11 Lessons I Learned While Visiting India & Nepal

Feb 25

For the past month my wife and I have been on a pilgrimage with fellow Vipassana meditators in the Goenka tradition, traveling around India and Nepal, visiting different sites that were important in the Buddha’s life and meditating at these sacred places.

This style of Vipassana is the same one I have been meditating in for almost 11 years now. I went into it for healing, but it has introduced me to the more subtle goal of liberation. The type of liberation that helps us come out of all self-created misery by undoing craving and building up equanimity in the mind.

Since I started meditating, I have developed a tremendous respect for the Buddha. In my opinion, he understood the human mind better than anyone else in human history, he understood suffering and clearly explained the way out of suffering. At the end of the last silent 45-day meditation course my wife and I sat (Jan – Feb 2022), I asked her if we could go to India so we can meditate under the Bodhi Tree, where the Buddha reached enlightenment. She said yes and also felt it was a good idea. To go to the places where the Buddha meditated, lived, taught, and walked was calling us deeply. A year later it finally happened!

It is hard to convey in words how much this trip has meant to me, how much I needed it, and how it has helped me realign with my deepest aspiration – freedom.

Here are 11 key lessons I have learned during this month long journey:

If you want to connect with wisdom and the beauty of the moment, you need to move slowly. Rushing will make you miss so much and it is actually just a reflection of your inner agitation.
The law of cause and effect is predominant in nature. If you want a good life, focus on doing good actions as selflessly as possible. The people you help, the things you give, the kindness you emit, all of these are seeds that will bear good fruit in the future.
You know your heart better than anyone else. This means you need to act on what you know. Speak up for yourself, ask for support when needed, don’t feel like you need to move at the same speed as everyone else.
Giving away so much of your time to the requests of others will stop you from giving time to what is good and nourishing for you. Betraying yourself is not virtuous. Constantly saying yes to please others will lead to burnout. Say no frequently if you want to create a clear space in your life for what matters most to you.
Your energy leaves an imprint on the environment that you are in. Places where the Buddha and his disciples meditated 2600 year ago remain surprisingly vibrant and powerful. Your energy does not stay with you, it moves outward and invites others to feel the same way.
Trying to evade all conflicts and arguments is not possible. Interpersonal conflict happens because egos exist. Approaching conflict with selflessness and the goal to understand helps harmony reappear more easily.
Real healing is possible, but so is real freedom. Suffering is not eternal. With the right practices you can slowly but surely decrease the tension that exists in your mind. You can even go as far as to fully extinguish personal suffering, but this takes serious work.
You don’t have to be perfect to have made tremendous progress. If you are reacting less intensely then before, if your mind feels lighter, if you are making better decisions, then you are moving in a good direction. Mistakes will happen, setbacks are common and that is ok and natural.
Everything requires balance. Going to extremes creates needless friction. Let boldness mix with gentleness. Let your giving match your receiving. Let your striving match your relaxation. If you look with a calm mind, you will be able to find a middle path in most situations.
It is exceedingly easy to take for granted the things you are surrounded by on a daily basis, your family, the typical food you eat, daily comforts, but once they are all gone you see how much you relied on it all and simply expected it to be there. Be more intentional about looking around with fresh eyes and see the abundance in front of you.
Be mindful of the story you are writing in your mind. Is it factual or is it driven by temporarily tumultuous emotions? Ego loves tension and wisdom loves peace.