A Brief History of Insight Meditation

A Brief History of Insight Meditation Two strands can be identified in the development of the Insight Meditation tradition-the Burmese and the Thai. What we now call Insight Meditation began as a response to colonialism in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand in 19/20^th centuries with a re-assertion of indigenous cultural traditions in the face of colonial influences. Burma was colonised by the British in 1885. Although Thailand (then known as Siam) escaped colonialism it was greatly influenced by European culture and this acted as a catalyst for change. At this time much of Buddhist practice had become reduced to temple ritual, devotional practices and the study of texts. An emphasis on meditation was re-awakened as the heart of the practice particularly in the form of insight into impermanence (anicca), unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and not-self (anatta).

Burmese The Burmese strand began in 18^th century with Medawi – who wrote vipassana manuals based on the Satipatthana sutta (The Foundations of Mindfulness) and its commentaries.

It was Ledi Sayadaw (1846 – 1923) an influential Theravada Buddhist monk  who coined the phrase “vipassana meditation”. This phrase is not used in the Pali Canon, (the canon of earliest discourses attributed to the Buddha). In the Canon vipassana (clear seeing, insight) is the fruit of practice, not a specific meditation practice. Also samatha meditation (the cultivation of calm and concentration) was seen as unnecessary or of a lesser value than vipassana practices. He wrote many meditation manuals in Burmese and these were accessible to lay people, hence he was responsible for spreading meditation to all levels of society making it more available for monastics and lay people alike. This approach was popularised in the 20^th century by Mahasi Sayadaw (1904 -1982) who introduced what became known as the New Burmese Satipatthana Method or the Mahasi Approach.

The New Burmese Satipatthana Method or the Mahasi Approach This approach became popular in the West by westerners who had Mahasi Sayadaw and S N Goenka as their teachers. It was characterised by a focus on insight practice rather than samatha; by the practice of “bare labeling” or noting of meditational experience and by intensive retreats of 10 days to several months. These retreats were open to lay practitioners – something new. Subsequently lay retreats became an important  element of the Insight Meditation community in the 20th century. Anagarika Shri Munindra (1915 – 2003), was an Indian Vipassanā meditation teacher.  From 1957 to 1966 he lived in Burma, where he was a close disciple of Mahasi Sayadaw, who authorized him to teach vipassana meditation. Munindra taught many notable meditation teachers including Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg who later returned to America to form the Insight meditation Society.

The Thai Forest Tradition The second foundational strand of the Insight Meditation Community is the Thai Forest Tradition. In Thailand the Venerable Mun Bhuridatta  (1870–1949) established, along with his mentor, Ajahn Sao Kantasīlo, the Thai Forest Tradition that subsequently spread throughout Thailand. Mun Bhuridatta  taught vipassana in tandem with samatha meditation. Monastics in this tradition practised in remote forest areas and were known for their orthodoxy, conservatism and strict adherence to the vinaya – the monastic code of conduct. The forest tradition was also notable for its direct approach to awakening through intense meditational practice and insight into the three characteristics of impermanence, not-self and unsatisfactoriness. Since the 1950’s 80-90% of the forest has been deforested. Monks therefore established settled monasteries.

Ajahn Chah The most notable teacher was Ajahn Chah (1918 – 1992).  Jack Kornfield and other Western Insight Meditation teachers studied under him. Ajahn Chah taught with great simplicity and humour. His approah was highly experiential; that you don’t get wisdom from books. Central to his teaching was the distinction between the mind itself and the transient states of mind that arose and passed away within it. Ajahn Sumedho, an American monk ordained in the Thai Forest Tradition and returned from Thailand to set up the Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in UK near Hemel Hemstead in 1984. Other notable teachers in the Thai tradition were Ajahn Mun, Ajahn Maha Boowa, Ajahn Buddhadasa, and Ajahn Amaro.

United States and the West In the 1960’s and 70’s there was a resurgence of interest in Buddhism amongst westerners and many travelled to India, Burma and Thailand to experience Buddhist practice firsthand.  The growth in 1970/80’s of Insight Meditation in the USA was due to the return of Westerners from their experiences in the East. A synthesis of Thai and Burmese practices developed. Instrumental teachers were Jack Kornfield, Joe Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg who led retreats for lay practitioners often based on Mahasi or Goenka retreats but adapted and modified. Both Mahasi Sayadaw and Ajahn Chah visited IMS in the 1970’s.

The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) In 1975 Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salszberg founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts and later the Spirit Rock Centre in California. Insight meditation centres now exist throughout the US. The movement de- emphasized the overtly religious elements of Buddhism such as chanting devotion, merit making and doctrinal study to focus on meditation. An integrative approach developed teaching samatha and vipassana in tandem and without the heavy weight of eastern cultural and religious practices. “We wanted to offer the powerful practices of insight meditation, as many of our teachers did, as simply as possible without the complications of rituals, robes, chanting and the whole religious tradition” Kornfield Other influential American teachers today are Tara Brach, Shaila Catherine, Donald Rothberg, Ruth Denison, Gill Fronsdal and many others.

United Kingdom  In the UK Gaia House, a retreat centre in Devon, was set up in 1983 by Christopher Titmus and Christina Feldman. Gaia House offers silent Insight Meditation retreats in the Buddhist insight meditation tradition. Gaia House now has many offshoots such as London Insight, Bristol Insight, Bath Insight, Oxford Insight, and Sheffield Insight. These centres exist to support the practice of Insight Meditation and develop a sense of community (sangha).

Qualities and characteristics of the Insight Meditation Tradition today

1. It aspires to be non-dogmatic and non-sectarian. It therefore has a loose definition and is open to many other influences e.g. Zen, Secular Mindfulness, and psychotherapy. Whilst honouring it’s Buddhist roots it can be characterized as “Buddhish” rather than “card carrying” Buddhist.
2. It is non-imitative of eastern Buddhist cultures and therefore more culturally appropriate to westerners. Whilst honouring Asian traditions imitating eastern traditions is seen to easily lead to becoming encultured, rather than enlightened.
3. It is non-hierarchical. It does not put any teachers on a pedestal or give them a special status and thus avoids possible abuses of power, personality cults and the like. Most of the teachers are lay practitioners, although monastics are frequently invited to lead retreats. It is not a top down organization, but an informal network of centres that seems to grow organically from their roots, which is of course the best place from which to grow.
4. It endeavors to be egalitarian, inclusive, peer-led, participatory and experiential in its approach and practices.
5. It engages with modern urban life and with social and environmental activism.
6. It is evolving. Todays Insight Community focuses much more on the development of samadhi and relational practices such as the Brahma Viharas (kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity). There are also new relational practices such as Insight Dialogue, developed by Gregory Kramer. As the buddhadharma gradually becomes embedded within western culture new forms arise. Some of these forms lean towards a more secular approach, others lean towards a renewed interest in the sacred and others towards a greater social and environmental engagement.

Mike Baker 2/2/21