Vipassana

Today I went to the Ekoji Buddhist Sangha to practice Vipassana meditation.  I went there early to talk with the leader and learn more about what they practiced.  Vipassana meditation is practiced by Theravada Buddhists, who are more traditional and derive their teachings from the original teachings of Buddha.  Andy Wichorek, the group's leader, met with my friend and I to tell us about the practice.  He said that the purpose of the meditation is to focus on clearing the mind and making it silent in order to cultivate feelings such as compassion and improve the last two of the eightfold path: mindfulness and concentration.  The meditation was 45 minutes long, and silent the entire time.  We all sat facing a Buddha shrine, and closed our eyes.  A bell signaled that it was time to begin meditating.  At first, I focused on my breathing and tried to clear my mind.  Sometimes my mind would wander, but not for too long.  It was hard not to fidget around, and my foot fell asleep pretty quickly.  This type of meditation is something that takes a lot of practice to get easy, but I think it's worth it.  A few times I went into a deeper meditation, and it felt rewarding knowing that I could do that.  Quieting my mind was the hardest part, but I'm sure that takes a lot of practice.  I really enjoyed my time, and I plan on going again and trying some of the other meditation groups there.