The Vipassanā movement refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (Sukkha-Vipassana) meditation practice to develop insight into the three marks of existence and attain stream entry. It has gained widespread popularity since the 1950s, including through its Western derivatives, which have been popularised since the 1970s, giving rise to the more dhyana-oriented mindfulness movement.
The Burmese Vipassana movement has its roots in the 19th century, when Theravada Buddhism came to be influenced by Western modernism, and some monks tried to restore the Buddhist practice of meditation. Based on the commentaries, Ledi Sayadaw popularised Vipassana meditation for lay people, teaching samatha and stressing the practice of satipatthana to acquire Vipassana (insight) into the three marks of existence as the main means to attain the beginning of awakening and become a stream-enterer. It was greatly popularised in the 20th century in traditional Theravada countries by Mahasi Sayadaw, who introduced the "New Burmese Satipatthana Method". It also gained a large following in the West, due to Westerners who learned Vipassana from Mahasi Sayadaw, S. N. Goenka, and other Burmese teachers. Some also studied with Thai Buddhist teachers, who are more critical of the commentarial tradition and stress the joined practice of samatha and Vipassana.
In the United States, the approach has been dubbed the American Vipassana or Insight Meditation Movement. This includes institutions like the Insight Meditation Society and contemporary American Buddhist teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal, Sharon Salzberg, Ruth Denison, Shinzen Young, and Jack Kornfield. Most of these teachers combine the strict Burmese approach with the Thai approach, and also other Buddhist and non-Buddhist ideas and practices, due to their broader training and their critical approach to Buddhist sources. Although the New Burmese Method is strictly based on the Theravāda Abhidhamma and the Visuddhimagga, Western teachers also tend to base their practice on personal experience and on the suttas, which they approach in a more textual-critical way.
A recent development, according to some Western non-monastic scholars, is the understanding that jhana, as described in the nikayas, is not a form of concentration-meditation, but a training in heightened awareness and equanimity, which forms the culmination of the Buddhist path.
History
According to Buswell, by the 10th century Vipassana was no longer practiced in the Theravada tradition, due to the belief that Buddhism had degenerated, and that liberation was no longer attainable until the coming of Maitreya. According to Braun, "the majority of Theravadins and dedicated Buddhists of other traditions, including monks and nuns, have focused on cultivating moral behavior, preserving the Buddha's teachings (dharma), and acquiring the good karma that comes from generous giving." Southern Esoteric Buddhist practices were widespread in the whole Theravadin world before being replaced by the Vipassana movement.
The interest in meditation was re-awakened in Myanmar (Burma) in the 18th century by Medawi (1728–1816), who wrote Vipassana manuals. The actual practice of meditation was re-invented in Theravada countries in the 19th and 20th centuries and simplified meditation techniques, based on the Satipatthana Sutta, the Visuddhimagga, and other texts, emphasising satipatthana and bare insight were developed.
In the 19th and 20th century the Theravada traditions in Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka were rejuvenated in response to Western colonialism. They were rallying points in the struggle against Western hegemonism, giving voice to traditional values and culture. But the Theravada tradition was also reshaped, using the Pali scriptural materials to legitimise these reforms. Ironically, the Pali canon became widely accessible due to the Western interest in those texts, and the publications of the Pali Text Society. A major role was also being played by the Theosophical Society, which sought for ancient wisdom in Southeast Asia, and stimulated local interest in its own traditions. The Theosophical Society started a lay-Buddhist organisation in Sri Lanka, independent from power of conventional temples and monasteries. Interest in meditation was awakened by these developments, whereas the main Buddhist practice in temples was the recitation of texts, not of meditation practice.
Lay participation in Theravada countries grew strongly in the 20th century, and eventually also reached the West. Most influential in this renewed interest was the "New Burmese Method" of Vipassana practice, as developed by U Nārada (1868–1955) and popularised by Mahasi Sayadaw (1904–1982). Ultimately, this practice aims at stream entry, with the idea that this first stage of the path to awakening safeguards future development of the person towards full awakening, despite the degenerated age we live in. This method spread over South and Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas, and has become synonymous with Vipassana.
A comparable development took place in Thailand, where the Buddhist orthodoxy was challenged by monks who aimed to reintroduce the practice of meditation, based on the Sutta Pitaka. In contrast to the Burmese Vipassana teachers, Thai teachers taught Vipassana in tandem with samatha. The practical and doctrinal differences have been heatedly debated within Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhism.Bhikkhu Sujato, Reform They have also influenced Western teachers, who have tended to take a more liberal approach, questioning the new orthodoxy and integrating various practices and doctrines.Jack Kornfield (interview), in Shankman (2008), The Experience of Samadhi
Since the 1980s, the Vipassana movement has given way to the largely secularised "mindfulness" practice, which has its roots in Zen and Vipassana meditation, and has eclipsed the popularity of Vipassana meditation. In the latter approach, mindfulness, understood as "the awareness that arises by paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally", is the central practice, instead of Vipassana.Jon Kabat-Zinn (2013), Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition), p. XXXV
Meditation techniques
The Vipassanā movement emphasises the use of Vipassanā to gain insight into the three marks of existence as the main means to attain wisdom and the beginning of awakening and become a stream-enterer, or even attain full liberation.Analayo, The Dynamics of Theravāda Insight Meditation, Centre for Buddhist Studies, University of Hamburg Dharma Drum Buddhist College, Taiwan. The practices are based on the Satipatthana Sutta, the Visuddhimagga, and other texts, emphasising satipatthana and bare insight.Cousins, Lance. The Origins of Insight Meditation
The various movements espouse forms of samatha and Vipassanā meditation. The various Vipassana teachers also make use of the scheme of the insight knowledges, stages of insight which every practitioner passes through in their progress of meditation. The foundation for this progress is the meditation on the arising and passing away of all contemplated phenomena (anicca), which leads to an understanding of their unsatisfactory (dukkha) nature and insight into not-self (anatta).
Vipassana/Insight meditation is classed as a "deconstructive" form of meditation by Buddhist scholar and scientist Cortland Dahl and co-authors. Psychology researchers differ as to whether an association exists between unpleasant meditation-related experiences and deconstructive meditation types; a recent study noted that their sample size was too small to draw definitive conclusions. However, these authors did find a correlation between meditators having attended a meditation retreat and self-reports of unpleasant experiences. This is a relevant consideration insofar as Vipassana/Insight meditation is often taught in retreats. This result differs from previous research which found that retreat attendance tends to be correlated with a range of positive effects.
Burma
Contemporary Burmese Theravāda Buddhism is one of the main creators of modern Vipassanā practice, which has been gaining popularity since the 1950s.
Ledi Sayadaw Ledi Sayadaw (1846–1923) prepared the ground for the popularisation of meditation by a lay audience, by re-introducing the practice of meditation, based on the Abhidhamma.
S. N. Goenka S. N. Goenka (1924–2013) was a well-known Indian lay teacher in the Ledi-lineage who was taught by Sayagyi U Ba Khin (1899–1971). According to S. N. Goenka, Vipassanā techniques are essentially non-sectarian in character, and have universal application. He asserted that Vipassanā technique of meditation was originally espoused in Rigveda however lapsed after the Vedic era and was rejuvenated by Gautama Buddha. One need not convert to Buddhism to practice these styles of meditation. Meditation centers teaching the Vipassanā popularised by S. N. Goenka exist now in Nepal, India, other parts of Asia, North and South America, Europe, Australia, Middle East and Africa. In the tradition of S. N.Goenka, Vipassanā practice focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind.
The practice is usually taught in 10-day retreats, in which 3 days are given to the practice of anapanasati, intended to increase consistency and precision of attention, and the rest of the time is given to Vipassanā in the form of "body sweep" practice, in which the meditator moves through the body in sections, or as a whole, paying attention to the various sensations that arise without reacting to them. According to Bhikkhu Analayo: "This form of meditation has by now become what probably is the most widely taught form of insight meditation world-wide."Analayo, The Dynamics of Theravāda Insight Meditation
Other teachers Ruth Denison (1922–2015) was another senior teacher of the U Ba Khin method. Anagarika Munindra studied with both S. N. Goenka and Mahasi Sayadaw, and combined both lineages. Dipa Ma was a student of his.
The Mahasi ("New Burmese") Method
Teachers The "New Burmese Method" was developed by U Nārada (1868–1955) and popularised by his student, Mahasi Sayadaw (1904–1982). It was introduced to Sri Lanka in 1939, but became popular in the 1950s with the arrival of Burmese monks, where it gained great popularity among the laity, but was also severely criticised because of its disregard of samatta. Most senior Western Vipassana teachers (Goldstein, Kornfield, Salzberg) studied with Mahasi Sayadaw and his student Sayadaw U Pandita. Nyanaponika Thera (1901–1994) ordained already in the fifties, contributing to the interest in Vipassana with his publications. Prominent teacher Bhikkhu Bodhi is a student of Nyanaponika.
Ajahn Tong was a Thai master who studied under Mahasi Sayadaw before returning to found his own Vipassana lineage at Chom Tong in Thailand.
Practice The "New Burmese Method" emphasises the attainment of Vipassana, insight, by practising satipatthana, paying close attention to the ongoing changes in body and mind. According to Gil Fronsdal:
Nyanaponika Thera coined the term "bare attention" for the mindfulness practice of the "New Burmese Method." Yet, Robert H. Sharf notes that Buddhist practice is aimed at the attainment of "correct view", not just "bare attention":
Other Burmese teachers
Mogok Sayadaw