Vipassana

Like a speleologist I descended into the big cave of my own self for ten whole days. It is over now. Im back into town, a noisy spinning world. I left the monkeys, the peacocks, the jungle where we guys were meditating. 12 hours a day for 10 days, sitting on a cushion with my eyes closed. Waking up at 4 or 5am (for the lazy ones like me) and going to bed before 9:30pm. It took ages before I could even hope to harness my mind for more than ten minutes in a row. The technique is called Vipassana. It is Buddha's pure teaching somehow handed down from generation to generation until today. It teaches the self observation of your own body sensations and how not to react to them, with the consciusness that everything is temporary and impermanent. So simple, so hard to practise. But I can see myself changed a little already, calmer, more peaceful. We broke 10 days of noble silence just yesterday at noon and it was awesome to talk to people, expecially Indians. Everybody was smiling and wishing each other happiness. The real challenge is to keep practising and proceeding on the path to liberation from your own misery. In the meanwhile I got sick and had a strong diarrhoea which didnt help to ease out the process. The food wasnt the best (to say it was shit) and I could not get myself to eat much. Once I had just beaten rice cause I could not eat more. I sat in the dining hall eating plane dry beaten rice out of a metal plate. I felt like a fucking pigeon. I imagined it tasted like beef. I worked for some instants. I have a week left to reach Mumbai, meet Baba, exchange some words with him, get the last presents and leave the continent. I have met people who have done the most incredible things. There is no boundary to people's horizons but your own boundaries. It is just a statement, no particular judgement attached to it. Years back I was sitting in front of the fireplace at Lollo's. We were talking about Africa. Stefano, Lollo's father, a man who has seen the world he needed to see was remembering old adventures and his eyes were shining at those thoughts. But yet he was telling us about how important is to have a "life plan". At the time, I could not really get him. I thought he was being prudent. Now I do understand better his advice. The time for choices has come. It is now. For me at least. What my dad used to call "having the world in your pockets". A time for acceptance of the consequences will follow. Which is good. Which is good. I gotta go now, with hands and feet. M.