***She spent time to collect good proverbs, good teaching that she like from many places for burning CD and whenever she find good things, she always send them to us via email. Some is in Thai, some in English.  Here are just some samples from her.

- การหัวเราะ คือ การเสี่ยงที่จะถูกมองว่าาเป็นคนโง่
   To laugh is to risk appearing a fool

 - การร้องไห้ คือ การเสี่ยงที่จะถูกมองว่าาเป็นคนที่อ่อนไหว
   To weep is to risk appearing sentimental

 - การเข้าไปหาผู้อื่น คือ การเสี่ยงที่จะมีส่วนเกี่ยวข้องกับผู้อื่น
   To reach out for another is to risk involvement

 - การแสดงความรู้สึกให้ผู้อื่นรับรู้ คือ   การเสี่ยงที่จะได้รับคำปฏิเสธ
   To expose feeling is to risk rejection

 - การตั้งเป้าหมายต่อหน้าผู้อื่น คือ การเเสี่ยงที่จะถูกหัวเราะเยาะ
   To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule

 - การรักใครสักคน คือ การเสี่ยงที่จะไม่ได้รับความรักตอบแทน
   To love is to risk not being loved in return

 - การก้าวเดินไปหนทางข้างหน้าที่เต็มไปด้ววยสิ่งใหม่ๆ คือ การเสี่ยงที่ต่อ  
ความผิดพลาด
 To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure

 -แต่เราก็ควรที่จะเสี่ยงในสิ่งต่างๆเหล่านี้ เนื่องจากว่าอันตรายที่ใหญ่หลวง
ที่สุดในชีวิตคือการที่ไม่ยอมเสี่ยงสิ่งใดเลย
  But risks must be taken, because the greatest
  hazard in life is to risk nothing

 - บุคคลที่ไม่เสี่ยงสิ่งใดเลย จะไม่ได้ทำสสิ่งใดเลย จะไม่มีสิ่งใดเลย และจะ 
ไม่ได้เป็นอะไรเลย
 The person who risks nothing does nothing,
  has nothing,is nothing

 -เขาอาจจะหลีกหนีจากความทุกข์ยากและความเศร้าโศกได้หากแต่ว่าเขาจะไม่ได้เรียนรู
้,ไม่ได้รู้สึก,ไม่ได้เปลี่ยนแปลง,ไม่ได้เติบโต และไม่ได้รู้จักความรักเลย
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow
or love

 - เขาจะถูกล่ามโซ่ไว้เขาจะกลายเป็นทาสให้กับสิ่งที่เขากังวลไม่กล้าเสี่ยงนั้น
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave

 - จะมีเพียงแต่บุคคลที่กล้าเสี่ยงเท่านั้นน ที่จะมีอิสระทำสิ่งต่างๆได้
Only a person who takes risks is free

Everyone talks about Dhamma but no one understands it.
Practicing purity of mind--this is true Dhamma."

"Abandoning false illusions, moving towards the truth, may we keep walking
step by step, advancing towards the true goal."

A Store-House of Answers by S.N. Goenkaji

"Abandoning flse illusions, moving towards the truth,
may we keep walking step by step, advancing towards the true goal."

In the course of his Dhamma work, beginning in 1969, Goenkaji has been asked
thousands of questions, by Vipassana students and others all over the world.

The questions range a fascinating spectrum from what is Dhamma, Vipassana
Meditation, Aim of Life, Human Misery, God, Rebirth to insomnia....

The answers and questions have been broadly categorized under various
sections based on the nature of the question. A section at the end, under
'Vipassana Practice', provides clarifications about the practice to
Vipassana students.

It must be remembered, however, that Goenkaji's favourite answer is always:
" You must experience the truth yourself. Only then it becomes a truth for
you. Otherwise it is only someone else's truth".

To Vipassana students, Goenkaji has always emphasized that the real answers
can only come from continuous and correct practice of Vipassana.

The Q & A Bank, therefore, serves as a guide and inspiration to Vipassana
students, and an encouragement to non-students to undertake a Vipassana
course, and directly experience its immense benefits.

May all beings be happy!

Addiction

1. How can we avoid addictions like smoking cigarettes?

There are so many different types of addictions. When you practise
Vipassana, you will understand that your addiction is not actually to that
particular substance. It seems as if you are addicted to cigarettes,
alcohol, drugs, paan (betel leaf). But actually, you are addicted to a
particular sensation in the body, a bio-chemical flow caused by that
particular substance. Similarly, when you are addicted to anger, passion
etc, these are also related to body sensations. Your addiction is to the
sensations. Through Vipassana you come out of that addiction, all
addictions. It is so natural, so scientific. Just try, and you will
experience how it works.

Atma (soul)

1. What is 'atma', 'soul' ?

Practice Vipassana, and you will find the reality of what is happening
inside you. What you call soul , atma, you will notice, is just a reacting
mind, a certain part of the mind. Yet you remain under the illusion that
"this is 'I' ". Through practice of Vipassana, you will realize that this
'I' is not permanent. It's always changing, always ephemeral. It's nothing
but a mass of sub-atomic particles, always in a state of flux and flow. Only
by directly experiencing this, the illusion of 'I' will go away, and then
the illusion of the 'soul'. With no illusions, delusions, all miseries go
away. But this has to be experienced. This does not happen by merely
accepting philosophical beliefs.

Anger

1. How does one escape anger?

With the practise of Vipassana! A Vipassana student observes respiration, or
the bodily sensations caused when angry. This observation is with
equanimity, with no reaction. The anger soon weakens and passes away.
Through continued practise of Vipassana, the habit pattern of the mind to
react with anger is changed.

2.I can't suppress my anger, even if I try.

Don't suppress it. Observe it. The more you suppress it, the more it goes to
the deeper levels of your mind. The complexes become stronger and stronger,
and it so difficult to come out of them. No suppression, no expression. Just
observe.

Anxiety

1. I am always full of anxiety. Can Vipassana help me?

Certainly. This is the purpose of Vipassana - to liberate you from all
miseries. Anxiety and worry are the biggest miseries, and they are there
because of certain impurities deep within you. With practise of Vipassana,
these impurities will come on the surface and gradually pass away. Of
course, it takes time. There is no magic, no miracle, no gurudom involved.
Somebody will just show you the correct Path. You have to walk on the Path,
work out your own liberation from all miseries.

Attachment

1. You spoke about non-attachment to things. What about persons?

Yes, persons also. You have true love for the person, compassionate love for
this person, this is totally different. But when you have attachment, then
you don't have love, you only love yourself, because you expect something
 -material, emotional etc - from this person. With whomever you have
attachment, you are expecting something in return. When you start truly
loving this person, then you only give, a one-way traffic. You don't expect
anything in return, then the attachment goes. The tension goes. You are so
happy.

2.How can the world function without attachment?

If parents were detached then they would not even care for their children.
How is it possible to love or be involved in life without attachment?
Detachment does not mean indifference; it is correctly called "holy
indifference". As a parent, you must meet your responsibility to care for
your child with all your love, but without clinging. Out of pure, selfless
love you do your duty. Suppose you tend a sick person, and despite your
care, he does not recover. You don't start crying; that would be useless.
With a balanced mind, you try to find another way to help him. This is holy
indifference : neither inaction or reaction, but real, positive action with
a balanced mind.

3. Isn't performing a right action a kind of attachment?

No. It is simply doing your best, understanding that the results are beyond
your control. You do your job and leave the results to nature, to Dhamma.

.....then it is being willing to make a mistake?

If you make a mistake you accept it, and try not to repeat it the next time.
Again you may fail; again you smile and try a different way. If you can
smile in the face of failure, you are not attached. If failure depresses you
and success makes you elated, you are certainly attached.

B

Buddha

1. You keep referring to the Buddha. Are you teaching Buddhism?

I am not concerned with 'isms'. I teach Dhamma, and that is what the Buddha
taught. He never taught any 'ism', or any sectarian doctrine. He taught
something from which people of every background, every religion, can
benefits. He taught the way with which one can to live a life full of
benefits for oneself and other. He didn't merely give empty sermons saying,
' Oh, People. You must live like this, you must live like that". The Buddha
taught practical Dhamma , the actual way to live a wholesome life. And
Vipassana is the practical know-how to lead a life of real happiness.

2. All Buddhist meditation techniques were already known in yoga. What was
new in meditation as taught by the Buddha?

What is called yoga today is actually a later development. Patanjali lived
about 500 years after the time of the Buddha, and naturally his Yoga Sutra
shows the influence of the Buddha's teachings. Of course, yogic practices
were known in India even before the Buddha, and he himself experimented with
them before achieving enlightenment. All these practices, however, were
limited to sila (morality) and samadhi (concentration of the mind),
concentration up to the level of the eight jhana, the eight stage of
absorption, which is still within the field of sensory experience. The
Buddha found the ninth jhana, and that is Vipassana, the development of
insight that will take the meditator to the ultimate goal beyond the misery
of sensory experience.

C

Cause and Effect

1. Aren't there any chance happenings, random occurrences without a cause?

Nothing happens without a cause. It is not possible. Sometimes our limited
senses and intellects cannot clearly find it, but that does not mean that
there is no cause.

2. Is everything in this life predetermined?

Well, certainly our past actions will give fruit, good or bad. They will
determine the type of life we have, the general situation in which we find
ourselves. But that does not mean that whatever happens to us is
predestined, ordained by our past actions, and that nothing else can happen.
That is not the case. Our past actions influence the flow of our life,
directing them towards pleasant or unpleasant experiences. But present
actions are equally important. Nature has given us the ability to become
masters of our present actions. With that mastery, we can change our future.

Chakras

1. What is the effect of Vipassana on the chakras ?

Chakras are nothing but nerve centres on the spinal cord. Vipassana takes
you to the stage where you can feel activity in every little atom of your
body. Chakras are just a part of that. This activity can be experienced in
the entire body.

Children

1. What is your feeling about teaching Dhamma to children?

The best time for that is before birth of the child. During pregnancy the
mother should practise Vipassana, so that the child also receives it and is
born a Dhamma child. But if you already have children, you can still share
Dhamma with them. If your children are very young (below age 8), direct your
metta (the technique of Metta-Bhavana to share the vibrations of goodwill
and compassion to all beings, taught on the 10th morning of the Vipassana
course ) to them after every sitting and at their bedtime. In this way, they
also benefit from your practice of Dhamma. And when you are older, explain a
little about Dhamma to them in a way that they can understand and accept. If
they can understand it a little more, then teach them Anapana for a few
minutes. Don't pressure the children in any way. Just let them sit with you,
observe their breath for a few minutes, and then go and play. The meditation
will be like play to them; they will enjoy it. And the most important is
that you must live a healthy Dhamma life yourself, you must set a good
example for your children. In your home, you must establish a peaceful and
harmonious atmosphere which will help them grow into healthy and happy
people. This is the best thing you can do for your children.

2.Could you give advice to mothers with infants, and struggling to keep up
their practice?

Why should there be a problem? The child is on the lap and still you can
practise. You can give metta to the child. You can give metta to others. You
must learn how to carry on your Dhamma in every situation. So use Dhamma for
all your duties. A mother's duty is to look after the child in a Dhamma way.

3. Is it necessary to introduce Vipassana into education?

Certainly. Vipassana is the practical science of living. The next generation
must learn this science at a very young age, so that they can live a very
healthy life, a harmonious life. If they understand pure Dhamma, the law of
nature, they will live according to the law of nature. When children are
taught Vipassana in the schools and colleges, as it is being done now in
some cities, there are very good results.

Complexes

1. How to come out of inferiority / superiority complexes?

This is what Vipassana does. Every complex is an impurity of the mind. As
that impurity comes to the surface, you observe it at the level of body
sensations. It passes away. It arises again. Again you observe. Again it
passes away. Like this, these complexes weaken and ultimately do not rise
again. Just observe. Suppression or expression is harmful. Vipassana helps
one come out of all complexes.

Concentration

1. What is the difference between Vipassana and concentration?

Vipassana is not merely concentration. Vipassana is observation of the truth
within, from moment to moment. You develop your faculty of awareness, your
mindfulness. Things keep changing, but you remain aware - this is Vipassana.
But if you concentrate only on one object, which may be an imaginary object,
then nothing will change. When you are with this imagination, and your mind
remains concentrated on it, you are not observing the truth. When you are
observing the truth, it is bound to change. It keeps constantly changing,
and yet you are aware of it. This is Vipassana.

Conditioning

1. You talk about conditioning of the mind. But isn't this training also a
kind of conditioning of the mind, even if a positive one?

On the contrary, Vipassana is a process of de-conditioning. Instead of
imposing anything on the mind, it automatically removes unwholesome
qualities so that only positive, wholesome qualities remain. By eliminating
negativities, it uncovers the positivity which is the basic nature of the
pure mind.

Craving

1. Is it okay to have a craving for enlightenment?

It is wrong. You will never get enlightenment if you have a craving for
enlightenment. Enlightenment just happens. If you crave for it, you are
running in the opposite direction. One cannot crave for a particular result.
The result comes naturally. If you start craving, " I must get nibbana, I
must get nibbana", you are running in the opposite direction of nibbana.
Nibbana is a state which is free from craving, and you want to reach that
state with craving - not possible.

2. Is a strong desire the same as craving?

There is a difference. Whether there is craving or not, will be judged by
whatever you desire. If you don't get it, and you feel depressed, then it
was craving. If you don't get it, and you just smile, then it was just a
desire. It didn't turn into craving. Whenever there is a craving and
clinging and you don't get something, you are bound to become miserable. If
you are becoming miserable, then there was some craving. Otherwise, no
craving.

3. Can't there be wholesome cravings and aversions - for example, hating
injustice, desiring freedom, fearing physical harm?

Cravings and aversions can never be wholesome. They will always make you
tense and unhappy. If you act with craving or aversion in the mind, you may
have a worthwhile goal, but you use an unhealthy means to reach it. Of
course, you have to act to protect yourself from danger. If you do it
overpowered by fear, then might you develop a fear complex which will harm
you in the long run. Or, if with hatred in the mind, if you are successful
in fighting injustice, then that hatred becomes a harmful mental complex.
You must fight injustice, you must protect yourself from danger, but you can
do so with a balanced mind, without tension. And in a balanced way, you can
work to achieve something good, out of love for others. Balance of mind is
always helpful, and will give the best results.

4. What is wrong with wanting material things to make life more comfortable?

If it is a real requirement, there is nothing wrong, provided you do not
become attached to it. Whatever necessities you require, work to get them.
If you fail to get something, then smile and try again in a different way.
If you succeed, then enjoy what you get, but without attachment.

5. How about planning for the future? Would you call that craving?

Again, the criterion is whether you are attached to your plan. Everyone must
provide for the future. If your plan does not succeed and you start crying,
then you know that you were attached to it. But if you are unsuccessful and
can still smile, thinking, " Well, I did my best. So what if I failed? I'll
try again !" - then you are working in a detached way, and you remain happy.

D

Dhamma

1. What is Dhamma ?

What one's mind contains, at this moment, is Dhamma. Dhamma is everything
there is.

2. What is the relevance of Dhamma to a person on the street, whose stomach
is empty?

A large number of people living in slums come to Vipassana courses and find
it very helpful. Their stomachs are empty, but their minds also are so
agitated. With Vipassana, they learn how to be calm and equanimous. Then
they can face their problems. It is noticed their lives improve. They come
out of addictions to alcohol, gambling etc. Dhamma is helpful to everyone,
rich or poor.

3. How can a truly Dhammic person face this adhammic world?

Don't try to change the adhammic world. Try to change the adhamma in
yourself - the way in which you are reacting and making yourself miserable.
For instance, when somebody is abusing you, understand that this person is
miserable. It is the problem of that person. Why make it your problem? Why
start generating anger and making yourself miserable? Doing that means you
are not your own master, you are that person's slave; whenever that person
wants to, he can make you miserable. Be your own master. Then you can live a
Dhammic life, in spite of all the adhammic situations all around.

4. How do you equate religion and Dhamma?

If religion is taken in a sectarian sense, like Hindu religion or Muslim
religion or Buddhist religion and so on, then it is totally against Dhamma.
But if religion is taken as the law of nature, the universal law of nature,
then it is the same as Dhamma.

5. Do you believe the Dhamma can guide you?

Yes. Certainly, the Dhamma starts guiding you. As the mind gets more and
more purified, your pannya, your own experiential wisdom will get stronger
and stronger. When any problem comes in the world, in your life, then you
just go a little deep inside and you get the answer yourself. So this
becomes your guide. You should not depend on anyone else. You depend on
yourself, and depend on Dhamma.

Dhamma Forces

Are there Dhamma forces that support us as we develop on the Path?

Certainly - visible as well as invisible ones. For example, people tend to
associate with those of similar interest, background and character. When we
develop good qualities in us, we naturally attract people who have such good
qualities. When we come in contact with such good people, naturally we get
support from them.

If we develop love, compassion and goodwill, we will get tuned up with all
beings, visible or invisible, that have these positive vibrations, and we
will start getting support from them. It is like tuning a radio to receive
waves of a certain meter band from a distant broadcasting station.
Similarly, we tune ourselves to vibrations of the type we generate; and so
we receive the benefit of those vibrations. But all this happens only if we
work hard and correctly.



Death

1. How can Vipassana be used at the time of death?

At the time of death - death of other people - then you just sit and give
metta. And when your own death comes, observe it, at the level of
sensations. Everyone has to observe one's death : coming, coming, coming,
going, going, going, gone ! Be happy !



E

Ego

1. You speak of the ego 'I' only in negative terms. Hasn't it a positive
side? Isn't there an experience of 'I' which fills a person with joy, with
peace and rapture?

Through practice of Vipassana you will find that all such sensual pleasures
are impermanent; they come and pass away. If this 'I' really enjoys them, if
they are 'my' pleasures, then 'I' must have some mastery over them. But they
just arise and pass away without my control. What 'I' is there?

I'm speaking not of sensual pleasures, but of a very deep level.

At that level, 'I' is of no importance at all. When you reach that level,
the ego is dissolved. There is only joy. The question of 'I' does not arise
then.

Well, instead of 'I' , let us say the experience of a person.

Feelings feel; there is no one to feel it. Things are just happening, that's
all. Now it seems to you that there must be an 'I' who feels, but after
beginning to practice Vipassana, you will reach the stage where the ego
dissolves. Then your question will disappear!

For conventional purposes, yes, we cannot run away from using words like 'I'
or 'mine' etc. But clinging to them, taking them as real in an ultimate
sense will only bring suffering.

2. I find that I am every egoistic and quick to belittle other people. What
is the best way to come out of this problem?

Come out of it by meditating. If the ego is strong, one will try to belittle
others, to lower their importance and increase one's own. But meditation
naturally dissolves the ego. When it dissolves, you can no longer do
anything to hurt another. Meditate and the problem will automatically
solved.

3. Why do I keep reinforcing this ego? Why do I keep trying to be "I" ?

This is what the mind is conditioned to do, out of ignorance. But Vipassana
can liberate you from this harmful conditioning. In place of always thinking
of the self, you can learn to think of others.

Emotion

1. Isn't anger, aversion, sadness etc all natural human emotions?

You call them 'natural' human emotions, but the mind by nature is very pure.
This is a very common mistake. The true, pure nature of the mind is so much
lost that the impure nature of the mind is often called 'natural'! The true
natural mind is so pure, full of compassion, goodwill.

I will give you an example. Suppose somebody close to me dies. It is natural
for me to...

Again you are saying the same thing! It is the wrong nature in which you are
involved. If somebody dies, no crying. Crying doesn't solve any problem. All
those moments when you have been crying you are sowing seeds of crying.
Nature wouldn't see why you are crying, nature only sees what seed you have
sowed and the seed of crying will only bring more crying..

But the feelings I have for that dead person?

You are harming that person also because wherever this person has taken his
next birth, wherever this person may be, you are sending vibrations of
crying. So poor person, so much agitated. He gets vibrations of misery.
Instead of that, at the end of a 10-day Vipassana course, you are taught how
to send metta, the vibrations of love and compassion. He or she will be
happy. Wherever you are, your metta vibrations will touch this person. By
giving metta, instead of crying, you will be helping this person.


Equanimity

1. What do you mean by 'being equanimous'?

When you do not react, you are equanimous.

2. Can we feel and enjoy things fully and still be equanimous?

Certainly. Life is to enjoy wholesome things. But not with an attachment to
anything. You remain equanimous and enjoy, so that when you miss it you
smile : " I knew it was going away. It has gone away. So what? " Then only
are you really enjoying life. Otherwise, you get attached, and if you miss
it, you roll in misery. So no misery. In every situation be happy.

3. Surely it is unnatural never to react?

It seems so if you have experienced only the wrong habit-pattern of an
impure mind. But it is natural for a pure mind to remain fully equanimous.
An equanimous, pure mind is full of love, compassion, healthy detachment,
goodwill, joy. Equanimity is purity. Learn to experience that.

4. How can we be involved in life unless we react?

Instead of reacting you learn to act, to act with a balanced mind. Vipassana
meditators do not become inactive, like vegetables. They learn how to act
positively. If you can change your life pattern from reaction to action,
then you have attained something very valuable. And you can change it by
practising Vipassana.

5. How is equanimity related to samadhi (concentration of the mind)?

Samadhi can be without equanimity. With the base of craving one becomes
fully concentrated. But that kind of samadhi is not right samadhi. That is
with the base of impurity. But if the samadhi is with equanimity, then it
gives wonderful results, because the mind is pure and concentrated, so it is
powerful with purity. It cannot do anything that will harm you or harm
others. But if it is powerful with impurity, it will harm others, it will
harm you. So equanimity with samadhi is helpful.

6. If someone is purposely making our life miserable - how to tolerate this
?

First of all, don't try to change the other person. Try to change yourself.
Somebody is trying to make you miserable. But you are becoming miserable
because you are reacting to this. If you learn how to observe your reaction,
then nobody can make you miserable. Any amount of misery from others cannot
make you miserable if you learn to be equanimous deep inside. Vipassana will
help you. Once you become free from misery inside, this will also start
affecting others. The same person who was harming you will start changing
little by little.

Escapism

1. How is Vipassana different from escapism?

Vipassana is to face the world. No escapism is permitted in Vipassana.

F

Fasting

1. I want to know if I can fast?

No, no. Total fasting is not good for this technique. Neither total fasting
nor overeating. It is a middle path. Eat less - what is necessary for the
body - that's all. Fasting you can do later on just for your body's sake -
that's another question. But for meditation, fasting is not necessary.

Food

1. Why is vegetarian food helpful for meditation?

When you eat meat or something, then this being - animal or fish or whatever
it is - for its whole life was generating nothing but craving, aversion,
craving, aversion. After all, human beings can find some time when they can
come out of craving and aversion. These beings cannot come out of it. So
every fibre of their body is vibrating with craving and aversion. And you
yourself want to come out of craving, aversion and you are giving an input
to all of that. So what sort of vibrations you will have. That is why it is
not good.

2. Can a non-vegetarian succeed in Vipassana?

When you come to a Vipassana course, only vegetarian food is served. But we
don't say that if you take non-vegetarian food, you will go to hell. It is
not like that. Slowly, you will come out of eating meat, like thousands of
Vipassana students have. You will naturally find there is no more need for
you to have non-vegetarian food. Your progress in Vipassana will certainly
be better if you are vegetarian.

G

God

1. Who is God?

Truth is God. Realize the truth within you, and you will realize God.

2. Is there a God who created earth?

I have not seen such a God. If you have, you are welcome to believe. For me,
truth is God, the law of nature is God, Dhamma is God, and everything is
evolving because of Dhamma, because of this law of nature. If you understand
this, and live according to the law of Dhamma, you live a good life. Whether
you believe in a supernatural God or not, makes no difference.

3. Don't we need God's power?

God's power is Dhamma's power. Dhamma is God. Truth is God. When you are
with truth, when you are with Dhamma, you are with God. Develop God's power
within yourself, by purifying your mind.

4. Are you an atheist?

(Laughs). If by 'atheist' you mean one who does not believe in God, then no,
I am not. For me, God is not an imaginary person. For me, truth is God. The
ultimate truth.

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