Importance of Vedana & Sampajanna The Seminar on Vedana- and Sampajaa, held in 1990 at Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri, India,

was an important milestone in the acknowledgment of Vipassana meditation as the quintessence of the Buddha's teaching. The papers presented at the seminar gave detailed insight into these two very im portant terms from the Pa-li canon. They are inspiring to meditators and intrigu ing to scholars interested in the Buddha's teaching. In this second edition S.N. Goenka has contributed a new article that once again stresses the importance of vedana-(body sensations) in the practice of Vipassan a and the understanding of Satipat.t.ha-na Sutta and many other passages from th e Pa-li Tipit.aka.

Contents Preface to Second Edition.... 1 Introduction to the Papers Presented/the Vipassana Research Institute.... 2 Why Vedana and What is Vedana/S.N. Goenka.... 3 I. PAPERS PRESENTED/VIPASSANA RESEARCH INSTITUTE : The Importance of Vedana and Sampajanna.... 11 Vedana and the Four Noble Truths.... 13 The Significance of Vedana in Vipassana.... 16 Relevance of Vedana to Bhavana-maya Panna.... 20 Significance of the Pali Term Dhuna in the Practice of Vipassana Meditation .... 24 Types of Vedana and a State Beyond Vedana.... 29 Vedana in Paticcasamuppada.... 33 Vedana in the Practice of Satipatthana.... 37 Sampajanna.... 40 The Importance of Vedana.... 42 The Causes of Vedana.... 46 The Comprehension of Vedana, the Sambodhi of the Buddha.... 48 The Importance of Kaya-samphassaja-vedana in Vipassana Meditation.... 51 Samisa and Niramisa in Meditation.... 53 Sampajanna-the Constant Thorough Understanding of Impermanence.... 56 The Parinnaya of Vedana....59 The Importance of Vedana and Sampajanna in Vipassana Meditation.... 63 Four Sampajanna.... 67 II. PAPERS PRESENTED/OTHERS : The Buddha and His Noble Path/Venerable Nanissara.... 69 Vipassana and Vedana as Understood by a Novice/U.Tin Lwin.... 77 Dukkha Conducive to Absolute Sukha/Dhammacariya U.Htay Hlaing.... 81 Importance of Vedana and Sampajanna in the Vipassana (Insight) System of M editation/Venerable Bhikkhu Lokopalo.... 93 Vedana and Aniccasanna of Vipassana in the Pali Text/Ashin Arseinna.... 98 The Many By-Paths of Vedana/C. Witanachchi.... 108

Kamma and Vedananupassana/Lily de Silva.... 119 The Impact of Thorough Understanding (Sampajanna) on Sensations (Vedana)/Prof. N.U. Trivedi.... 124 The Routine Duties of a Meditator : Sampajanna/Dhammacariya U Htay Hlaing.... 1 27 Feeling and Right Perception in Vipassana Meditation/G.C. Banerjee.... 131 List of Vipassana Meditation Centres.... 133 List of VRI Publications.... 136

Sampajaa (Pa-li; Skt.: samprajanya) means "clear comprehension," "clear knowing, " "constant thorough understanding of impermanence," "fully alert" or "full aw areness," as well as "attention, consideration, discrimination, comprehension, circumspection." Sampajaa is a Pali term used in Theravada suttas; the equivalent Sanskrit term samprajaa is found in Sanskrit texts employed (in translation) by a variety of meditation teachers such as Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and in the Tibetan tradi tion. VIPASSANA Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's mos t ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills, i.e., an Art Of Living. This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impuriti es and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation. Healing, not merel y the curing of diseases, but the essential healing of human suffering, is its purpose. Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuse s on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the l ife of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It i s this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of min d and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full o f love and compassion. The scientific laws that operate one's thoughts, feelings, judgements and sens ations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is unde rstood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, selfcontrol and peace. Vedan Vedan is a word in Sanskrit and Pli traditionally translated as either "feeling" or "sensation." In general, vedan refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutr al sensations that occur when our internal sense organs come into contact with external sense objects and the associated consciousness. In Buddhism, craving for and attachment to vedan leads to suffering; reciprocall y, concentrated awareness and clear comprehension of vedan can lead to Enlighte nment and the extinction of the causes of suffering.