Seeing reality in slow motion: Guided Vipassana meditation
The Vipassana movement is a pragmatic and practical branch of Theravada Buddhism aiming to cultivate experiential wisdom by observing the nature of mind and body, instead of reading books or acquiring intellectual knowledge.
About the tradition
The Vipassana movement was initiated in Myanmar (Burma) in the 20th century to make enlightenment accessible again in modern times, without needing religious rituals or robes. This pragmatic and practical branch of Theravada Buddhism aims to cultivate experiential wisdom by observing the nature of mind and body, instead of reading books or acquiring intellectual knowledge.
The teachings are based on the Buddha’s discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), claimed to be ‘The Direct Path to Awakening’. This system of meditation takes a step by step approach, starting from 5 minutes of mindfulness practice, to cultivating moment to moment awareness and progressing through sixteen stages of Vipassana wisdom to achieve full awakening.
What can attendees expect?
Four foundations of Mindfulness: A technique to see reality in slow motion
Have you seen the movie The Matrix and wished you had the ‘slow motion seeing’ ability like Neo when the bullets were coming at him? Have you ever noticed the bullets that are being shot at us through the words and actions of others or from our own minds? The good news is that there is a technique that can help us dodge these bullets by seeing the mind-body-feelings process in slow motion.
In this series of guided meditations, we will learn this technique and progressively explore the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, starting with Mindfulness of Body, then moving onto Mindfulness of Feelings, followed by Mindfulness of the Mind and finally arriving at the Mindfulness of Truth. The teachings will be offered in plain English while still trying to maintain the traditional depth.
Participants will learn how to practise Vipassana skilfully and in a relaxed manner, so wisdom can arise naturally without trying too hard. We will explore what to expect as you progress through the stages of Vipassana wisdom, the common obstacles and how to overcome them. There will be opportunities to ask questions and receive guidance for your practice.
About the teacher
Abhi Rajguru
Abhi Rajguru is an Indian-Australian meditation teacher and a humanitarian. He was born in a spiritual family in India and he moved to Australia at nineteen by himself with practically nothing. Fast forward 15 years and he had achieved his dream: settling down in Australia, a successful corporate career, owning a house, a great group of friends and travelling around the world; but he was still not feeling fulfilled.
This led him back to India in 2018 to pursue his spiritual journey and had a life changing experience attending a 10 day Vipassana retreat. This was followed up by a 1-year career break where he spent 7 months practising at Vipassana monasteries in Myanmar.
Abhi found a lot of his answers about life, and a sense of meaning and fulfilment through the practice of Vipassana Meditation. Since then Abhi has been practising Vipassana meditation in monasteries in Myanmar and Thailand, and teaching at home in Australia. He also completed a Mindfulness Master course from Mahachulalongkorn Buddhist University in Thailand which authorised him to teach Vipassana Meditation.
Abhi has an effortless and joyful approach to teaching Vipassana meditation. He is passionate about bringing the depth of wisdom from monasteries in Asia and utilising it to address the challenges of the modern Western world. He does so by conveying the wisdom in simple language, in bite sized chunks with practical exercises relevant to daily life.
Abhi also runs charity projects in India, Myanmar and Thailand where most of the donations received from his teaching are directed.
Further resources
- Vipassana Meditation TEDx talk with Eilona Ariel
- Relax and be aware: Mindfulness meditations for clarity, confidence, and wisdom by Sayadaw U Tejaniya
- The 4 foundations of mindfulness in plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
- Mindfulness: A practical guide to awakening by Joseph Goldstien
