Abstract

Vipassana—to see things as they really are—is an Insight meditation technique originating from the Far East. This article will present the Vipassana technique as taught by followers of the late S. N. Goenka, an Indian who studied the technique in Burma and then reintroduced it to its birthplace in the land of India and later to the rest of the world. S. N. Goenka’s assistants run hundreds of Vipassana centers and courses around the world. The author, a Vipassana student and a professional counselor, reflects on the psychosocial benefits of Vipassana meditation in different settings. Vipassana has been shown to have positive benefits in the fields of mental health, with positive behavioral changes among people with addiction problems as well as inmates in jails in different settings around the world. The author concludes the paper with a short autoethnographic account in order to reflect on the impact of Vipassana meditation on his own personal and professional growth.