(Excerpted and adapted from the open Question-and-Answer session at the Annual Conference on 10 January, 1998.)

Question: Are new editions of the CD-ROM being planned? And does this have any relevance to paṭipatti?

S. N. Goenka: Well, I congratulate all those people who worked on the CD-ROM. But this is not the final version. Newer versions will be coming. But this point should always be very clear to all those who are working on this, that the pariyatti, the propagation of Dhamma, is not our final aim. For us, paṭipatti, the practice of Dhamma, is the aim. Pariyatti will help.

Why have we collected all this information in the CD? Because many books, many old scriptures got lost in China, in Tibet, and in other places. Who knows, more books may get lost. There is a book about a hundred years back which lists Pali books in Burma, and when I go through the names, many of the books are not available. Only names are there. Within this hundred years, so many books have been lost. So it becomes my duty to preserve the remaining books in the CD-ROM.

Now we have got three scripts in the CD. Two more scripts will be added, and it is possible that more scripts will be added in the future. In all, there may be six or seven scripts. But after another two scripts and some more volumes are included in the CD within the next few months, we will take the next step, we will put it on the Internet.

For what purpose? Now this centre (Dhamma Giri) is a world centre for paṭipatti. The Internet will be used by this centre for discussion about paṭipatti. We will start a discussion on the Internet. We will put up an item, for example: "We feel that body sensation (vedanā) is very important in the teaching of Buddha, the Vipassana of Buddha." People will come and say: "No, no. The word ‘vedanā’ means feeling; vedanā means ‘mind’"—and all those things. Let discussion start in this way. If there is any mistake on our part, we will not feel shy to rectify it. But if people have gone wrong somewhere, then at least they will know, what is the real way, what the Buddha said.

This is only one example. There can be so many things like this, which we can discuss—"What is sampajañña? How is sampajañña translated?" Even the Aṭṭhakathās (commentaries) sometimes may have not given the proper answer. For us, when there is a difference between Aṭṭhakathā and the Tipiṭaka, Tipiṭaka is more important. I go to the Buddha instead of Buddhaghosa (author of commentatories including Visuddhimagga). I go to Buddha: "What do you say, sir? How should I understand this?" Not to Buddhaghosa. For me, the Buddha is more authentic. So all those things will come up now, with this international discussion which will start as soon as we put it on the Internet in a few months’ time.

Now one wonderful thing that has come up because of this CD-ROM, one example. When I came to this country—because my teacher wanted Vipassana to get established in India and then spread around the world—the first thing that came to my mind: "I have come here to teach Buddha’s teaching as Dhamma, not as Buddhism." The moment I say that I have come here to teach Buddhism, nobody will come even to listen to me—far away that they will spend ten days with me to learn. And this was not a strategy for me. It was my conviction. Buddha was against casteism and sectarianism.

After so many years now, when the CD-ROM has come out, I was so happy. I asked somebody who was working on it, "Please see if the word "Bauddha"—meaning Buddhist or Buddhism—is mentioned anywhere." One hundred and forty-six volumes, more than fifty-five thousand pages, millions of words—and Bauddha is not mentioned even once! Buddhism is not used anywhere—neither in Tipiṭaka, nor in Aṭṭhakathā, nor in Ṭīkā.

How did the teaching of Buddha deteriorate? We have to do some research on how this word "Bauddha" started. Who first used this word? To me—I am very frank—anybody who first used the word Buddhism—or in Pali or Hindi, Bauddha—he was the biggest enemy of the Buddha’s teaching. Because the teaching which was universal, now out of ignorance, he made it sectarian. Buddhism is only for Buddhists. Dhamma is for all. The moment you say Buddhism, then you are making the Buddha’s teaching limited to certain people, which is totally wrong.

So we will make inquiries about all these things, discuss with people on the Internet, give information to the people. If they have any other information, we will take information from them. This centre here (Dhamma Giri) will become a very important centre for discussion of the Buddha’s teaching pertaining to Vipassana. If there is any kind of philosophical argument, we will say: "No, no, thank you. We don’t want to discuss that. We will discuss only things which will support the work of Vipassana."

Question: In your discourses you talk about thirty-one lokas but often this looks very speculative. Can this be understood at the level of sensations?

S. N. Goenka: Certainly. The whole technique takes you to that stage where you will start feeling—some students, very few, have started feeling—"Now what sort of vibration am I experiencing? What sort of vibration?" And according to that, they will understand—a vibration of this particular loka, of this particular plane, is of this type. And later on, they can understand in greater detail also.

But it is not necessary that one should first accept the reality of these thirty-one planes and only then he will progress in Dhamma. Nothing doing. People from different traditions come to me. There are traditions where they don’t believe in past life or future life. All right. Then I say: "Carry on. Do you believe in this life, or not? You believe in this life. All right, work for this life. Later on, when you reach a stage where you can understand what is past life, what is future life—by experience—then accept it, not now." Nothing wrong in that.

Question: Could you give some advice to mothers with infants who are struggling to keep up their practice and who are distressed by the fact that they cannot do so.

S. N. Goenka: Why can’t they do so? The child is on the lap and still you can practise. You can give mettā to the child. You can give mettā to others. You must learn how to carry on your Dhamma in every situation. So use Dhamma for all your duties. A mother’s duty is to look after the child in a Dhamma way.

Question: 1999 is the centenary of revered Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and also your seventy-fifth birthday. How to celebrate this important year?

S. N. Goenka: Forget my seventy-fifth birthday, I am still alive! Give more importance to the centenary year. And the centenary year of a saint, a real saint of this era. Wonderful! All importance should be given to it. And we must all keep on thinking as to what is the proper way to celebrate it. If one thinks that we write articles, we write books praising him, "What a wonderful saint he was," that doesn’t help. More and more people, how they can be attracted, or at least they know what Vipassana is and they get attracted to it. That is more important.

Because history will say what a wonderful person he was. History will say that Ledi Sayadaw was a wonderful person because he was the first person who opened the gates for the householders. And then he made Saya Thetgyi the first household teacher. And then comes Sayagyi U Ba Khin and he opened the gates, Vipassana gates, for all: "Go and teach. Go and teach. Teach like this, like this, like this." The entire world will feel so grateful to him. So the best way now is that we give information, spread awareness of Vipassana.

And for that, the pagoda is being built. People will come out of curiosity: "Oh, what is this?" When they come there, they will know: "Oh, this is Vipassana pagoda. And what is Vipassana?" And they will understand what is Vipassana. And out of this large number of people who come, if even a few take Vipassana, at least they will get benefit, and the awareness will spread. We will also consider other suggestions that we receive.

Question: Many old students are teaching Ānāpāna on their own, and some are even teaching Vipassana. Is it proper?

S. N. Goenka: It is not proper, but what can we do? We don’t have any kind of monopoly: "Oh, this is registered for Goenka and this is his monopoly, this is his trademark." Nothing like that. And it should not be like that. Why? Why should it be? It is open for everybody.

But of course, we keep on telling people, that if you feel like teaching this to others, first get established in Dhamma yourself, and then get proper training as to how to teach. If you don’t want to become a good daughter-in-law, how can you become a good mother-in-law? You want to become a good mother-in-law but not a good daughter-in-law! How is that possible? So get proper training and then, yes, teach. In spite of that, if somebody doesn’t agree, all right, be happy. What can we do? We won’t take any legal action, that is true.

Question: Kindly explain again, for the benefit of Western students, how and why do you say that self-sex is breaking of sīla.

S. N. Goenka: Well, I don’t say that self-sex is breaking of sīla, but it leads you towards breaking of sīla. That means you have become a slave of your passion. And if you don’t get anything else, then you start using self-sex. That will take you further on the wrong path. We try to take people out from this, we try to help them to come out of passion. That is the aim of Vipassana.

Question: How does one find the balance between selfless service and taking care of oneself?

S. N. Goenka: [laughs] If one cannot take care of oneself, what service will one give? First you take care of yourself, and then you start giving selfless service.