Prince Bodhi

(The following article has been excerpted from ‘Glimpses of the Buddha’s Life,’ published by Vipassana Research Institute.)

The prince Bodhi of Kosambi was a devoted follower of the Buddha. When he constructed a new palace, he invited the Buddha and his Sangha to the palace. Prince Bodhi waited at the entrance to welcome the Buddha. When the Buddha arrived, the prince requested him to climb the stairs. Out of reverence for the Buddha, he had laid a white cotton carpet on the stairs. The Buddha did not step on it. When the prince could not understand why the Buddha had stopped, Ven. Ananda told the prince,

Prince, please remove these carpets.

The Blessed One does not walk on carpets.

The Buddha is being compassionate towards future generations.

He did not want to start any wrong practice due to which future generations of teachers would make this a custom and burden their followers with this improper custom.

After the meal, the Buddha gave a sermon. While answering one of the questions asked by the prince, he said that if a worthy person starts following the path taught by the Buddha in the morning, he will gain liberation by the evening. Similarly a person who starts following the path in the evening can get fully liberated by the morning of the next day.

On hearing this, the prince exclaimed,

Great is the Buddha, great is the Dhamma, great is the lucid explanation of the Dhamma!

(Majjhimanikayo 2.326, 345, Bodhirājakumāra-suttaṃ)

Prince Bodhi said that during his mother’s pregnancy with him she had paid respects to the Buddha and had said,

‘Venerable sir, this foetus of mine takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Please give it refuge.’

Later, his wet-nurse had taken him to the Buddha and had said,

‘Venerable sir, this young prince takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Please accept him as your follower.’

And now for the third time I myself take refuge in Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. From now onwards, the Buddha may please take me in his refuge for all my life.

This important discourse of the Buddha should make future teachers realize that one should not teach pure Dhamma for personal gain or fame. Whenever a teacher teaches the Dhamma for name and fame, he harms himself, harms his followers and harms the Dhamma. Unwise followers do not practise Dhamma but they erroneously feel that by merely worshipping the teacher they have fulfilled their duty.

Global Vipassana Foundation (GVF) has created a SMS Message Centre to send timely announcements about Vipassana to meditators via SMS. To receive these SMS announcements, meditators will have to subscribe by sending an SMS from his/her mobile phone to 575758.Type 'Vipassana' 'First Name' 'Last Name' 'City' 'Email address' 'Number of courses'.

(NB Providing Email will allow GVF to send Patrika/Newsletter via Email in future. The Email id mentioned above is not a real Email id. It is only for understanding the format of SMS)

1. GVF SMS Message Centre is for old students only and is only for sending SMS to meditators. The Message Center cannot receive SMS from meditators. The cost of subscribing to SMS Message Center is a one-time charge of Rs 3.

2. If you wish to unsubscribe from the GVF SMS Message Center, kindly send SMS to 575758 with the following message “Stop Vipassana” For unsubscribing there will be one-time charge of Rs 3.

3. Meditators will not be charged for receiving SMS sent by GVF SMS Message Center.

4. Upon successfully subscription, you will receive the following message “Thank you for registering with Global Vipassana Foundation (GVF) SMS Message Centre. May All Be Happy”

An introductory talk on Vipassana was given at the Army Institute of Sports, Pune in July 2009. About 250 army personnel who are connected with sports in the three branches of the Indian armed forces attended the talk. Many sportsmen in the audience were national champions and Olympic participants. After the talk, three archers andtwo boxers took part in the Vipassana course from 2 to 13 August2009 at Dhamma Puṇṇa, the Pune Vipassana centre and successfully completed it. The participants reported positive benefits and wanted their colleagues and friends to gain the same benefits. The post-course results from their psychologicaland biomedic tests are also positive and the AIS authorities want to send 4-5 sportsmen every month for a course. Five sportspersons (one boxer, athlete, archer, weightlifter and wrestler) have attended the course from 14 September2009 and another batch is likely to attend the next course. The institute is planning to set up a place to facilitate regular meditationfor those who complete the courses.

First Ten-day course at Dhamma Maṇda, USA

After purchasing the property in April 2008, the Northern California Vipassana Center, Dhamma Maṇda, will start conduct its first ten-day course,from October 28 to November 8, 2009.

Dhamma Maṇda is located in the Cobb mountain area of Lake County, California, nestled among 17 acres of mature pine, fir, and oak trees and is approximately a two and a half hour drive from San Francisco; one and a half hours from Santa Rosa; and two hours from Sacramento.

The center is starting small, with courses for 50 students in the winter months, going to up to 60 students in the summer. NCVC features a brand new Dhamma hall and a new commercial kitchen with a remodeled dining hall. Several of the cabins have undergone major remodeling to offer more privacy and comfort for students and servers.

Additional plans for the first phase include an office and more upgrades to the accommodations; a later phase—some years in the future—will entail expansion of the center’s facilities and student capacity. For more information, please visit www.manda.dhamma.org or email info@dhamma.manda.org.

First One-day course at Dhamma Ujjla, Australia

The first one day course was held on 20 September 2009 at Dhamma Ujjala in South Australia in a weather proof marquis that holds 20 students plus ATs. 18 students arrived on a pristine spring day and the meditation was very inspiring for all who attended the course.

A site plan for the Centre is being completed to submit to local Council. The Centre has had good winter/spring rainfall and native lavender is abundant along with orange, yellow and white local wild flowers. The Trust is now preparing to hold similar courses in the near future.

Meditators who know anyone who has taken part in a ten-day Vipassana course with Goenkaji in his initial ten years from 1969 to 1979 (even if he or she does not practise Vipassana now or has started practicing some other form of meditation or has started teaching Vipassana) are requested to send details of his or her present full name, address, phone number, Email id, date of first course and venue so that they can be invited to the Gratitude Gathering.

Please also encourage others to do the same. All Vipassana teachers, SATs, ATs, CCTs, Dhamma servers, trustees and meditators are also cordially invited to attend the Gratitude Gathering.

Please inform about your participation in the Gratitude Gathering so that adequate preparation can be made for meals and seating arrangement to the following:.

Ms. Bhavana Gogari or Ms. Namita Bajaj,

Tel: (02553) 244086, 244076 (10 am to 5 pm)

Email: globalpagoda17jan@gmail.com

Course schedules of Vipassana centres worldwide, application form for ten-day courses, etc.

Indian Vipassana centres and schedule of courses, VRI Newsletters, research papers, publications, etc.

The Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana Tipiṭaka with commentaries, subcommentaries and related Pali texts in Roman, Devanagari, Cyrillic, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Myanmar, and Sinhala scripts. More scripts will be added in future.

Information about Vipassana courses in prisons.

Updated information about the Global Vipassana Pagoda.

NOTE: VipassanaNewsletter subscribers whose mailing address has changed should send both their old and new addresses to the Patrika Section, VRI, Dhamma Giri 422 403. Please mention the computer code number printed above the subscriber name in the address label in all correspondence about non-receipt of Newsletters, change in address, receipt of extra copies, change in language etc.

Mr. Ashok Talwar, Vipassana Teacher from New Delhi, India expired on 20 September 2009 due to cancer. He played a major role in the spread of Vipassana in North India, especially in Delhi and its surrounding area. He was instrumental in establishing several new Vipassana centres.

Mr. Ashok Talwar is survived by his wife, who is a senior assistant teacher of Vipassana.

May he be happy, peaceful and liberated!

Global Vipassana Pagoda Beautification Projects

Construction of the Global Vipassana Pagoda is now complete. It took 11 years to build, and apart from the cost of land, about Rs. 800 million (US $16.8 million) have been spent in the construction of the Pagoda. Many Vipassana meditators from India and around the world have personally contributed to it and gained boundless merits.

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is unique among the historical monuments in the world. It is essential that the Pagoda’s awesome size should be matched by its elegant beauty. Many beautification projects of the Pagoda are yet to be completed.

Therefore, all those who are a part of the worldwide Vipassana mission in their individual capacity as well as all Vipassana centres may avail themselves of the opportunity to earn merits by participating in the remaining beautification projects of the Pagoda.

1. Beautification of the Global Vipassana Pagoda

Putting up ornamental designs on the Pagoda, decorating the canopy, canopy pillars, verses (dohas) on the Pagoda walls, and golden painting of the Pagoda. The Parikrama path will be laid with marble (to ease walking barefoot even on hot days). Estimated cost of completion of these projects is Rs. 20 million (US $420,000).

2. Landscaping around the Global Vipassana Pagoda

Landscaping the outer areas of the Pagoda, building parks and roads and bridge, laying water lines etc. will require about Rs. 25 million (US $ 530,000).

3. Art Gallery and Welcome Hall

An Art Gallery on the Buddha’s life and a Welcome hall will be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 20 million (US $420,000).

4. Small Pagoda South of the Global Vipassana Pagoda

This small pagoda will be connected to the Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre with a cell complex spread over four stories. 108 cells have been planned. The construction of each cell in this air-conditioned Pagoda is estimated at Rs. 150,000 (US $3,200).

5. Construction of Guest Houses

The cost of each twin-sharing room in these guest houses has been estimated at Rs. 600,000 (US $ 12,600).

1.Donations bycheque/draft favoring ‘Global Vipassana Foundation’ payable at Mumbai can be sent to the following address: Kamlesh Vikamsey, Khimji Kunverji & Co., Sir P. M. Road , Fort, Mumbai 400 001. Tel: (022) 2266-2550.

2. Donations through Core Banking Donations to “Global Vipassana Foundation” can now be remitted from anywhere in India through any branch of the Bank of India under core banking system. Global Vipassana Foundation, Bank of India, Stock Exchange Branch, Fort, Mumbai 400023. S.B. A/c No. 008610100011244 MICR No. 400013051. IFSC Code: BKID0000086

Name of the Bank: Bank of India.S.B. A/c. No.: 008610100011250. Address: Stock Exchange Branch, Jejeebhoy Towers, Dalal Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 023. The Bank has instructed the following for remittance: From USA – Union Bank of California International - New York has account code BOFCUS33NYK for transferring the funds to Bank of India to Mumbai (Bombay) Treasury Branch – US # Account No. 912002201121 and further transferring this sum to Bank of India – Stock Exchange Branch. Their Swift Code Number is BKIDINBBABLD. Instruction may be given to transfer this sum to Global Vipassana Foundation S.B. A/c No. 008610100011250. Please send copy to kamlesh@kkc.in with name and contact details so that the receipt can be sent to you.

4. Online donation facility: Please visit:

Pilgrimage to the Buddha Sacred Sites

IRCTC, the tourism arm of Indian Railways, has started a fully air-conditioned special train, the Mahaparinirvana Express, touring the Buddha Sacred Sites (Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Sravasti, Rajgir and Kushinagar).

For details, visit www.railtourismindia.com/buddha

This is a good opportunity for Vipassana meditators to visit these sites without bothering about organizing multiple ticketing, local transport at different destinations and hotel stay.

Global Vipassana Foundation (GVF) has negotiated a special discount of 21% with IRCTC for the benefit of Vipassana meditators.

IRCTC and GVF have additionally agreed to include two sessions of group meditation for meditators under the Bodhi tree in the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya and at Kushinagar, subject to the number of such meditators being not less than ten.

The group sittings will be after visiting hours to the temple so as to provide a quiet environment for group meditation, provided there are no other engagement on that day in the temple premises.

Schedule (start and end at Delhi)

8-day tour full fare (infants free, children 5-12 yrs 50%)

53270

For registration, contact:

Mobile: [91] 98913-73549 or

Mr. Arun Srivastava, IRCTC, Ground Floor, STC Building, 1-Tolstoy Marg, New Delhi 110001.

Email: arunsrivastava@irctc.com, buddhisttrain@irctc.com

Website: www.railtourismindia.com/buddha

For progressing in Vipassana meditation, a student must keep knowing anicca as continuously as possible. The Buddha’s advice to monks is that they should try to maintain their awareness of anicca, dukkha or anattā in all postures. Continuous awareness of anicca, and so of dukkha and anattā is the secret of success.

The last words of the Buddha just before he breathed his last and passed away into Mahā Parinibbāna were: “Decay (anicca) is inherent in all component things. Work out your own salvation with diligence.”

This is in fact the essence of all his teachings during the forty-five years of his ministry. If you will keep up the awareness of the anicca that is inherent in all component things, you are sure to reach the goal in the course of time.

—Sayagyi U Ba Khin

To serve children’s courses in Mumbai, call 98200-22990.

Course Timings: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Registration: 11 am to 1 pm

Course Venues: Ghatkopar (W): SNDT School, New Bldg., Cama Lane, Opp. Vidyut Soc. Tel: 2510-1096, 2516-2505. Goregaon (W): Siddharth Municipal Hospital, Opp. Motilal Nagar Post Office. Tel: 2308-1622. South Mumbai: Tel: 2308-1622.

NB Please: *bring cushion, *register on specified phone numbers, *inform in advance if unable to attend after registration, *arrive on time for the course.

Vipassana Newsletter is available in several Indian languages. For archives of the VRI Newsletter in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam, visit: www.vridhamma.org/Newsletter_Home.aspx

Mr. Ian Hofstetter, Australia

1. Brig. Bachan Singh (Retd.), NOIDA 2. Mr. Guneet Singh Lehl, New Delhi 3. Mrs. Jui-Mei Hsieh, Taiwan

4. Ms. Mama Sila Kanyua, UK 5. Mr. Daniel Dodd, USA

1. Mr. Mahendra Gaikwad, Pune   2. Mrs. Mima Shakya 

3. Ms. Khushila Lama 4. Mrs. Bishnu Maya Devi Aryal 

5. Mr. Rajesh Maharjan 6. Mr. Tul Bahadur Pun 

7. Mrs. Suriya Shakya 8. Mr. Khadga Bahadur Karki 

9. Mr. Rishiram Bhusal 10. Ven. Anagarika Khamesi 

17. Ms. Rama Bantawa 18. Mr. Kamal Kumar Goyal 

21. Mrs. Huma Bhandari 22. Mr. Narayan Prasad Shrestha 

25. Mr. Shiva Rimal 26. Mr. Ichha Kumar Shakya 

27. Ms. Ruby Shakya 28. Mrs. Madalasha Singha (2 to 27: Nepal)

Correct your mental actions, mind is first and foremost;

Deeds of body and speech are offspring of the mind.

If you seek release from bondage, and freedom from suffering;

Be master of your mind; do not be mastered by it.

By mind control your mind, by mind transform your mind;

By mind cleanse your mind and open the door to liberation.

As is the volition of your mind, so will be the fruit;

An impure mind yields misery, a pure mind gives happiness.

Vipassana Research Institute

Dist. Nashik, Maharashtra, India.