Realizing Change: Vipassana Meditation in Action

Rating:
Summary: Valuable Perspectives
Review: For someone wanting a general overview of Vipassana meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka, The Art of Living by William Hart is good. But for someone wanting an idea of what an intense 10-day Vipassana course of this type is like and how it can affect one's life, these personal accounts by people from all walks of life (business people, teachers, students, prisoners, priests, health-care professionals, etc.) from many different national, religious, and ethnic backgrounds give valuable perspectives.

Perhaps the best perspective on Vipassana in this tradition for someone without the experience of a course would be to have a close friend or relative take a 10-day course with an attitude of open-minded skepticism. After that friend/relative gives the meditation a fair trial for 10 days and then judges its effects over time, the best perspective would be to ask that person, "What was it really like? And how did it change your life?"

This book tries to fill that gap of understanding. The accounts tend to be personal, powerful, and enlightening.