There is a peaceful place in the North of Thailand, between an ancient Buddhist temple and a tiny lake from where you can admire breath-taking sunrises and sunsets.
A Vipassana Meditation Center was founded there in 1993 by Phra Ajarn Tong. Few years later, it opened up to students coming from all over the world, with different backgrounds, religions and ages.
The vipassana meditation Center is so well integrated with the rest of the town that you can't really tell where it starts or ends. Students can walk to the temple and to the shops nearby if really needed but they must keep wearing the provided white clothes and are encouraged to minimise exploration as much as they can.
On day 1 I was so exhausted by the long trip to get there that, on my way back from shopping, I found myself literally lost! As technology is not permitted, I had left my phone home and I couldn't even remember the name of the center to ask around.
After few attempts I made home, reflecting on how much I needed to be more present.
And few days later, when already familiar with the place, I realised that:
that day I wasn't lost at all. I couldn't simply recognise I was in the right place.
none was really checking how strictly we were following rules, precepts or schedule. We were all on our own journey in building our own self discipline and, at the end of the day, each and everyone of us had to deal with what following or breaking rules brought to us anyway...
each day some new faces were replacing those leaving without even having the chance to say goodbye. And when my last day came I felt the impermanence of things as never before.
in our busy world few people make time to contemplate sunsets and sunrises, but almost none stops to contemplate twilight, which is when the sky changes colour the most. And only if you are prepared to let the previous moment go, you can then fully experience the magic of the new one, over and over again, even when it gets darker, foggier or brighter.
While the sky is for me the closet metaphor I can think of for vipassana, what does this have to do with mindfulness and leadership?
Pretty much cause vipassana means to see the true nature of reality.
It is a direct and intuitive understanding of the nature of all phenomena.
Based on Four Satipattana (Sati is often translated as mindfulness, Pattana as Foundation), the practice of mindfulness or sati consists of moment to moment mindful contemplation with attentiveness and recollection upon all activities of:
body
feelings (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral)
mind (hearing, thinking, remembering etc)
mind objects (sensory cravings, anger /ill will, sloth or torpor, restlessness / worry, doubts).
Basically, any time you observe something about the above, your job is to simply acknowledge it, name it, and then go back to the exercise given by your teacher until you notice that it is gone. You will be surprised to observe how big is the role of your mind and see how everything is impermanent, even your physical pain, your own truth that may be proven wrong the next moment and - luckily! - also the endless Buddha day chanting ceremonies :) !
And this is when leadership comes into the equation: only if you are truly present, detaching from your own theories, you can see the nature of reality as it is and, based on that, make better decisions in each single moment of your life.
It requires constant self discipline to let our past go / not to worry about the future simply because, weather we believe we are the most powerful person in the world or last of the least, we tend to forget that the only thing we can truly control is ourselves and how we respond to what we are experiencing right here, right now.
A leader stays calm and mindful whatever it comes, welcoming both challenges and glories as moments/opportunities to learn.
It is not easy to put in words such an experience considering also the full immersion in the Thai culture by feeding ourselves with authentic food and traditions. I am sure that many more insights will emerge. What I can tell now is that my 9 days Vipassana retreat, at the beginning of my 9 months trip in Asia, were a wonderful PRESENT that I will hopefully treasure for the rest of my life, moment by moment of course!
And you? How present are you and what do you do about it?
Check my comments below if you want to read more around practicalities and do share your thoughts!
Comments:
Right after 9 days of a vipassana retreat, yet to be processed by my mind and body, I can already see a big shift in me. For instance:
I arrived so exhausted that I immediately caught an annoying cough. I left restored and healthy even if I did not have the possibility to sleep as much I wanted to!
that what is true today may be wrong tomorrow!
my meditation sessions went from 20 minutes to 1 hour and on the last day I even managed to have 2h in row!
My sitting position improved so much that the pain at the end of way-longer-sessions was no longer there.
How was that possible?
By following - and sometimes I must admit by breaking - rigid rules like:
waking up at 4am
meditating until breakfast at 6 am
meditating until lunch at 11 am
meditating until bedtime at 10 pm
starting all over again the next day.
During breaks we:
could only speak to our teacher during our scheduled 30 minutes per day (we could ask for more if needed). During these sessions we could ask any questions and we were instructed on how to meditate for the rest of the day.
should avoid any type of distractions like technology, reading, writing, doing sport. The only pleasant thing I found was walking around the nearby lake at the beginning and end of the day when the temperature was a bit more temperate.
were invited to participate to the very interesting but endless chanting ceremonies with buddhist monks and nuns at the temple. While the cultural shock was an extra challenge, this is what you need to learn about yourself.Â