About Vipassana Meditation 

Vipassana is nonsectarian and can be practiced by people of any culture, race, nationality or religion. Because it aims at curing the universal malady of suffering, its methods are

Assistant teachers and teachers appointed by S.N. Goenka teach Vipassana in residential ten-day silent retreats at established meditation centers and at non-center locations around the world. Some 100,000 or more people take these courses annually in scores of countries. Courses also are conducted in jails in India, the United States, and elsewhere.  [click for more...]
 

Quoting from poetry and evocative events in the lives and works of Gandhi, Shakespeare, John Muir and others, Dr. Fleischman will explore Vipassana's common ground with, and unique contribution to, the great universal stream of spiritual life. Love, compassion and devotion rise up from and conduce to the Vipassana practice which is grounded in personal realization.

Dr. Fleischman is a psychiatrist and author of The Healing Spirit, Spiritual Aspects of Psychiatric practice, Cultivating Inner Peace, and Karma and Chaos. He has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association for his unique contributions to the spiritual and humanistic aspects of medicine.

Rick Crutcher 

This talk will explore the actual words of the Buddha, as preserved in the Pali language. It will explain why the cosmology implied in his teaching has nothing to fear from the advance of modern physics and astronomy. The Buddha used the same word, loka, to describe the universe and our individual bodies. This dual sense of the universe will be carried forward to a discussion of self-observation of the body—Vipassana—as the technology of the individual's transcendence of suffering in a universal context. Correspondences in ancient and contemporary cosmology will be used to address the goal of personal liberation.

Mr. Crutcher received a B.A. in religion from Williams College and studied Pali at the Vipassana International Academy, India. Under the auspices of the Vipassana Research Institute in India, he has written, edited and published many articles and books on Vipassana. He is founder and president of Vipassana Research Publications of America, Seattle, which publishes, retails and distributes books about the Buddha's teachings and Vipassana meditation.

Peter Kerr, Ph.D

Science strives for "objectivity" while meditation seems subjective: are the two fundamentally incompatible? This lecture compares and contrasts the scientific method, its historical development and contemporary application, with Vipassana. The false dichotomy between "subjective" and "objective" will be the thread by which the union of science and Vipassana can be most fully explored. Emphasis will be placed on the role of perception, preconception, and mental purity in the experience of reality, drawing from Pali texts and scientific literature. The lecture will relate the values of science and the benefits of mental purification and clarity attained through Vipassana practice.

Dr. Kerr is an environmental chemist whose research interests have focused on the effects of acid rain on natural water systems. He is head of the water chemistry laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Environmental Institute assisting citizen-based, volunteer monitoring organizations in their quest to protect and preserve our aquatic heritage.

Lemay Henderson, M.D., M.Sc. 

This lecture will discuss the relationship between Vipassana and the basic, clinical and psycho social sciences as they relate to mind-body phenomena. A range of behaviors and conditions, including addictive and criminal behavior, will be considered as the interaction of mind, matter, science and spirituality.

Dr. Henderson is a physician who also has a masters degree in community health. Her clinical work has taken her all over Canada, from the rocks of Newfoundland to Baffin Island in the high arctic, where she has faced the entire range of general practice issues: physical, social and emotional health.

Nine-Day Preconference Retreat / Two-Day Conference

Accommodation / Cost

There is no cost for the conference. All Vipassana courses in this tradition, as well as this conference, are run strictly on a voluntary donation basis. Expenses are met by the donations of students who have completed a ten-day course, experienced the benefits of the practice, and wish to give others the same opportunity. Neither instructors, guest speakers nor staff receive any remuneration.

Registration

Preconference Retreat: please read the Code of Discipline and then complete the Application Form. Use "Massachusetts", 8/23/00 - 9/2/00, "9-day course", on the application.

Conference Registration Form (September 3-4). 

Offsite Accommodation Options -- due to the expected large numbers, we cannot guarantee on-site accommodation during the conference (September 3-4). 

Conference Schedule

"The presenters' unique analysis and insight offered invaluable information that has added new dimension to my thinking and practical applications in my work as a professional psychotherapist. I am deeply grateful to the organizers and VMC for producing such powerful learning days. It is a rare experience to attend a conference where the interface between mental health issues and meditation is so eloquently presented and so deeply explored."

Lynne C. Davis, LMHC, LMFT

"A unique educational and enlightening experience. I was impressed with the documentation about the relevance of meditation in assisting those individuals who struggle with substance abuse and various degrees of trauma. The meditation center's atmosphere of goodwill, respectfulness and wonderful hospitality allowed participants to feel welcomed and grateful for the opportunity to learn about the attributes of Vipassana's ageless benefits." 

Jonathan LaCroix, MSW

"As a professional psychologist working in public schools I have attended many conferences [but] never one as honest and insightful as this. The presentations were professional, honest, egoless and nondogmatic. Everyone's viewpoint was honored and respected. The hospitality (including the food) at the meditation center was exceptional, truly reflecting the meditation practice that is taught there. I came away seeing things from an entirely different perspective in all a wonderful experience!" 

Luis Turriago, Ph.D.