Vipassana, based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness using techniques taught by Ajahn Naeb  

“She may first instruct the visitors to sit comfortably and then ask them not to move. Shortly, of course, one automatically begins to change position. "Wait, hold it. Why are you moving? Don't move yet." The teachings of Ajahn Naeb point directly to the most obvious source of suffering, our own bodies. If we simply stay still and try not to move, eventually the pain increases so we must change posture.  Almost all of our actions throughout the day follow the same pattern.  After waking, we arise and go to the bathroom to ease the bladder pain. Then we eat to ease the discomfort of hunger. Then we sit down to ease the pain of standing. Then we read or talk or watch TV to distract us from the pain of our turbulent mind. Then we move again to ease another discomfort. Each movement, each action is not to bring happiness but to ease the inevitable suffering that comes from being born with a body. Ajahn Naeb's method has the simple approach of looking at the cause and effect of suffering in our daily lives and actions. Clear perception of this process is the direct entry to the end of suffering and the happiness of the Buddha.”

According to Ajahn Naeb’s teachings, before one begins practice, one must understand some theory. Practicing Meditation doesn’t require you to become a Buddhist but it is helpful to understand some basic concepts and background of Vipassana.  The purpose of Vipassana is to ultimately attain Nibbana which, simply put, means the realization that your mind and body are “not-self”, not "me".  We will discuss this concept later on in this book. 

Insight comes only from the direct observation of the nature of mind and matter in the present moment. No strong effort nor special concentration is necessary.  Instead we are urged to know mind and matter directly as they appear in all postures. We will see clearly how pain and unsatisfactoriness drive us through our daily actions. We will also see how mind and matter are separate, empty phenomena which change constantly.

Ajahn Naeb’s method proceeds directly to mindfulness of the Four Foundations ("Satipatthana" or "Insight Meditation").  Simply put, practice by observing the present moment, especially mind and matter, and why the effect the two have on each other.

• Mindfulness of the Body (kāyā): This involves observing the body's functions and movements, including breathing, posture, and sensations, without judgment. 

• Mindfulness of Feelings (vedanā): This focuses on recognizing and observing the arising and passing of different feelings, both pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral, without getting caught up in them. 

• Mindfulness of Mind (citta): This involves observing the nature of your thoughts, emotions, and mental states, recognizing their impermanence and arising and passing. 

• Mindfulness of Mental Objects (dhamma): This focuses on observing the objects of the mind, such as concepts, ideas, and the world around you, with a clear and unbiased awareness.

Vipassana helps the meditator gain an insight into the three common characteristics of all aspects of mentality and materiality (Nama-Rupa), namely: 

1. Anicca: Impermanent because they cannot stay the same. Each movement arises and falls away.

2. Dukkha: Suffering because the position is suffering.

3. Anatta: Not-self because whatever is impermanent, and suffering is without self.

1. How to Start

Basics

The meditator applies steady mindfulness to his/her body in the four basic positions. Here, the meditator maintains awareness of the different postures of the body as the body is in that posture. For example:

1. Sitting: the meditator is aware, “I am sitting”

2. Standing: the meditator is aware, “I am standing”

3. Walking: the meditator is aware, “I am walking”

4. Lying Down: the meditator is aware, “I am lying down”

Please use all four postures without a preference for one over the other as we are trying to develop the wisdom to be present without liking or not liking.  If you are a beginner, start off with Sitting meditation.  Do some low impact stretches or yoga before you begin.  Make sure to use the restroom!  Find a comfortable sitting position and keep your back straight.  You may close your eyes or leave them open and focus on a spot on the wall or floor in front of you.  

The mind is aware of the different postures by the different sensations for example the pressure under the feet when standing or the pressure under the buttocks when sitting HOWEVER we only need to know that this is sitting posture or standing posture, NOT the actual sensations of pressure, heat, etc.  By knowing the posture as just sitting posture for example we weaken the idea of “I am” that is ''l am sitting” which  becomes sitting posture this knowledge becomes very clear as wisdom develops.

You may notice that Ajahn Naeb’s system does not focus on group meditation sessions.  This is because she stresses that the meditator should not be required or forced to stay in a posture for a certain amount of time.  In fact, putting a clock or timer on your practice is incorrect.  Forcing yourself to stay within a time requirement will create the illusion of “self” and this illusion will follow in all positions.  Attempting to control actions in this manner cannot bring insight wisdom. In order to have insight wisdom there must be no control or time schedules.  Simply be aware of the appropriate cause which compels you to change positions.  When you change positions, pay attention to why you are changing positions.  Is it because of discomfort?  Is your mind wandering?  

Remain in one posture until the discomfort becomes enough that you need to change posture or perform an action to ease discomfort.  When your nose starts itching, try not to scratch it.  Recognize that your nose is itching.  In fact, focus on the scratch.  Repeat the words “itchy, itchy, itchy”.  Does the itch eventually go away?  If it doesn’t then go ahead and scratch it.  Recognize that you’re scratching your nose to relieve discomfort of your body.   Do not endure excessive pain by remaining for excessively long periods in one posture.

If your mind is wandering about, be aware that it is wandering but do not try to control it.  We must realize that the wandering mind is a mental state, or we will mistakenly think it is "I" wandering about and thus the idea of personality will remain instead of being eliminated.  Insight cannot be attained if you try to stop the wandering mind. Why? Because one is wrongly trying to control nature, deluded that there is a self which can control the mind or force the wandering mind to disappear.  Furthermore, you cannot non-judgmentally observe the mind if you’re trying to control it.  Soon enough, the mind will stop wandering on its own, or it will wander elsewhere, because everything is in transition.

For beginners, Meditation may initially seem tortuous because you have been training to be everywhere else except the here and now.  Focusing on your body and mind at the same time will make time pass by excruciatingly slow.  You will want to give up.  You will feel “bored”.

When you start meditating, your mind will be going a hundred miles an hour:

• Am I doing this right?

• Why am I here?

• Wonder if I got the e-mail from my big client.

• My nose is starting to itch.

• This isn’t working, I’m wasting my time.

• How do I get to Chiang Mai when I’m done here?

• I hear dogs barking.

• My back is hurting.

It’s okay to have these thoughts.  Don’t beat yourself over it.  You are not doing it “wrong”.  In the hustle and bustle of the “civilized” world, we are taught to multi-task and to think about multiple things at the same time.  When we have a spare minute, we automatically pick up our smart phones and scroll through text messages, the news, e-mails, games, sports, etc.  One of the effects of Vipassana is to quiet the mind; to turn down the volume of all the noise to allow you a chance to be at peace.

Your mind is like a muscle.  It is trainable.  You’ve heard of “muscle memory” when playing sports.  It’s like riding a bicycle, swimming, or swinging a golf club.  The first time you do it, you fail.  If you give up, you will never learn.  The more you practice, the better you become.  

By practicing in this way, we are training the mind to stay in the present moment without feeling Lobha, Dosa, or Moha which are the causes of all obstacles that we encounter in our practice.

• Lobha: (Greed/Craving) refers to attachment, desire, and the grasping for things, experiences, or people, leading to dissatisfaction and suffering when those desires are not met. 

• Dosa: (Hatred/Aversion) encompasses anger, ill-will, and aversion towards others or situations, leading to conflict and suffering. 

• Moha: (Delusion/Ignorance) refers to a lack of understanding of reality, including the impermanence of things and the nature of suffering, leading to confusion and wrong actions.

In order to develop wisdom we simply know all thoughts as just a wandering mind or thinking mind and  the body as just sitting  posture or whatever posture we are at that moment.

In order  to  do  this  practice  we must  continually  train  the mind by developing:

• Sati: Mindfulness which is the experience of the sensations in the body and mind as we experience them in the present moment.

• Sampajanna: Recognizing that these experiences are sitting posture, etc.

• Atapi:  Effort that directs your mind to the object of meditation and to keep it on the object.

• Yonisomanasikara: Understanding the reason for any action; which is to cure or relieve suffering.  It is also what knows the true state of nature; it knows sitting posture not “I sit”.

• Sikkhati: The observation and knowing that we are in the present moment and also when we are not in the present moment.