For over 2500 years, the teachings of the Buddha have been a living tradition, passed down from generation to generation, teacher to student. This tradition is not merely a collection of ancient texts, but a vibrant, experiential path of liberation accessible to all.
This Living Tradition explores the history of the Vipassana meditation tradition and its core principles. It is divided into three main sections: The Buddha , The Lineage , and The Practice .
The first section covers the story of the Buddha, his teachings, and significant events in his lifetime, including his search for the truths of existence, or Dhamma, which are relevant to suffering and the way out of it.
The second section traces the transmission of Dhamma from teacher to student, starting from India, moving to Burma, and then spreading back to India and other countries around the world. Key figures in this lineage include Emperor Ashoka, the great scholar-monk Ledi Sayadaw, and the householder teachers Saya Thetgyi, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and S.N. Goenka.
The final section of the book delves into the principles of the practice itself. It uses stories often from the time of the Buddha to illustrate these principles and the internal journey of a meditator.
About the Author
Patrick Given-Wilson (Singapore, 1947) took his first degree in Classics and Classical Philosophy at Cambridge University, England, and later took an MBA at Stanford University, California. He worked as an investment banker in London for seven years, and emigrated to Australia in 1978.
He sat his first Vipassana course with S.N. Goenka in 1977, and was appointed a Vipassana teacher in 1984. As a Vipassana teacher he serves Dhamma Bhumi and South East Australia. He has also conducted courses in New Zealand, England, Spain, Switzerland, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, Russia and Israel. His articles have been published in Vipassana newsletters, his art in the Pariyatti Journal (he is an avid painter with an affinity for Chinese art and culture), and he has recorded an eight-part video series exploring the lives and teachings of the lineage of Vipassana meditation teachers in the tradition as taught by S.N. Goenka.
The lineage talks touch on the setbacks and challenges the different teachers faced, and the ways in which they presented and taught Vipassana to suit the different times, audiences and cultures that they encountered—while always maintaining its essence and pristine purity. The talks show how, as a result, the teaching of Vipassana—which for generations was only limited to a few monks in Burma—was able to spread to so many people throughout the world today. The series covers Ashoka, who first sent monks to Burma, Ledi Sayadaw, Saya Thet, Webu Sayadaw, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and S.N. Goenka. The talks are offered to explain the history and origins of this noble tradition, and above all to inspire Vipassana meditators.
