Satipatthana*1 The One and Only Path to Liberation -- Liberation can only be gained by practice, never by mere discussion. - S.N. Goenka

Among thousands of discourses given by the Buddha, the Satipatthana Sutta has been singled out for intense study by meditation teachers and practitioners as it deals in detail, the technique of meditation itself. One of these master teachers is S.N. Goenka*3 who started the first Satipatthana Sutta course at Dhammagiri, the main centre near Bombay, from 16 to 22 December 1981 after his standard meditation course*4 has been well received in meditation centres in India and worldwide. The Satipatthana course, a further investigation of the technique at the theoretical level, enables older students of his tradition to work directly with the Buddha's words in order to strengthen their practice.

What is Goenka's Satipatthana course like?

The discipline and timetable of a ten-day course remained, but the participants could study the text of the Sutta*5 in the break periods, if they wished. The day begins with one-hour recitation of the entire Sutta by Goenkaji and the evening ends with Goenkaji's pre-recorded discourses on the Sutta. In between is the sitting practice whereby the participants can use the theory as a foundation to investigate and experience realities inside themselves directly. In this way, pariyatti (the theoretical study of Dhamma) and patipatti (the actual practice of Dhamma) are most beneficially combined. The course lasts seven full days, because this was the time Goenkaji needed to expound and explain the Sutta in the evening discourses.

Open to those who have some solid experience in Goenkaji's meditation tradition, who maintained regular daily practice, and who maintained at least the five moral precepts, the course is said to inspire confidence as participants who "hear the direct words of the Buddha" feel as if the Buddha is speaking to them personally from His own experience. His repetition of key words like "atapi sampajano santima"(to be ardently aware of the arising and passing of sensations) serves as a guide, and His assurance to those who properly practice Satipatthana will reach the final goal of liberation, is a boast to those on the path.

For list of centres and courses under Goenkaji's tradition, please visit http://www.vri.dhamma.org/courses/centres.html A standard course will take place in Singapore this year. Please check http://www.sg.dhamma.org or call 9011 9432 for details.

1. "Sati" means awareness, the witnessing of every reality pertaining to the mind and matter within the framework of the body. "Patthana" means getting established in proper way, which is in different ways.The practice of the four-fold satipatthana, the establishing of awareness, was highly praised by the Buddha in the Suttas. Mentioning its importance in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, the Buddha called it ekayano maggo - the only way for the purification of beings, for overcoming sorrow, for extinguishing suffering, for walking on the path of truth and for realizing nibbana.

2. A condensed version of the daily evening discourse given by S.N. Goenka during a Satipatthana Sutta course held at Dhamma Bhumi, Blackheath, Australia, in November, 1990. The book is intended as a companion volume to the Maha-satipatthana Sutta, The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Awareness (VRI, 1998)

3. Who is S.N. Goenka?

S.N. Goenka, is the founder of Vipassana centres worldwide and a master teacher of meditation who received the technique that he teaches in the 1950's from Sayagyi U Ba Khin of Burma, who in turn received it from Saya Thet, who in turn received it from the venerable monk, Ledi Sayadaw, who in turn received it from his own teacher in a long line of teachers descended directly from the Buddha. Goenkaji emphasises that he does not teach Buddhism or any kind of "ism," and that the technique that he teaches is universal, for people from any religious or philosophical background or belief.

4. What is Goenka's standard meditation course like?

The standard meditation course in this tradition is a residential course of ten days?duration. Participants commit themselves to staying on the course site for the full ten days, observing a rigorous timetable, maintaining complete silence among themselves for the first nine days. At the beginning of the course, they take the five precepts as given by the Buddha to householders: to refrain from killing, to refrain from stealing, to refrain from telling lies, to refrain from sexual misconduct (which involves the maintenance of complete celibacy for the duration of the course), and to refrain from taking any intoxicants. They start with the practice of Anapana meditation, that is, the observation of the natural breath. On the fourth day, when some concentration has been gained, they switch to the practice of Vipassana, the systematic observation of the entire mind-matter phenomenon through the medium of bodily sensations. On the last full day, they practise Mett?bhavana, that is, loving kindness, or sharing the merits that they have gained with others.

5.Maha-satipatthana Sutta, The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Awareness (VRI, 1998)