Vipassanā Guidelines
Bhante Bodhidhamma provides comprehensive guidelines for vipassanā insight meditation practice. Beginning with proper posture—an energized spine, relaxed body, and poised head—the instructions focus on observing abdominal sensations during natural breathing, using simple noting words like 'rising' and 'falling' to anchor attention.
As stability develops, practitioners learn to extend awareness to whatever arises—sensations, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and mental images—observing each phenomenon with bare attention and noting words. This choiceless awareness, free from control or judgment, cultivates satipaññā (right awareness with intuitive intelligence).
The talk explains how this impartial observation leads to direct insight into the three characteristics of existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), and anattā (not-self). Through intimate experience of these universal truths, practitioners realize that identification with or attachment to any phenomenon brings dissatisfaction. This vipassanā insight ultimately leads to complete liberation from suffering and the realization of Nibbāna—described as the unborn, unbecome, undying, uncreated, and unconditioned. The instruction concludes with the profound teaching that 'those who are mindful are in the presence of Nibbāna.'
Whatever the sitting posture, it should be comfortable and fulfil three conditions. An energised spine with its natural curvature, the rest of the body relaxed and the head poised on top. The hands are placed on the lap and the eyes are gently closed.
Then the attention is fixed on the process of breathing, just the normal and natural breath. It is the sensations of the abdomen caused by breathing which are to be observed. And a noting word is used to focus the thinking mind onto these sensations. As the abdomen rises, the word "rising" is repeated. As it falls, "falling."
Feeling the sensations of the abdomen as neutral and pleasant, the heart is calmed and the mind is stilled. Then the beginning and end of each in-breath and out-breath are more clearly seen.
When the attention becomes somewhat steady, let it experience whatever draws it within the field of awareness: sensations and feelings, moods and emotions, mental images and thoughts. Using a simple word to note and without any interference whatsoever, all these passing phenomena are to be intimately felt and carefully observed.
Should the mind wander, let it be brought back gently but firmly to observe sensations at the abdomen in order to cultivate a sharp attentiveness. In this way, right awareness with intuitive intelligence, satipaññā, becomes established.
This bare attentiveness, simply watching all that arises and passes away, this choiceless awareness that does not control or manipulate, this impartial observation that does not judge or question, this intuitive introspection, fully experiencing each physical, emotional and mental event as it really is, leads to the realisation that everything is impermanent and insubstantial and that to identify with or to become attached to anything whatsoever will bring dissatisfaction.
These vipassanā insights into the three characteristics of existence—impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and not-self, anicca, dukkha, anattā—lead to the complete liberation from all suffering, the experience of the unborn, the unbecome, the undying, the uncreated, the unconditioned: true refuge, harbour and home, perfect happiness and contentment.
Those who are mindful are in the presence of Nibbāna.
Sādhu. Sādhu. Sādhu.