What Is Insight Meditation?

Insight meditation (vipassana in Pali, the language of the original Buddhist teachings) is the simple and direct practice of moment-to-moment mindfulness. Through careful and sustained observation, we experience for ourselves the ever-changing flow of the mind/body process. This awareness leads us to accept more fully the pleasure and pain, fear and joy, sadness and happiness that life inevitably brings. As insight deepens, we develop greater equanimity and peace in the face of change, and wisdom and compassion increasingly become the guiding principles of our lives.

The Buddha first taught insight meditation over 2,500 years ago. The various methods of this practice have been well preserved in the Early Buddhist tradition, and the offerings at SIMS are all rooted in this ancient and well-mapped path to awakening.