Vipassana meditation
| Translations of Vipassanā |
|
|---|---|
| English | insight, clear-seeing |
| Pali | Vipassanā |
| Sanskrit | विपश्यन (vipaśyanā) |
| Burmese | ဝိပဿနာ |
| Chinese |
觀 (Pinyin: guān) |
| Khmer | វិបស្សនា (vipassana) |
| Sinhalese | විපස්සනා |
| Tibetan |
ལྷག་མཐོང་ (lhaktong) (Wyl: lhag mthong) |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
Vipassanā (Pāli) or vipaśyanā (Sanskrit: विपश्यन) in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the true nature of reality. In the Theravada tradition this specifically refers to insight into the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering or unsatisfactoriness, and the realisation of non-self.
Vipassanā meditation in conjunction with Samatha meditation is a necessary part of all Buddhist traditions. Therefore, it is important to distinguish Vipassanā on the one hand, and the Vipassana movement on the other, which was represented in the Theravada tradition by Ledi Sayadaw and Mogok Sayadaw and popularised by Mahasi Sayadaw, V. R. Dhiravamsa and S. N. Goenka.
Vipassanā is a Pali word from the Sanskrit prefix "vi-" and verbal root paś. It is often translated as "insight" or "clear-seeing", though the "in-" prefix may be misleading; "vi" in Indo-Aryan languages is equivalent to the Latin "dis." The "vi" in vipassanā may then mean to see into, see through or to see 'in a special way.' Alternatively, the "vi" can function as an intensive, and thus vipassanā may mean "seeing deeply."
A synonym for "Vipassanā" is paccakkha (Pāli; Sanskrit: pratyakṣa), "before the eyes," which refers to direct experiential perception. Thus, the type of seeing denoted by "vipassanā" is that of direct perception, as opposed to knowledge derived from reasoning or argument.
In Tibetan, vipaśyanā is lhagthong (wylie: lhag mthong). The term "lhag" means "higher", "superior", "greater"; the term "thong" is "view" or "to see". So together, lhagthong may be rendered into English as "superior seeing", "great vision" or "supreme wisdom." This may be interpreted as a "superior manner of seeing", and also as "seeing that which is the essential nature." Its nature is a lucidity—a clarity of mind.
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