sáé~ëë~å~======= kéïëäéííéê=

Transcription

1 sáé~ëë~å~======= kéïëäéííéê= Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin Vol. 36, No. 2 August Since 1974 Idaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ: jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, byādhipi dukkho, maraṇampi dukkhaṃ, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehi vippayogo dukkho, yampicchaṃ na labhati tampi dukkhaṃ: saṃkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā. Words of Dhamma Dhamma Cakkappavattana Sutta The Buddha s First Discourse This, monks, is the noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, disease is suffering, death is suffering, association with the unloved is suffering, separation from the loved is suffering, not getting what one wants is suffering, in brief the five aggregates of grasping are suffering. The following article, condensed slightly for publication in the Newsletter, is by Patrick Given-Wilson, who is Regional Teacher for Australia and New Zealand and author of the summaries of Goenkaji s Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta discourses. After his enlightenment, the Buddha gave his first discourse to the five friends who had accompanied him during most of his years of searching. It is called the Dhamma Cakkappavattana Sutta, the discourse that set in motion the wheel of Dhamma. It summarizes the Buddha s entire teaching. The sutta starts: Ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā Bārāṇasiyaṃ viharati Isipatane Migadāye. The scene is set in Isipathana, a sacred place near Varanasi frequented by recluses, hermits and other saintly people. Within it, Migada was a deer park and sanctuary where no animal could be killed. Tatra kho bhagavā pañcavaggiye bhikkhū āmantesi. The discourse was given to his five former companions. They were a skeptical audience, believing that the Buddha had failed in his quest because he had given up fasting and physical austerities. As they saw him approach, they agreed to show him no special respect. Nevertheless they listened, impressed by his serenity and the glow on his face. He declared to them that he had become a Buddha. And to overcome their doubts, he explained how he had achieved enlightenment. Dveme, bhikkhave, antā pabbajitena na sevitabbā. Katame dve? Two extremes, bhikkhus, should not be practiced by one striving for liberation. What two? yo cāyaṃ kāmesu kāmasukhallikānuyogo hīno gammo pothujjaniko anariyo anatthasaṃhito... attachment and clinging to sensual pleasures, which is low, coarse, vulgar, unworthy, and profitless He decisively repudiates the path of sensual pleasures. No one can attain liberation from sensual pleasures by indulging in them. This would have been obvious to his audience. But his second statement would have seemed radical: a decisive repudiation of the ascetic path they had been practicing together. yo cāyaṃ attakilamathānuyogo dukkho anariyo anatthasaṃhito attachment to self-torture, which is painful, unworthy, and profitless. Contents The Buddha s First Discourse... 1 Questions and Answers with Goenkaji... 4 International News... 5 Grateful Commemoration... 7 New Appointments and Responsibilities... 7

2 He then describes the actual path he took, the Middle Path, and states the result: Ete kho, bhikkhave, ubho ante anupagamma majjhimā paṭipadā tathāgatena abhisambuddhā cakkhukaraṇī ñāṇakaraṇī upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṃvattati Between these extremes the Middle Path, realized by the Tathagata, gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to nibbāna. Tathagata was the term the Buddha used to describe himself. It means literally thus gone, or one who has walked the path of truth. He describes this Middle Path as the Eightfold Noble Path: Ariyo aṭṭha giko maggo, seyyathidaṃ sammā diṭṭhi sammā sa kappo sammā vācā sammā kammanto sammā ājīvo sammā vāyāmo sammā sati sammā samādhi. This Noble Eightfold Path, namely right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. At one level, this was nothing new. The practice of morality already existed in India. Deep samādhis were also practiced, and Gotama himself had practiced these in the past. Paññā was also understood and accepted at least at the intellectual level. However, the path starts with sammā diṭṭhi, and the diṭṭhi (understanding) must be sammā (right). That means not only must it be understood, it must also be experienced. Something can only be understood properly if it is actually experienced; otherwise it remains a mere philosophy or view. Similarly, every step on the Noble Eightfold Path is preceded by the word sammā: to be right, it has to be experienced. He then states the keystone of his teaching, the Four Noble Truths. He describes each in turn: Idaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ: jātipi dukkhā, jarāpi dukkhā, byādhipi dukkho, maraṇampi dukkhaṃ, appiyehi sampayogo dukkho, piyehi vippayogo dukkho, yampicchaṃ na labhati tampi dukkhaṃ saṃkhittena pañcupādānakkhandhā dukkhā. This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of Suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, association with the unpleasant is suffering, dissociation from the pleasant is suffering, not to receive what one desires is suffering in brief the five aggregates of clinging are suffering. Again at a mundane level, much of this was familiar to his audience. But there was a widespread belief that beings of the highest celestial realms were immortal. And here he states that all birth is dukkha and ends with a comprehensive rejection of clinging to any kind of existence. Working deep inside, he had realized that any clinging to anything in the field of mind and matter was dukkha, suffering. The truth of dukkha had to be accepted in every aspect of existence. Even the most pleasant, subtle, tranquil experience had to be accepted as dukkha because of its impermanence. dukkhasamudayaṃ ariyasaccaṃ: yāyaṃ taṇhā ponobbhavikā nandirāgasahagatā tatratatrābhinandinī, seyyathidaṃ kāmataṇhā, bhavataṇhā, vibhavataṇhā. The Noble Truth of the Arising of Suffering is this craving, leading to rebirth, bound up with pleasure and desire, finding delight now here, now there, namely, craving for sense pleasure, craving for existence, and craving for annihilation. The second Noble Truth is that suffering arises with taṇhā, craving. Sometimes samudayaṃ is translated as the cause of dukkha, but more precisely it means arising. Dukkha, the agitation, starts as soon as craving, taṇhā, starts: they are simultaneous. This is experienced by a meditator at a subtle level. This craving is the actual problem that leads to rebirth, ponobbhavikā. He describes three types of craving, or taṇhā. The first is the craving for sensual pleasures, kāmatanhā. This can be easily understood, but eradicating it alone is not enough. The second is the craving for any kind of existence, bhavatanhā. Even if someone is free of sensual pleasures, there is the craving for survival: The I must survive. No matter what happens to the world or to other beings, I must be there in whatever plane of existence, to witness it and see it continue. Even liberation is something that I must experience, I must enjoy. This craving gives rise to further rebirths, and so the round of suffering continues. The third and final craving is the desire for annihilation, vibhavatanhā. Even craving for the end of existence is still craving. Idaṃ kho pana, bhikkhave, dukkhanirodhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ: yo tassāyeva taṇhāya asesavirāganirodho cāgo paṭinissaggo mutti anālayo. This, bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Eradication of Suffering: it is the complete eradication of that very craving, giving it up, relinquishing it, the liberation and detachment from it. This craving must be totally eradicated, so that no root is left. Elsewhere, in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the Buddha describes in more detail how the eradication must be complete at every step of the mental process: in every part of the mind, at every sense door. The fourth Noble Truth is the way to reach that goal, the Eightfold Noble Path. dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā ariyasaccaṃ: ayameva ariyo aṭṭha giko maggo, seyyathidaṃ sammā diṭṭhi, sammā saṇkappo, sammā vācā, sammā kammantā, sammā ājīvo, sammā vāyāmo, sammā sati, sammā samādhi. 2

3 The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the eradication of suffering is this Eightfold Path, namely right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. In essence, the four Noble Truths are very simple: accept the fact of suffering, understand how it arises, totally eradicate it, and so realize the path to its eradication. But the Buddha s enlightenment was actually to experience it. He elaborated, saying that each Noble Truth has to be realized in three different ways. Each truth is not a reality unless it is witnessed, or experienced. Idaṃ dukkhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ pariññeyaṃ pariññataṃ. This Noble Truth of suffering is to be experienced fully is experienced fully. The fact of suffering, dukkha, had to first be accepted. But that was mere intellectual knowledge, merely a starting position. The second part was to understand the need to experience directly the entire field of dukkha pariññeyaṃ because unless the entire field is experienced, there might be some aspect, some part of dukkha, still considered free from dukkha. However, this was still an intellectual decision. The third step was pariññātaṃ he had explored the entire field of dukkha only when he had gone beyond dukkha. So even in this first Noble Truth, all the Four Noble Truths are included. Idaṃ dukkhaṃ samudayaṃ ariyasaccaṃ pahāhatabbaṃ pahīnaṃ. This Noble Truth of the arising of suffering has to be eradicated has been eradicated. The same applies to the second Noble Truth, dukkha samudaya. Mere acceptance that craving is the cause of dukkha does not help. The craving has to be eradicated: pahāhatabbaṃ. But even this is insufficient. The third part must be completed pahīnaṃ taṇhā must actually be eradicated at the root level, so that not a trace is left. So the second Noble Truth also completes all the Four Noble Truths. If it is pahīṇaṃ, totally eradicated, one is free from misery. Idaṃ dukkhanirodhaṃ ariyasaccaṃ sacchikātabbaṃ sacchikātaṃ. This Noble Truth of the eradication of suffering has to be witnessed has been witnessed. The third Noble Truth is the stage where there is no more misery at all the stage of nibbāna. Mere acceptance that there is a stage beyond mind and matter is not enough. It has to be witnessed sacchikātabbaṃ. Then the third part is sacchikataṃ it is witnessed. When that was witnessed, he became free of all misery. All the four Noble Truths are included. Idaṃ dukkhanirodhagāmini paṭipadā ariyasaccaṃ bhāvetabbaṃ bhāvitaṃ. 3 This Noble Truth of the path leading to the eradication of suffering has to be developed has been developed. The fourth Noble Truth is the path. Again it has to be experienced fully. Only then can it be said to have been completed. The first step is acceptance that this is the path. The second is the intellectual decision that it has to be developed, bhāvetabbaṃ. Both are necessary. But only actually covering the entire path bhāvitaṃ could liberate him, and by walking it he had accomplished the other three Noble Truths. So all four Noble Truths, when actually experienced, are each complete in themselves and contain all the others. Therefore, unless each Noble Truth is worked out in three ways, and the four Noble Truths thus become a twelvefold noble truth, they cannot give the result of liberation from suffering. If someone merely accepted the truth that there is misery, that there is a cause of misery, that there is total eradication of misery and that there is a way to eradicate the misery, the acceptance would be no more than a philosophy logical but otherwise no different from any other philosophy. It could not have liberated him. pubbe ananussutesu Dhammesu cakkhuṃ udapādi, ñāṇaṃ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi. I had never heard such Dhammas before: vision arose, knowledge arose, wisdom arose, understanding arose, light arose. This is repeated for each part of each Noble Truth. These were truths, Dhammas that he had never heard before: pubbe ananusuttesu Dhammesu. When he actually experienced them: cakkhuṃ udapādi, ñāñaṃ udapādi, paññā udapādi, vijjā udapādi, āloko udapādi, vision arose, knowledge arose, wisdom arose, understanding arose, light arose. Each was his own direct realization. The Buddha describes this path as dukkhanirodhagāmini paṭipadā, the path to the cessation of all misery. Elsewhere he describes the same path as vedanānirodhagāmini paṭipadā, the path to the cessation of all sensations. This is because the path has to be experienced. The word used for experience in those days was vedanā, which also means sensation. So pariññataṃ means that the entire field of vedanā, sensation, has to be experienced. Elsewhere, he says, Yaṃ kiñci vedayitaṃ, taṃ dukkhasmin every sensation is connected with dukkha, with misery. Even the most pleasant sensation has to be understood as dukkha because it is anicca. There is the danger of clinging to this impermanent experience and of generating taṇhā, craving, toward it. Unless all sensation is understood as misery, there might remain a delusion that some sensation really does give happiness. Yāvakīvañca me, bhikkhave, imesu catūsu ariyasaccesu evaṃ tiparivaṭṭaṃ dvādasākāraṃ yathābhūtaṃ ñāṇadassanaṃ na suvisuddhaṃ ahosi, neva tāvāhaṃ, bhikkhave anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddho ti paccaññāsiṃ

4 As long as my knowledge and insight into reality as it is was not pure in these three aspects, in these twelve ways, concerning the four Noble Truths, I did not claim to have realized matchless, supreme Enlightenment. The Buddha describes his commitment to truth, the acceptance of reality as it is, yathābutha, at every stage a commitment that underpinned his exploration and his practice. This led to ñāṇa dassanaṃ knowledge with insight, and purification. This had been his method of investigation: he remained always with the reality as it is, without getting carried away by any philosophical belief, desire, speculation or imagination. Every meditator who wishes for enlightenment has to do the same. Yato ca kho me, bhikkhave, imesu catūsu ariyasaccesu evaṃ tiparivaṭṭaṃ dvādasākāraṃ yathābhūtaṃ ñāṇadassanaṃ suvisuddhaṃ ahosi, athāhaṃ, bhikkhave,... anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddho ti paccaññāsiṃ. But now that it was so purified, he declared that the matchless supreme enlightenment, anuttaraṃ sammāsambodhiṃ abhisambuddho'ti, had been realized. It is an emphatic declaration of his enlightenment. Then finally comes the statement of the result: Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṃ udapādi akuppā me vimutti, ayamantimā jāti, natthidāni punabbhavo ti Knowledge and insight arose in me: Unshakable is my liberation. This is the last birth. There is no more birth for me now. This concluded the discourse, and the five companions were delighted. All their skepticism was gone. Imasmiñca pana veyyākaraṇasmiṃ bhaññamāne āyasmato koṇḍaññassa virajaṃ vītamalaṃ dhammacakkhuṃ udapādi: yaṃ kiñci samudayadhammaṃ, sabbaṃ taṃ nirodhadhamma nti. While this discourse was being given, the pure, stainless Eye of Dhamma arose in the Venerable Koṇḍañña, that: Whatever has the nature of arising, has the nature of ceasing. The eye of Dhamma, dhammacakkhuṃ, now arose in Koṇḍañña, one of the five companions; that is, he experienced nibbāna. He understood that whatever has the nature of arising also has the nature of passing away. This was a turning point because the discourse set in motion the Wheel of Dhamma. After an unimaginably long period of preparing and developing his pāramis, after successfully overcoming all obstacles to achieve enlightenment, the Buddha now had the capacity to teach others. It must be understood that Koṇḍañña did not become enlightened simply by listening to what the Buddha was teaching. Instead, as he heard the Buddha s words, Koṇḍañña would 4 have started focusing inside. He would have followed the same path, observing the reality, yathā bhuta, as it is, arising and passing throughout the mind-matter structure. Continuing to observe, he could reach the stage of experiencing dukkha nirodha, total cessation. Koṇḍañña now worked vigorously and within a short time became fully liberated. He became known as Koṇḍañña the Wise. Koṇḍañña was the first of many who became liberated at that time. The path is the same for all, and we are fortunate that the technique is still available today. It is therefore incumbent on all meditators to make best use of this path, for their own liberation. It is a rare opportunity. Questions & Answers with Goenkaji Is meditation the only way to get liberated? Yes. Just accepting something with blind faith will not help. You have to work for your liberation. You have to find out where the bondage is, and then you have to come out of that bondage. This is Vipassana. Vipassana enables you to directly experience the real cause of bondage, the real cause of misery, and enables you to be gradually liberated from all miseries. So liberation comes from the practice of Vipassana. Can we combine two or more meditation techniques? You can combine as many techniques as you like, but don t combine them with Vipassana. Vipassana is unique, and combining it with anything else will not help you. It may even harm you. Keep Vipassana pure. Other techniques work only at the surface of the mind. But Vipassana makes a deep surgical operation; it takes out complexes from the depth of the mind. If you combine it with any other technique, you are playing a game that may be very harmful to you. How can we help one another if each person must face the results of his or her own actions? Our own mental actions have an influence on others. If we generate nothing but negativity in the mind, that negativity has a harmful effect on those who come into contact with us. If we fill the mind with positivity, with goodwill toward others, then it will have a helpful effect on those around us. You cannot control the actions, the kamma of others, but you can master yourself in order to have a positive influence on those around you. How can Vipassana help with insomnia? When a Vipassana student can t sleep properly, if he or she lies down and observes respiration or sensations, sound sleep comes. Even without sound sleep, the next day that person will get up feeling very fresh, as if coming out of a deep sleep. Practice Vipassana even when lying down. Try, and you will find that it is very helpful. Isn t this technique self-centered? How can we become active and help others?

5 First you have to be self-centered, you have to help yourself. Unless you help yourself, you cannot help others. A weak person cannot help another weak person. You have to become strong yourself, and then use this strength to help others and make others strong also. Vipassana helps you develop this strength to help others. International News Europe Dhamma Padhāna European Long-Course Center Update Phase 1 of the construction of Dhamma Padhāna, the European long-course center, started in November Work is under way on three accommodation blocks and the dining rooms. Old students have generously provided financial support and offered Dhamma service. Contributions have also been received from outside Europe, including the United States, Myanmar, Cambodia and India. Dhamma Padhāna accommodation blocks and caravans acting as site office and servers accommodation. Additional donations will be required to complete Phase 1 including the meditation hall and cell complex to complete the original construction plans and allow for courses to begin in April Approximately, 200,000 of additional funds are needed to meet the project s original timeline. The Dhamma Padhāna Site. To the left and right are accommodation blocks, in the center is the AT residence (the dining hall in Phase 1). In the foreground is a temporary nursery for trees. Phase 1 of Dhamma Padhāna. Buildings 1, 4, 5, 10 (accommodation blocks), and 6 (dining rooms) are under construction. The building highlighted is the Dhamma hall and cell complex, for which funds are required to complete construction. Dhamma Padhāna accommodation block with Dhamma Dipa's meditation hall in the background. For more information visit the long course center site at (username: oldstudent and password: behappy) or finances@padhana.dhamma.org. Australia New Center in New South Wales After 10 years of searching, a new center has been established in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. The 135- acre property has been named Dhamma Passaddhi (Tranquility of Dhamma). It is an open, elevated plateau 5

6 where the new center will be. The lush surrounds of the plateau surrounded on three sides by tree-lined ridges with spectacular views. There have never been any dwellings on the land. Dhamma Nidhi, the Long-Course Center in Myanmar Construction of a long-course center in Myanmar is now under way. Dhamma Nidhi (Treasure Chest of Dhamma) is situated on flat land (a former cashew nut plantation) about an hour and a half southeast of Yangon. This first phase of construction includes the Dhamma hall, 28 rooms for men and 44 rooms for women. A transformer for electricity supply has also been donated. Early discussions with the local government have been very positive. A master plan is being developed to eventually accommodate 80 students in single ensuite rooms. A number of old students with building and development expertise have volunteered to oversee the design and building of the new center. For further information, please contact: info@passaddhi.dhamma.org Asia Gratitude Gathering When Goenkaji remembers the early days of Vipassana his mind is filled with immense gratitude for all those who accepted the gift of Dhamma from him at that time. If they had not given him 10 invaluable days of their life in those early days, how could people from all over the world come to him today to learn Vipassana? This is the reason Goenkaji feels especially grateful to those who participated in the Vipassana courses in India in the first 10 years (from 1969 to 1979) and wishes to meet with them once again to personally express his gratitude in the Gratitude Gathering. Along with them, all teachers, senior assistant teachers, assistant teachers, children s course teachers, trustees, Dhamma workers and meditators are also cordially invited for this gathering. The event will occur on Sunday, January 17, Location: Global Vipassana Pagoda, Gorai (Borivali), Mumbai. Please inform the registration committee if you plan to attend so that proper planning will be arranged for food, etc. Contact: Attention Miss Bhavana Gogri or Miss Namita Bajaj, Vipassana International Academy, Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri , Dist Nashik, Maharashtra, India. e- mail: globalpagoda17jan@gmail.com 6 For further information, please contact Dr. Kay Wain at kay.kyi.wain@gmail.com. African Heritage Vipassana Course In December 2009, Dhamma Pattana, the new center next to the Global Pagoda in Mumbai (India), will host the first African Heritage Vipassana meditation course. This 10-day residential retreat will be for the citizens of Africa and those of African heritage worldwide. The course is for both new and returning students. The course dates will be December 23, 2009 to January 3, For more information: / schpattana.shtml or contact: sila.kanyua1@gmail.com. South America Construction Starts at Buenos Aires Center In 2005 Vipassana Argentina acquired 22 hectares of land in Brandsen, approximately 85 km from Buenos Aires. Goenkaji has named the center Dhamma Sukhadā ( Happiness of Dhamma ). The site is in peaceful surroundings and easily accessible by car and public transportation. Plans have been developed for a center that can host up to 108 students, potentially with a pagoda. In 2008, the trust sold 11 hectares of the land and set aside the funds to start construction, proceeding in stages. Work started last May 19. This first phase involves building a kitchen, toilet and shower blocks, first dormitory building, meditation hall and temporary dining areas. When the phase

7 is completed, the center will be able to hold courses for 60 students. The project currently has sufficient funds to complete the construction of the kitchen as well as the two toilet and shower blocks, and to start work on the dormitory building. The budget shortfall required to complete the first phase of the project is estimated at US$150,000. By late 2009 it is expected that the current project funds will be exhausted. To complete the first phase of the center in time for the courses scheduled for October 2010, additional funds will be needed. For more information, please contact Vipassana Argentina: Phone: ( ) Children s Course Materials A team of Vipassana students involved in children s and teen s course activities are in the process of making an informational, short documentary about teens and children s Anapana courses in North America. The film, tentatively titled Seeds of Awareness: Anapana Meditation for Children and Teens, will be available for general distribution. The team filmed a children s course held at the California Vipassana Center in May this year and a teens course at the Northwest Vipassana Center held in July. The video will include footage of the teens meditating in the hall, participating in creative activities, enjoying the meals and talking about Anapana and how it has helped them or may help them in their lives. Also to be included are brief interviews with some participating teenagers or children. The team hopes to finish filming by the end of The editing should take approximately one year. The aim is to have a 15- to 20-minute video available some time in Dhamma.Org Website for Mobile Devices The English Vipassana Meditation website for mobile devices was recently launched. The new mobile website is especially configured for convenient access via the small screens and limited bandwidth of mobile devices such as smartphones and PDAs. The mobile website contains all the same information, including course schedules. The address of the site is In addition, someone connecting to from a mobile device will be directly sent to the mobile website. Grateful Commemoration U Tun Hla, Assistant Teacher from Myanmar, passed away at the age of 79 on May 3, May he be happy, peaceful and liberated. Idha nandati pecca nandati, katapuñño ubhayattha nandati; puññaṃ me katanti nandati, bhiyyo nandati suggatiṃ gato. Dhammapada 18 Here one is happy, here after one is happy, The doer of good deeds is happy in both existences. "Good have I done"--thinking thus he is happy, He is happier still when he goes to a blissful state. New Responsibilities Ācaryas 1. & 2. Mr. Surendra & Mrs. Urmila Naik Spread of Vipassana among expatriate Indian community in North America and to assist Center Teachers in serving Dhamma Sirī 3. Mr. Sudesh Leal Spread of Vipassana among expatriate Indians in Europe 4. Mr. Chandrashekhar Dahiwele To serve Nanded 5. Mr. Murari Sharma To serve Dhamma Kāruṇika, Karnal and Dhamma Salila, Dehradun 6. Mrs. Nirmala (Mira) Chinchkhede To serve Wardha 7. Ms. Eilona Ariel To assist the Area Teacher in serving Israel and audiovisual productions Appointments and New Responsibilities 8 & 9. Mr. Patrick Given-Wilson & Mrs. Ginnie Macleod To serve Dhamma Passaddhi, New South Wales 10. Dr. Daniel Mayer To serve Ethiopia and Angola Senior Assistant Teachers 1. & 2. Mr. Gulabrao & Mrs. Mangala Mali, Dhule 3. Ms. Juechan Limchitti, Thailand 4. Mr. Mike Cacciola, USA 5. Ms. Greta Gibble, USA 6. & 7. Mr. John and Mrs. Susanne Hing, USA 8. Mr. Tim Lanning, USA 9. Ms. A. Gayatri Balakrishnan To assist the Area Teacher in serving Kerala 7

8 Appointments and New Responsibilities (Cont.) 10. Mr. Pramodkumar Bhave To serve Dhamma Sikhara, Dharamshala, and Ladakh 11. Dr. Prem Narain Somani To assist the Center Teachers in serving Dhamma Cakka, Sarnath 12. & 13. Dr. Sharat & Dr. (Mrs.) Sudha Jain Spread of Vipassana among expatriate Indian community in North America 14. Ms. Victoria Robertson Spread of Vipassana among people of African heritage in North America 15. Dr. (Ms.) Lemay Henderson 16. Mr. Ootukuru Premanand 17. Ms. Pilar de Castro 18. Mr. John & Mrs. Carolyn Leach New Appointments Assistant Teachers 1. Mr. Chamanlal Padhiar, Rajkot 2. Mr. Vinod Raichura, Rakjot 3. & 4. Mr. Mahendra & Mrs. Ranjan Shah, Mumbai 5. Mr. Byambajav Dorlig, Mongolia 6. Mr. Boris Prpic, Croatia 7. Mr. Damodaran Vasanth Kumar, Pune 8. Mr. Vamana Krishnan, Bangalore 9. Mr. Vijay M. Shah, Kutch 10. Mr. Gopal Bahadur Pokharel, Nepal 11. & 12. Mr. Michael & Mrs. Hilde Huebner, Germany 13. Mrs. Usha Prasad, Chandigarh 14. & 15. Mr. Homayoun Hatam & Mrs. Zahra Vahdati, Iran 16. Mr. T. A. Piyasena, Sri Lanka 17. Mr. Somchai Arkkasirisathavorn, Thailand 18. Ms. Sa-nguanwong Khaowisoot, Thailand 19. Mrs. Charlotte Gmelin, Germany 20. Mr. Norman Faulkner, Canada 21. Mr. Iain Grysak, Canada 22. Mr. Tej Man Shakya, Nepal 23. Dr. U Thein Tun, Myanmar 24. Mrs. K. Dhana Durga, Hyderabad 25. Mrs. Vina Ranawala, Gandhidham 26. Mrs. Sharda Jain, Bangalore 27. U Ko Ko, Myanmar 28. U Than Htay, Myanmar 29. U Ba Than, Myanmar 30. Mr. Lin Ying-Mao, Taiwan 31. Mr. Sergio Borsa, Switzerland 32. Mr. Amy Shanker, USA 8