GP document - Mindful Timekeeping

An immersive learning experience
It was in February of 2018 that I took my first
course of Vipassana. Though I was intrigued by
the idea of a 10 day retreat where one should
not talk and have to meditate the whole day, I
was initially unaware of how it exactly is. Not
knowing anything about the centers in India,
I did not see me going to one. Coincidently a
friend found centers near Ahmedabad around
the same time and both of us ended up enrolling
for a course. When allotment came, one of
us was given a different center as the center
we applied was full (in hindsight, both of us are
glad this happend). With the minimum I knew,
not talking for 10 days and waking up at four in
the morning felt like the most difficult bit.
My course was at Dhamma Pitha, a center
at Ranoda, in the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
Around 100 people had enrolled for this course
of which 40 were women. It was interesting to
meet a lot of millenials in the crowd. Each of us
were alloted individual or twin sharing rooms,
which were well maintained. I shared the room
with a lady who was in her 50s. As the days
passed, I was grateful for her presence.
Daily routine
At the retreat, days started at 4am and ended
by 9.30 pm.
4:00am: Wake-up Bell
4:30am — 6:30am: Meditate
6:30am — 8:00am: Breakfast
8:00am — 11:00am: Meditate
11:00am — 1:00pm: Lunch
1:00pm — 5:00pm: Meditate
5:00pm — 6:00pm: Tea
6:00pm — 7:00pm: Meditate
7:00pm — 8:15pm: Lecture
8:30pm — 9:00pm: Meditate
10:00pm: Lights Out
It was around 10 hours of sitting meditation
each day. From forth day along with
Vipassana, 3 hours of meditation included
practicing “Athitana” or strong determination
(8am — 9am, 2:30pm — 3:30pm, and
6pm — 7pm), where we pledge to not move
even if we feel like, was practiced.
Meditation practice schedule
Day 1-3 - Anapana Meditation(focus on breathe)
Day 4-9- Vipassana Meditation (body scanning)
combined with Anapana when needed.
Day 10- Metta Bhavana ( Loving Kindness)
Though the task during meditation is to notice
the breath for the first 3 days and body
sensations (vipassana meditation technique)
from the fourth till the last day, mind continues
to focus on thoughts, inevitably. As nearly no
socialising is involved, our mind wanders even
more.
The course instructs not to react to or get
consumed by the thoughts and feelings that
are bound to arise during the meditation.
Instead it urges to observe them as it is and
understand that they are passing by and would
not last long. On reacting with aversion or
craving, we create attachment, which causes
suffering or a struggle in the mind. Following
the instructions completely was
impossible as the mind continues to engage
with the thoughts.
Personal experience:
10 days felt like an intense psychoanalytic
psychotherapy session where the mind walked
through the entire life story rich in all emotions.
A very novel experience! It was something
unforseen when I decided to take up this
course.
National Institute of Design | Graduation Project | 2020
45