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[[Image:Kamalashila.JPG|frame|[[Kamalashila]] whose ''[[Stages of Meditation]]'' describe vipashyana practice]]
[[Image:Kamalashila.JPG|frame|[[Kamalashila]] whose ''[[Stages of Meditation]]'' describe vipashyana practice]]
'''Vipashyana''' (Skt. ''vipaśyanā''; Tib. [[ལྷག་མཐོང་]], ''lhaktong'', [[Wyl.]] ''lhag mthong'') — 'clear seeing' or 'insight' [[meditation]].
'''Vipashyana''' (Skt. ''vipaśyanā''; Tib. [[ལྷག་མཐོང་]], ''lhaktong'', [[Wyl.]] ''lhag mthong''; Pal. ''vipassanā'') — 'clear seeing' or 'insight' [[meditation]]. It is one of the two main aspects of the practice of meditation on the Buddhist path, the other being ''[[shamatha]]'', or 'calm abiding' meditation.
 
While the practice of shamatha allows to settle and stabilize the mind, it does not in and of itself uproot [[ignorance]] and delusion. It is vipashyana that allows us to gain insight into the real nature of all phenomena though the wisdom that properly distinguishes the meaning of an object of knowledge.
 
As it says in ''[[Ratnamegha Sutra]]'':
::''Shamatha is the one-pointed concentration of the mind;
::''Vipashyana is perfect discernment.''


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
*''Vi'' is short for ''vishesa'', which means ‘special’, ‘superior’, or ‘particular’.
*''Vi'' is short for ''vishesa'' (Skt. ''viśeṣa''), which means ‘special’, ‘superior’, or ‘particular’  
*''Pashyana'' , means ‘to see’ or ‘to look’.
*''Pashyana'' (Skt. ''paśyanā'') means ‘to see’ or ‘to look’
 
*''Lhak'' (Wyl. ''lhag'') is ‘unique’ and  
*''Lhak'' is ‘unique’ and  
*''tong'' (Wyl. ''mthong'') is ‘seeing’.  
*''tong'' is ‘seeing’.  


So, it means ‘to look at things in a very direct and especially clear way’.  
So, it means ‘to look at things in a very direct and especially clear way’.


==Prerequisites for Vipashyana==
==Prerequisites for Vipashyana==
Line 18: Line 23:


==Alternative Translations==
==Alternative Translations==
*intense insight (Dharma Publishing)
*superior or unique seeing
*special, superior, penetrative, transcendent or intense insight (Dharma Publishing)
*wider vision


==Teachings Given to the [[About Rigpa|Rigpa]] Sangha==
==Teachings Given to the [[About Rigpa|Rigpa]] Sangha==
*[[Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche]], Rigpa Amsterdam, 23-25 May 1997
*[[Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche]], Rigpa Amsterdam, 23-25 May 1997
*[[Mingyur Rinpoche]], [[Lerab Ling]], 1-3 August 2002
*[[Mingyur Rinpoche]], [[Lerab Ling]], 1-3 August 2002
*Mingyur Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, 18-19 July 2003
*[[Tsoknyi Rinpoche]], Lerab Ling, 11 & 13 August 2003
*[[Tsoknyi Rinpoche]], Lerab Ling, 11 & 13 August 2003
*[[Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche]], Rigpa Paris, 3-4 April 2004
*[[Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche]], Rigpa Paris, 2-4 April 2004
*Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, 3 August 2018
*Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Lerab Ling, 6-9 August 2019, ''Vipashyana: The Path of Recognizing Our True Nature''
===Edited Teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche===
===Edited Teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche===
*''Vipashyana—Preliminary Practices'', Dzogchenlink January 2004
*''Vipashyana—Preliminary Practices'', Dzogchenlink January 2004


==Further Reading==
==Further Reading==
*[[View: The Rigpa Journal]], July 2010, 'Shamatha and Vipashyana', a teaching by Kyabjé [[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche]], pages 18-22.
*[[Chögyam Trungpa]]:
**''The Path of Individual Liberation'' (Shambhala, 2014), chapters 43-49
**''The Path is the Goal'' (Shambhala, 2004)
*Philippe Cornu, ''Dictionnaire Encyclopédique du Bouddhisme'' (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2006), vipaśyanā article
*The [[Dalai Lama]], ''Stages of Meditation'', translated by Venerable Geshe Lobsang Jordhen, Losang Choephel Ganchenpa and Jeremy Russell (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2003), Chapter 9, 'Actualizing Special Insight'
*[[Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche]], 'Shamatha and Vipashyana', in ''[[View: The Rigpa Journal]]'', July 2010, pages 18-22.
*[[Andy Karr]], ''Contemplating Reality'' (Boston: Shambala Publications, 2007), chapter 17
*[[Mingyur Rinpoche]], ''Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom'', Harmony Books, April 2009, Chapter 8 'Insight'
*[[Sogyal Rinpoche]], ''A Treasury of Dharma'' (Lodeve: Rigpa, 2005), Part IV 'Meditation'.
*[[Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche]], ''The Practice of Tranquility and Insight—A Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Meditation'' (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1993).
*[[Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso]], ''Mahamudra Vipashyana'', trans. Jules B. Levinson, Michele Martin, and Jim Scott (Halifax, N.S.: Vajravairochana Translation Committee, 1993)
 
==External Links==
*[https://www.siddharthasintent.org/resources/recordings/lhakthong-vipassana-2019 Teachings on ''Lhakthong (Vipassana)'' by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Thimphu, Bhutan, 2019]
*[https://www.siddharthasintent.org/resources/recordings/way-of-vipassana-2020 Teaching on the ''Way of Vipassana'',  Bengaluru, India, 2020]
*[https://www.siddharthasintent.org/resources/recordings/vipassana-2020 Teachings on ''Vipassana'' by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Taipei, Taiwan, 2020]


[[Category:Key Terms]]
[[Category:Key Terms]]
[[Category:Meditation]]
[[Category:Meditation]]

Latest revision as of 14:34, 16 February 2022

Kamalashila whose Stages of Meditation describe vipashyana practice

Vipashyana (Skt. vipaśyanā; Tib. ལྷག་མཐོང་, lhaktong, Wyl. lhag mthong; Pal. vipassanā) — 'clear seeing' or 'insight' meditation. It is one of the two main aspects of the practice of meditation on the Buddhist path, the other being shamatha, or 'calm abiding' meditation.

While the practice of shamatha allows to settle and stabilize the mind, it does not in and of itself uproot ignorance and delusion. It is vipashyana that allows us to gain insight into the real nature of all phenomena though the wisdom that properly distinguishes the meaning of an object of knowledge.

As it says in Ratnamegha Sutra:

Shamatha is the one-pointed concentration of the mind;
Vipashyana is perfect discernment.

Etymology

  • Vi is short for vishesa (Skt. viśeṣa), which means ‘special’, ‘superior’, or ‘particular’
  • Pashyana (Skt. paśyanā) means ‘to see’ or ‘to look’
  • Lhak (Wyl. lhag) is ‘unique’ and
  • tong (Wyl. mthong) is ‘seeing’.

So, it means ‘to look at things in a very direct and especially clear way’.

Prerequisites for Vipashyana

Kamalashila’s second Stages of Meditation (Skt. Bhāvanākrama) mentions three prerequisites for developing vipashyana:

  1. Reliance upon a spiritual teacher
  2. Genuinely engaging in extensive study
  3. Appropriate reflection

Alternative Translations

  • superior or unique seeing
  • special, superior, penetrative, transcendent or intense insight (Dharma Publishing)
  • wider vision

Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha

Edited Teachings of Sogyal Rinpoche

  • Vipashyana—Preliminary Practices, Dzogchenlink January 2004

Further Reading

  • Chögyam Trungpa:
    • The Path of Individual Liberation (Shambhala, 2014), chapters 43-49
    • The Path is the Goal (Shambhala, 2004)
  • Philippe Cornu, Dictionnaire Encyclopédique du Bouddhisme (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2006), vipaśyanā article
  • The Dalai Lama, Stages of Meditation, translated by Venerable Geshe Lobsang Jordhen, Losang Choephel Ganchenpa and Jeremy Russell (Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2003), Chapter 9, 'Actualizing Special Insight'
  • Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, 'Shamatha and Vipashyana', in View: The Rigpa Journal, July 2010, pages 18-22.
  • Andy Karr, Contemplating Reality (Boston: Shambala Publications, 2007), chapter 17
  • Mingyur Rinpoche, Joyful Wisdom: Embracing Change and Finding Freedom, Harmony Books, April 2009, Chapter 8 'Insight'
  • Sogyal Rinpoche, A Treasury of Dharma (Lodeve: Rigpa, 2005), Part IV 'Meditation'.
  • Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, The Practice of Tranquility and Insight—A Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Meditation (Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1993).
  • Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso, Mahamudra Vipashyana, trans. Jules B. Levinson, Michele Martin, and Jim Scott (Halifax, N.S.: Vajravairochana Translation Committee, 1993)

External Links