Day 1
Bright and early wake up. Actually, it was Dark and Early wake up. 4:00 am!
4:30 first Meditation
We met as a group in the meditation hall, both men and women, but separated.
Positions were assigned to us. Meditation cushions were provided but many people brought their own. I only brought a pillow to sit on, but I opted for a chair. About a third of the women used a chair. It's difficult for me to sit "criss cross applesauce" (when you've been around kids you refer to it that way.) My osteoarthritis and osteoporosis don't lend themselves well to sitting cross legged. Especially for 10-11 hour a day. But even sitting in a chair was a challenge. I wish I could have put my legs up but that wasn't possible. The room was full. Yes, that many people chose to torture themselves. There was a long waiting list. We signed up first day and the spots were filled within an hour. There is no charge for this retreat. It is "Pay it Forward" by former students.
At the beginning and end of each meditation, an audio tape was played of S.N. Goenka, who was the most recent in a long line of teachers dating back to Gautama, the Buddha. The word Buddha refers to an enlightened being, so anyone can be a Buddha. This was my attempt at becoming Buddha. In actuality, I was more the 2nd syllable - Ha. or Haha. The word "Ha" in Hawaiian means breath, and that is what we concentrated on the entire day.
He would begin and end each session with a chant in Sanscrit.
We were instructed to concentrate only on our breathing; To be aware of our breathing, not to control it in any way. This is quite different from my previous attempts at meditation, where you controlled your breathing, or chanted a mantra. "Just be aware" he said, "of breathing through your nostrils. Don't try to change it. Are you breathing through left or right nostril or both? Doesn't matter. Just be aware of your body's natural breathing." Really? this is what I'm going to be doing for the next 2 hours? As it turned out, it was for the next 2 days!
6:30 Breakfast. The same every morning. Organic Tea, Oatmeal, cereal, fruit, yogurt, juice, and organic sprouted bread. We served ourselves and then could sit inside the small dining room, or outside at the tables. I chose the little table by the lake, as much as weather would permit.
8:00 group meditation, beginning with instruction. Guess what? Same thing.
Breath through your nostrils for 2 hours. Short break and then option to return to meditation hall or meditate in your room. Not outside, as he said it is too distracting. This continued until lunch at 11:00
Lunch was vegan/vegetarian and was high quality organic food. A small salad bar was part of every lunch. A couple hot menu items were available and there was always brown rice. It told Erika on our drive down that we would probably get lentils. I love lentils. We never did.
1:00 Group meditation in meditation hall followed by the option to meditate in our rooms. This continued until 5:00, Tea time, with short breaks in between.
6:00 meditation
7:00 discourse. We watched a video of S. N. Goenka, giving us instructions, Philosophy and history of Vipassana. It is universal and not attached to any religion or sect.
Short break.
8:10 to 9:00 or so You got it! More breathing through the nostrils! I am really beginning to feel panic. How can I possibly do this for 10 days?
Remember from our introduction meeting? Silence. We were warned about coughing or sneezing.
Well, we had a chronic cougher and she sat directly behind me. A loud and frequent cougher. She would turn her head and cough into the wall, which only amplified the sound. As much as I felt compassion for her, ( I likened it to being the mother of a crying baby on an airplane.) it was incredibly distracting. OK, I thought, I'm here to learn patience and tolerance. This is a test of that. And, indeed it was!
9:30 end of day
10:00 pm lights out
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