare with the Buddha. He found a technique that takes one to such a depth that the mind is purified at the deepest level. Trying to add something is only done by people who have not understood Vipassana, who have not practised Vipassana properly. Vipassana, Dhamma, is kevalaṃ paripuṇṇaṃ—it is complete, there is nothing to be added to it. And it is kevalaṃ parisuddham—so pure that nothing should be taken out of it. Any kind of mixture will be harmful. §

What actually happens when we are practising Vipassana and we take our attention to the extremities? Does anything actually leave the body, or is this an illusion? Why use these four extremities in particular?

Well, impurities do leave, but not because you have come to the extremities. They leave because you are equanimous: You are with the sensation and you are equanimous. The reason we ask people to take their attention to the extremities is that, generally on the extremities one does not experience a sensation which is unpleasant or which will make this person lose the balance of the mind. At other places there might be different kinds of sensations which may cause someone to lose the balance of the mind. But these extremities are such that one feels either neutral sensations or pleasant sensations there. You see, when the mind is more and more equanimous—because it is aware of sensations—then purity is possible. This is the whole logic and science of it. § What is the use of Buddha images to a serious practitioner of Vipassana? The archaeological evidence indicates that there were no Buddha statues until hundreds of years after the Buddha. Yet even this, the most non-sectarian of traditions, has a connection with statues. Is there any significance in some of the ceremonies that Buddhists perform each year by offering food to invisible beings?

We have not asked you to offer food to invisible beings, nor have we asked you to go and perform any rites and rituals before Buddha statues, but why have negativity towards others who do it? Let them do it, there is nothing wrong. If somebody pays respect to a statue of the Buddha, understanding that one pays respect to the qualities of Buddha, getting inspiration to develop those qualities, there is nothing wrong with that. But this cannot be a part of the practice of Vipassana. We don’t have this in our teachings, so don’t worry. §

When students make gross body movements while doing Vipassana, assistant teachers usually tell them to stop. Often students will point out that Sayagyi thought it all right for one of his students to stand on his head in his cell and shake, etc. Are gross body movements in one’s cell all right if they don’t disturb others? Or should they be discouraged in the cell as well as in the hall?

Well, if your Sayagyi says carry on, then carry on. But your Sayagyi is not saying this. It depends on the teacher. If he understands that a particular student has a background where allowing this violent reaction will be helpful, it won’t take this person to a wrong path, then he gives such guidance.

Understand, this is a very delicate thing. Only a very experienced teacher can make such a decision. Normally the Buddha’s path is a path of peace. If you have violent reactions in the body and you expect to reach the stage which is full of peace, how is that possible? So discourage this violent reaction; this is the proper thing to do. When you reach the stage of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, then you can select a student and say, "All right, stand on your shoulders and keep on shaking," not otherwise. §

Vipassana and Western psychology are both concerned with the study of the mind and human nature. Can these traditions be used as complementary forms of self-discovery?

Complementary at a very initial stage; but as you proceed, Vipassana takes you to the depth of the mind. I am not here to denounce what you have achieved in the West, but as far as the psychology and psychotherapy of the West are concerned, these are still at a very superficial level. At a deeper level, any kind of combination of them with Vipassana will be harmful. §

When someone is in a coma—i.e., unconscious—can any wholesome mind moments arise, or are they all mind moments of ignorance? Does everyone that dies in an unconscious state automatically take birth in a lower plane?

I can’t answer from my personal experience, but certainly when someone is in coma and unconscious, you can’t expect any wholesome volition to arise in the mind. It’s more a stage of ignorance, moha. But this is not so in every case. Just two days back, I was in contact with a case where someone had had a serious stroke and was in a coma in the intensive care ward. He was a Vipassana meditator. He was unconscious, and when mettā was given, very strong shivering went through his body. This means he accepted the mettā; the vibration was there, very strong. The next day when mettā was given, he came out of it—he became semi-conscious. Again mettā was given, and he came out of his problems to some extent. Then he was asked, "Yesterday, when mettā was given to you, could you feel it?" He replied, "No."

In the state of coma, there is a barrier between one part of the mind and the other. This person still felt the mettā unconsciously because his body responded to the vibration—there was clear evidence of this—and he started improving. And yet when questioned he said he didn’t know this. Now he is coming out of it, and he feels everything, so this shows that he has a seed of Dhamma which responds to a good Dhamma vibration.

We can’t say that this happens in every case. But there might be cases where someone is a very good meditator and can accept good vibrations or even generate good vibrations at a very deep level of the mind, even though at the surface one looks to be fully unconscious. This is certainly possible, but to me it seems to be quite rare. So we should try not to die unconsciously. §

Could you please make a very clear statement concerning the problem of crows, dogs, cats and rats at centres? Currently people are petting and feeding and giving pet names to these animals.

No. Vipassana centres are not a place for feeding these animals, these beings. No. Certainly we will not ask anybody to kill them. You must have mettā and compassion for them, but try to drive them out. To keep them there and feed them will go against Dhamma, it will create a disturbance. Have mettā and drive them away. §

Can you talk about the mechanism of transference of merit? If the person receiving the merits didn’t have the volition to do the good deed, can they absorb the merits?

If someone is thirsty and you offer water to him, but this fellow does not make a cup with his hands to take the water—he keeps his hands open, and the water drains off—what can be done? There must be some volition on the part of the person to take a share of the merits. If one is not accepting these merits, it is meaningless. Suppose you are like a broadcasting station and you give mettā to someone whose receiver is not good enough to receive it, then it is a waste. Even so, the one who is on the giving end should keep giving. If the one on the receiving end is not capable of receiving, this is the problem of that person. But if one is capable of receiving, then certainly sharing merits helps. §

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