How to Walk, How to Eat

How to Walk, How to Eat

Anecdotes of S.N. Goenka

In a month course with Sayagyi U Ba Khin in Burma, I experienced a very deep stage of bhanga in which my entire body seemed to have dissolved into a mass of vibrations constantly rising and passing away. Even if by chance I happened to look at someone, I saw only the outline of that person and within it a kind of blinking oscillation.

One day during this course my teacher said to me , "Come, Goenka, I shall teach you how to walk." Now what was this? I was not a baby crawling on all fours; I was a man of mature years! Sayagyi explained, "Walk as you do normally, neither quickly nor slowly. as you walk be aware of each movement of your body, and also be aware of what is happening within you." I had been practicing that in ten-day courses, but it was different now. I tried it and found that while walking , I could experience the flow of vibrations, the subtle reality within. At a supeficial level I was aware of my walking, and at a deeper level I was aware of the unceasing process of change within myself-just a mass of atoms moving about, rather than a solid body.

"Now come," said Sayagyi, "I shall teach you how to eat". By this time I had understood that, though I was not an infant to be spoonfed, there was something I needed to learn. We went to the dinning room and a tray of food was placed before me, each item neatly arranged in a seperate dish. "Make small pieces of all the food, and put it into a bowl,"Sayagyi said. "Now mix it all together-solid or liquid, sweet or sour, combine it all." This is the way that monks are supposed to eat. I did as he said and mixed all the food together in a bowl. "Now remain in deep bhanga". said Sayagyi, "Keep your eyes closed and continue. Take a morsel of food with your fingers, and feel sensations." I did this, and as I touched the food I felt strong vibrations in my fingertips. "Move your hand to your mouth feeling sensations..." I did so, feeling strong vibrations. "Place the food in your mouth and feel sensations." I did so, feeling vibrations on my lips, my tongue and gums. "Chew the food and swallow it feeling sensations." I did so, feeling vibrations throughout my mouth and throat. The taste of the food became immaterial. Instead I experienced it only as vibrations entering the vibrations of my body.

Having finished the meal in this special Vipassana way, I was asked to take rest. I went and lay down on the bed. For quite some time I kept feeling distinct movement and vibration in the stomach and intestines.

After that course, all my food prefrences disappeared. I had been fond of some of the more spicy Indian preparations. Now I eat whatever is placed before me, but if there is a choice my hand goes automatically to the simpler dish.  I had indeed learned how to eat: not to satisfy the cravings but to provide the nourishment this body needs to carry on its task.

Thanks to Sayagyi, thanks to Dhamma