I Did 10-Day Vipassana Meditation Retreat Twice. Here Are 3 Lessons I Learned About Self-Mastery

Vipassana meditation retreat is a 10 day training where you meditate for 10 hours a day. This training has put my learning about myself and meditation on a fast-track.

Lesson #1: Vipassana is a willpower training

I chuckle every time when I see word ‘retreat’ and Vipassana in the same sentence. For me retreats associate with being relaxed, reading, and napping.

Vipassana, even though you leave your responsibilities behind, is not relaxing. It is hard work. For 10 hours each day you have to constantly focus on the meditation object. If your mind wanders, you have to bring it back. Additionally, you have to follow an intense schedule, eat the last meal of the day at 11 am (!), and feel the pain of sitting for hours.

Better word for Vipassana is a bootcamp. After you come out of it you learn that you have more discipline than you think. You come back to daily life with double willpower and patience.

Lesson #2: Learning happens at the experiential not intellectual level

You can read all the Buddhist texts on impermanence but you will only gain wisdom when you can experience it yourself.

For example, when you sit to meditate for 2 hours, naturally, something will start to ache. You starting thinking “Oh no… I will ruin my back with this Vipassana”. However, if you let go of the resistance to the pain, you will notice that the pain passes away. Then, the next ten minutes your knee will start aching and the process will continue… By observing body sensations, you internalize that nothing is permanent.

Experiential wisdom is worth more than 100 books on meditation.

Lesson #3: Discovery requires space and trust

Wanting to clear your mind or achieve some sort of meditation benefit is the same as wanting to fall asleep. The more you want to fall asleep, the more awake you feel.

To maintain a long-term meditation practice, you need to trust that positively directed work will reward you in ways you do not even understand yet. I have seen these benefits myself. They come when you least expect it.