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The meaning of the word Vipassana is to ‘see things as they really are’. This is one of India's ancient techniques of meditation and was taught in the country more than 2,500 years ago as ‘a universal remedy for universal ills.’

It is contended that this was the method preferred by Buddha himself. It is also believed that Buddha did not create it, as it were, but re-discovered it and gave it a fresh lease of life. In subsequent years the technique died out in India, but remained preserved in Burma, where it has spread. Vipassana was brought back to the land of its birth by S.N. Goenka, in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, the great master of the technique in Burma.

It is also believed that the technique remains unmodified and is pristine in its teaching and method of practice; no teacher or teacher’s assistant has ever added to, or subtracted from, the original content. In various centres all over the world, Vipassana meditation is taught at residential courses during which participants learn the basics of the method and practice sufficiently to experience its beneficial results. There are several prisons and correctional facilities from around world that also offer Vipassana to the inmates and staff and the benefits are said to have been substantial. A major centre is at the Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

There are no charges for the courses, not even to cover the cost of food and accommodation. All expenses are met by donations from people who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give this opportunity to others.

Vipassana centres are located all over India and indeed the world, the main one being at Igatpuri, in the state of Maharashtra. In Himachal Pradesh, this is located at McLeodganj, above Dharamsala. Set in three acres of land, the complex calls itself the Dhamma Shikhara, or the ‘Peak of Dhamma’, (in the ancient Pali language, dhamma means righteousness). The first course was held here in April 1994, and today, two ten-day courses are held every month from April to November. Sattipatthana courses and three-day courses for old students are also conducted here. The complex has accommodation for forty-five male students, forty-three females and eight dhamma servers.

A unique feature of the Dhamma Shikhara is the multilingual ‘Dhamma Hall’. Here, an electronic system enables twenty-four students of seven different languages to receive instruction simultaneously with headphones. This system was devised by the students themselves and is of immense benefit as the Dhamma Shikhara receives students from forty different countries. Apart from this, in two other halls, instruction is given in Hindi, English and Hebrew.

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