S. N. Goenka, leader of an enormously popular worldwide insight meditation (Vipassana) movement, died on September 29 of natural causes in Mumbai, India. He was 90 years old.
Goenka’s transformation of vipassana into a standalone movement has had a profound effect on general conceptions of Buddhist practice in the modern world. By presenting meditation as a universal art of living, Goenka enabled practice to further permeate societies as a secular technique, especially in Europe and North America. His later efforts, such as founding a research institute to study vipassana’s social effects and, in 2002, touring 35 North American cities to spread the word about meditation, further reinforced the popular message that meditation is nonreligious. His practical presentation has influenced many, particularly in the West, to see vipassana as essentially about one’s current life and how it is lived.
Goenka’s view of vipassana as an art of living extends to the very end of life, for to learn how to live is to learn how to die: “Vipassana teaches the art of dying: how to die peacefully, harmoniously. And one learns the art of dying by learning the art of living: how to become master of the present moment.”
Goenka is reported to have passed away peacefully in his home. That his life ended in such an everyday setting fits with his vision of meditation. “When your own death comes, observe it, at the level of sensations,” writes Goenka. “Everyone has to observe one’s death: coming, coming, coming, going, going, going, gone! Be happy!”
Full article:
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/s-n-goenka-pioneer-secular-meditation-movement-dies-90/
More info:
http://www.dhamma.org/
