A 10-day Vipassana course can be one of the most difficult, but most rewarding experiences of your life. To get the most out of 10 days, I offer some of my most helpful tips and insights, based on personal experience, and the experience of many other past students.
I won’t go through the specific details of the course, such as how the technique is taught or the one-hour strong determination sittings, as I’m sure you’ve read about these elsewhere. Instead, I’m going to focus on some of the more practical aspects, things I’ve learnt after many courses, and things I wish I knew back when I took my first course.
Physical
Let’s start with some of the basic and practical physical factors first then we’ll get a little more in depth.
1. Follow all the rules and the timetable
If you haven’t already read about the rules and timetable they will be repeated to everyone before you start the course. The rules are also quite basic and simple, so aren’t actually very hard to follow. They are also only there for your benefit and some might seem trivial, but they are there to help you get the most out of the course.
For example, noble silence protects your mind from unnecessary chatter and rumination – something that is required for deep meditation. You will notice on day 10, when you can talk to your fellow meditators, how those conversations whirl around in your head during your sits that day.
The timetable is also posted all around the centres so don’t worry about memorising it – you will get used to it after the 2nd or 3rd day.
2. Choose your centre and timing carefully
Every Vipassana centre around the world is different in terms of:
- Availability of facilities – some are predominately dorm rooms while others have a lot more private rooms available. If you are someone who really struggles to bunk with others, research this beforehand, or call up your intended centre to get a feel for how the place is structured. If you’re under 30, you’re most likely to get a dorm room either way.
- Climate – make sure that you check what kind of weather is typical for that area before you go so you are prepared. Also check the weather right before your trip, so you know what to expect. Which brings me to the next tip.
3. Bring suitable clothing
You want to be comfortable during the 10 days and not have to worry about the elements. If it’s going to rain the whole time, bring some wet weather gear. If it’s going to be cold, make sure you have enough warm clothing.
The weather at your centre might also be very different to your local area. For example, despite being fairly close by, Dhamma Bhumi in the Blue Mountains near Sydney tends to have temperatures much lower than metro Sydney, and some people sometimes forget this and don’t bring enough warm clothing. Make sure you pack the right clothes for the climate, and particularly check night time temperatures – you will be up early!
4. Bring a watch or time tracking device
This will help you stick to the timetable and get to your sittings on time. There is a bell that is rung about 10 minutes before you have to be in the hall which is usually pretty reliable, but can sometimes be rung a little late. It helps to keep track of the time so you aren’t caught in the shower or doing your washing when you only have a few minutes to get to the hall.
A word of advice though – when you are in the hall or meditating, put away your watch and forget about the time. If you keep staring at your watch, the day will never pass, trust me! You are there to work, forget how long is left.
Bonus tip – I found a using Fitbit device extremely useful for keeping track of my day. Before I start the course, I would set 3 silent vibrate alarms – 4:15am, 7:45am and 12:45pm. This would ensure I would be ready to get to group sits on time. I never even needed to look at the watch. However, this was when Fitbits were really basic and only had 1 line on the screen that was the time. Don’t bring a fancy one that will distract you.
5. Bring an eye mask
This one’s mostly for those sleeping in a dorm room with others. Because you are sharing your space, people will switch the lights on and off at different times and it’s a lot more comfortable when you are already in bed and don’t have to worry about get blinded by the light above your head.
6. Bring slides
You will be taking your footwear on and off to go into the hall and into your room many times during the day. It’s a lot easier if you have slides or slippers instead and bothering with your shoes and shoelaces every time.
7. Try not to speak to too many people before the course starts
While it’s great to make friends, the conversations you have before you start the course will whirl around in your head for a while. You will also see those people throughout the course and more thoughts will come up, you may start assuming more things about their lives, and temptations may arise (should I smile at them?).
Do yourself a favour and keep chat to a minimum. You are there to do a task…for yourself. You will have plenty of opportunity to talk to people and make (maybe life-long) friends on day 10.
So then, if you arrive early, what do you do instead?
8. Familiarise yourself with the layout of the centre
When you arrive, find your accommodation and walk around to get familiar with the centre. You are better off doing this now than getting lost or stressing about it during the course. You’ll be able to relax more and focus on the technique.
9. Grab some extra cushions, pads and pillows
When you start meditating you will notice pain cropping up on various parts of the body. There are usually extra cushions, pillows and pads at centres to use to make yourself more comfortable during your sits. I do, however, recommend you don’t go overboard – find a balance.
You may even get an opportunity to use a L-shaped backboard for sitting – I’d recommend not using one unless you have a physical injury or you absolutely have to. One thing that you’ll discover is that no matter how comfortable you make yourself, you will still experience physical pain. This is normal and just a product of how the technique works.
10. Practice some meditation postures at home and see what suits you
It makes it easier if you come to the course already aware of which meditation postures suit you or you are more comfortable in. Otherwise, you will be doing most of this testing during the course where you will waste a lot of time fretting and agonising over how you should be sitting so you don’t move too much.
In saying this, don’t get married to any posture you have practiced. I had been meditating for many years before my first course, always sitting in Burmese style and was intent on sitting like this for my entire first course – I lasted about 3 hours before the pain was unbearable. After this, I reverted to sitting the normal Western cross-legged way with a small knee pad under one knee for the rest of the course, which worked out really well in the end.
11. Get to the 4:30am sits
You might have a couple days where you are just so over it, there is no way you are going. That is okay. But make sure you make it to at least three-quarters of the early morning sits. While they may sometimes not feel like they are, these are often the most effective sits of the day.
You also came to this course for a reason. You took this time out of your life to achieve something important. So use it to work and not to sleep – use the peaceful set up that you have, you might not get this opportunity again for a long time. Two beautiful hours in the early morning, before most of the country is up, to purify your mind with this wonderful technique.
12. Sit in the hall as much as possible
Try to avoid meditating in your room during meditation periods. You will probably end up being lazy, unmotivated and falling asleep. There is nothing that compares to the group atmosphere of meditating in the hall with all the other students. You see other students working hard and this also motivates you to work hard. You feed off each other’s energy.
This is also a place where thousands of meditators before you have done the same thing – leaving an aura of diligence and good vibrations. It will give you the strength to keep going, no matter what you have to face. Even if you feel as though you are sitting there, not making any progress at all, trust me, you are processing some pretty deep stuff! Let the technique and the atmosphere do its job.
13. Don’t go overboard on food
As a new student, you will eat breakfast at 6:30am, have lunch at 11am and get a bit of fruit at 5pm. Since you are not eating a proper dinner, it can be tempting to eat a lot more at lunch to make up for it. Don’t do this!
Excess food will make you drowsy and you won’t be able to meditate properly. I’ve made this mistake a few times and found I got a lot more out of my courses when I was tempered with my eating habits.
You might think that because you are working so hard that you deserve it – this is your mind tricking you in getting temporary satisfaction. The fact is, you aren’t moving very much during the day so the body doesn’t need it.
14. Be active during your breaks
Having said the above, the human body is designed to move and be active. You will be sitting in meditation most of the day, so take whatever opportunity you can during your breaks to walk around and move. This will get your blood circulating . You will find the extended periods of seated meditation much more tolerable if you do this – it’s all about balance.
I would also recommend, as you are active and walk about, do this mindfully and with awareness. Stay aware of the movement of your legs and feet, and the different sensations you feel. If you are still on the first three days practicing Anapana, try be aware of your inhalations and exhalations as you walk.
15. Don’t rush anywhere
It is common that I see new students rushing to get to the hall because they think they are ‘late’, only to get onto their cushion all flustered and unable to focus. Or sometimes even hurrying through their meals so that they can do something else.
It is extremely helpful, especially as a new student, if you can stay mindful of all your actions and intentions throughout your 10 days. Slow down and do things at your own pace – so you always stay mindful and aware of what you’re doing. You’re not obligated to anyone other than yourself here. Yes, there is a timetable that you should follow, but if you are 1 minute late to something, don’t fret about it and rush – accept it, continue and stay aware. Aware and equanimous.
16. Use the interview time if you have questions
You will undoubtly have plenty of questions during your course. There shouldn’t be any doubt about your practice so don’t be shy about asking your teacher questions. You will get more out of the course this way.
There are 5 minute interviews with the teacher at 12pm (at some course you might have to pencil yourself in for these) and you always have a chance to ask the teacher a quick question after the evening sit finishes at 9pm. Use the opportunity to clear up any questions so you can move on.
17. Some reading pre-preparation helps
Similar to practicing some meditation postures at home, it does help if you know a little something about Vipassana beforehand.
- William Hart’s ‘The Art of Living’ is an exceptional book which covers the fundamentals of the technique in detail. It also has various useful anecdotes and stories, some of which you will hear on the course.
- Paul Fleischman’s ‘Karma and Chaos’ offers some interesting insights and perspectives too. However, I think the text, along with his other works may be more useful for some to read post-course.
Mental
The mental attitude you bring to the course is by far the most important factor that contributes to a successful 10 days. Some of these may overlap and sound a little repetitive but they are all linked into one way of thinking – one single approach to take with you on each day.
18. No expectations
Go into the course without any expectations – about what you might experience, what you will achieve, how easy or hard it will be, or how you may feel afterwards. Expectations only set you up for disappointment. The course is about accepting the experience of your truth in each and every moment – the truth of what is, not what you would like it to be. Expectations will only stifle your progress.
Your only expectation should be that you will finish the course and do your best.
19. Follow the instructions to the tee
The instructions for the technique are given via audio and video recording of the teacher that started it all, Mr S.N. Goenka. These are universal and played at every course. The instructions have been tailored over decades of his experience and feedback from students, so he is very exact and specific with how and when he gives them. If you end up going for more than one course, you will notice this – he gives the right instruction at the exact time you need it.
So don’t add anything or take anything away from what he says, just practice exactly according to the instructions. They are supposed to be a very similar, if not exact, approach to meditation as how the Buddha taught. The way they are taught and the words he uses have been adapted to suit our modern way of thinking.
The only thing I would say is that the course is a bit heavy on the diligence and hard work side and light on the self-compassion side. While it’s important to work hard and keep trying with persistence, it’s also important to take it easy on yourself, which brings me to my next point.
20. Remember to take it easy on yourself
This one’s for those of us who are very results orientated and constantly push ourselves. While the personality trait of diligence is vital to progress on this path, it has to be balanced with self-compassion. Personally, I fall into this category and it took me a couple courses to fully comprehend how important letting go was. If you try too hard, you may just be creating more tension in your mind.
From day four you will sit your ‘strong determination’ sitting, where you do your best to sit for one hour without moving. It’s extremely rare for a new student to do this on day four, and usually doesn’t happen until at least day six onwards. But don’t have any expectations at all. Take it easy on yourself when trying to do this and do not get upset or frustrated if you have to move to a more comfortable position – this will just create more tension in you. Do your best to sit still and when the pain is unbearable – slowly, and with full awareness – change position. The time you can sit will naturally extend and before you know it, one hour becomes easy!
Balance working hard with letting go. Focus on the work and not the results – let the results come on their own.
21. Stay diligent
Having said the above, it is indeed said that the secret to success for this technique is diligence and persistence. This is probably true for most other things in life too. If you keep at something long enough, while learning from your mistakes, you’ll probably be successful.
Your mind will keep trying to trick you to be lazy. “Oh, I did really well this morning, I deserve a break.” And two hours later, you realise you’ve slept through the whole afternoon session.
For this course, the more you put in, the more you get out of it. It’s that simple. The more hours you spend in that hall doing your best to meditate according to the instructions, the more benefits you will see. Even if some hours feel like hell, or just completely unfocused and drowsy, you are still making progress. This is your mind processing some of your deepest muck, and is a typical symptom of the technique. Just keep trying to work no matter how you feel. You will thank yourself on day 10, knowing that you are leaving having gave it everything you got.
Just remember to also take it easy on yourself.
22. Don’t make assumptions
This goes for everything on the course – the technique, the situations, the people. Clear up any doubts you have by asking your teacher questions. You may at some stage open your eyes in the hall and see most people sitting quite still, like little Buddhas, assuming that they are doing this right and experiencing pure bliss. What, and why am I not? What am I doing wrong?
I can tell you now, everyone in the hall is struggling, just like you. Don’t assume that you are the only one. Even experienced students will be struggling too, even though they may be able to handle it a bit better. And this is for good reason. If you practice Vipassana properly at a 10 day course, it brings up some of your darkest issues from the deepest recesses of your mind. This is why you are here. You have to learn how to face them now – with equanimity.
23. Don’t judge your fellow meditators
This one goes along with making assumptions. You will find yourself making up stories about the people around you. You might give them nicknames and make assumptions about them. You can’t help it, this is just what the mind does – it judges based on external appearances. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been oh so wrong about people when I’ve finally spoke to them on day 10. So I ignore this chatter. It eventually dies down.
You may also see other students really struggling, or reacting to the technique in certain ways. Everyone responds differently to the process – someone might run out of the hall crying while someone might keep falling asleep right next to you. You don’t know people’s history or background so try not to judge. So the best thing to do is…
24. Pretend you are there on your own
This is a great piece of advice I noticed early on. Living in close quarters with a whole bunch of people, you will see all kinds of things. Everyone has their own quirks and habits. You’re best to keep your head down and ignore these kinds of things otherwise you will just be generating unnecessary chatter in your mind. Pretend like you are there by yourself.
25. Don’t mix anything else with the technique
You are asked to suspend any religious activity and other meditative techniques that you know. Make sure you do this as it really helps with making progress and making a determination on whether this specific technique is right and works for you.
26. Dealing with sleepiness
At some points during your meditation sittings you may feel really sleepy. This is usually countered by increasing effort – in this case you will be breathing a bit more forcefully and intentionally to keep the mind aware in addition to pumping a bit more oxygen into the body.
Keep trying this, however, if you are really struggling, don’t be afraid to get up and go for a mindful walk. This means either staying aware of your breathing or your bodily sensations while you walk. You can even wash your face with cold water for a bit of a wakeup call. After 5 minutes, go back to your seated position in the hall and keep trying. Don’t give up.
27. Stay committed and don’t leave early
No matter what happens – just don’t leave! You are already here, you’ve already put in so much work. You’ve organised your life around these 10 days – probably even used part of your holidays. See it through.
If you reaaaally want to leave – just commit yourself to at least one more day, and see if anything changes after that. And don’t forget to speak to the teacher about it to get some advice.
28. You will probably cry
Either that or you’ll experience some really intense and deep emotions that you hit you at your core. Watch out for day two, which is more of a “wow, I can’t believe I have 8 more days of this”. However, days five and/or six can be really tough, after the technique of Vipassana has some time to dig out some of those deep-seated impurities in the mind. It will get better, trust me.
Either way, I always say – if you’re not having a tough time, you’re not doing it properly!
29. Don’t be afraid to go ‘backwards’
When you start practicing Vipassana, you will experience a number of very difficult periods, or mental storms. During these storms, never be afraid to go back to practicing Anapana for a while until the storm passes. Breath awareness is the perfect technique for calming and bringing some equanimity back to the mind – so you can face whatever comes up for you.
Practice even for a whole hour if you need to. When you feel like you have gained some strength, go back to practicing Vipassana.
30. Pretend you have become a monk
The 10 days you are there will feel like forever for most people. It seems like time passes super slow on some days there and you think it will never end. A simple mental trick that helps is to be in the mindset that you have now become a monk, this is now your life and could be there indefinitely. This will help your mind surrender to the experience.
31. Surrender
You may have heard or read somewhere that surrender is a vital part of any meditation practice. It is indeed a great mindset to have, especially in during the 10-day Vipassana course. In daily life, we too often try to control what is happening around us and the outcomes we expect. This generates so much stress and tension in the mind.
You could say that Vipassana is about surrendering to the present moment. It’s about accepting what is, not how you’d like things to be. If you can remember to keep surrendering to what is thrown at you during the course, you will keep progressing.
32. Remember that this too shall pass
Another part of surrender, which is actually the focal point of the course, is the concept of impermanence. Everything we experience, pleasant and unpleasant, is ultimately temporary and transitory. So why react, cling to or stress about something which will eventually pass away anyway?
You are reminded again and again, throughout the course, that understanding this is the key to your liberation from suffering. This is true wisdom. And you will study impermanence from the practical perspective of your body and mental contents throughout the entire course. Keep remembering this concept as you practice and you will keep progressing.
33. Never try to experience particular sensations
One of the biggest mistakes of the most students is that they crave to experience certain types of physical sensations that they expect, and they fail to surrender to what they are given. The purpose of Vipassana is to purify the mind by breaking the it’s habit pattern of constantly chasing after pleasant sensations and trying to run away from unpleasant sensations.
They hear about or expect special experiences and get annoyed when they don’t come. Then they keep craving for these special moments which is the opposite of Vipassana. This is another reason for silence during the course. Everyone experiences different things at different times and comparison can be harmful to your progress.
The practice is about witnessing all your states of body and mind, however ordinary or mundane, however unpleasant or pleasant. Which brings me on to the next tip.
34. Don’t get attached to pleasant sensations
There is nowhere more than this course that you might realise that meditation is not about experiencing bliss, and is more about self-discovery and processing the entire spectrum of the human experience, including suffering. If you do not explore the nature of your suffering and the reason why you suffer to its depths, you will never experience true freedom.
This is why it’s so important to not worry about feeling certain physical sensations or having special experiences on the course. Just accept whatever you get – because this is exactly where you are right now, and what you need in that moment. This is you and this is what needs to be processed. Take this attitude with you into the 10 days and you will have a successful course.
35. Don’t expect an epiphany
Related to the pleasant experiences, don’t expect to have genius aha-epiphanies. You may have one, you may not. If you look for one, you won’t have one. And it doesn’t really matter – epiphanies are overrated anyway. Just like everything else, they come and they go, and they aren’t really going to change your life. Real meditation produces gradual and sustainable changes over a long period of time.
If you ever do have any, they often come at the most random of times, like during a walk or in the shower. In the months following the end of your course, you might even have a couple!
36. Don’t listen to your thoughts
One of the things that can set you back the most during the course is your thinking mind. It will try to convince you that you should quit, that this this technique is not working for you, that you are no good at it, that you deserve to have a good loooong break, or that the sky is falling in and you are a loser.
These are all just part of the mind’s habitual reaction pattern of thinking, something that has been programmed in you since you were a child. It will amaze you how one day on the course, you can think you are helpless and worthless, and the next day you can feel like you’re conquering the world. What has changed in those two days? Absolutely nothing. Your mind just likes to attach meaning to how you’re feeling. Your best bet is to ignore it and keep focus on practicing the technique as you’ve been taught.
37. Don’t worry about sleep
A couple things about sleep during the 10-day course:
- You will have some extremely vivid dreams; and
- Some nights, it will feel like you hardly slept at all.
You are training your mind to be aware, so don’t worry if it is difficult for you to fall asleep – this is completely normal. You are also meditating most of the day, so the mind already has some good periods of rest. There is no better rest for the mind than when you are aware and equanimous. So while lying in bed, continue to meditate according to the instructions you are given that day. Don’t stress about falling asleep, this will just generate tension in your mind. You are here to unravel your tensions.
38. Chanting
There will be plenty of chanting by Mr. SN Goenka played on his recordings. You will learn later on that he is chanting the original words and discourses of the Buddha to create a positively charged atmosphere for all the students. Don’t fuss too much if you’re not into it or don’t believe in such thing. You’ll get used it to and maybe even start enjoying it later on.
After the course, if you start losing focus and haven’t meditated for a while, and you put the chanting on while you sit, you may find that it provides the exact support that you needed!
I wish you a wonderful and successful course.
Stay aware, equanimous and don’t worry – everything will be fine!