VIPASSANA MEDITATION IN BIHAR, INDIA

AS TAUGHT BY SHRI S.N. GOENKA IN THE TRADITION OF SAYAGYI U BA KHIN

Introduction videos

Bihar, located in eastern India holds significance since ancient times. It is this area where Vipassana Meditation originated and was widely practiced 2500 years ago. After many centuries it has been revived through the Sayagyi U Ba Khin tradition, by its Principal Teacher Shri Satyanarayan Goenka. Starting from various gypsy camps in Bodh Gaya and Nalanda in early 1970s, ten day Vipassana courses are currently offered at  Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Vaishali and Muzaffarpur, all locations having rich history behind. Each location has its own schedule of courses. An application for admission to these courses can be completed online at the respective center websites which are mentioned on this page. 

Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art Of Living. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation.

Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.