Vipassana

Vipassanā (Pāli) or vipaśyanā (विपश्यना, Sanskrit) in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. A regular practitioner of Vipassana is known as a Vipassi (vipaśyin). Vipassana is one of world's most ancient techniques of meditation, the inception of which is attributed to Gautama Buddha. It is a practice of self-transformation through self-observation and introspection. In English, vipassanā meditation is often referred to simply as "insight meditation".

In the Theravadin context, this entails insight into the three marks of existence. In Mahayana contexts, it entails insight into what is variously described assunyata, dharmata, the inseparability of appearance and emptiness, clarity and emptiness, or bliss and emptiness.[1]

In a broader sense, vipassanā has often been used as one of two poles for the categorization of types of Buddhist meditation, the other being samatha (Pāli; Sanskrit: śamatha). Samatha is a focusing, pacifying and calming meditation, common to many traditions in the world, notably yoga. It is used as a preparation for vipassanā, pacifying the mind and strengthening the concentration in order to allow the work of insight. In Buddhist practice it is said that, while samatha can calm the mind, only insight can reveal how the mind was disturbed to start with, which leads to prajñā (Pāli: paññā, wisdom) and jñāna (Pāli: ñāṇa, knowledge) and thus understanding, preventing it from being disturbed again.

The term is also used to refer to the modern Buddhist vipassana movement (modeled after Theravāda Buddhism meditation practices), which employs vipassanā and ānāpāna meditation as its primary techniques and places emphasis on the teachings of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. The primary initial object of investigation in that style of meditation is sensation and feeling (Skt: Vedanā).