Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Vipassana: liberation through insight

Is vipassana really Buddhist? The truth about the world's most popular meditation

(Buddha's Wisdom) 🔍 IS VIPASSANA REALLY BUDDHIST? THE HIDDEN STORY BEHIND THE WORLD'S MOST PRACTICED KIND OF INSIGHT MEDITATION

Millions of people have practiced Buddhist vipassana meditation, but very few know what the word vipassanā originally meant, or how the modern movement transformed one of Buddhism's oldest insights into a global meditation phenomenon.

The powerful, practical, and effective Pa Auk Sayadaw system to Buddhist liberation (stream entry and nirvana in this very life) by scholar-monk practitioner at Pa-Auk Forest Monastery (in Burma and around the world), the most Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw (aka Bhaddanta Āciṇṇa)
What it’s like to spend a week at Pa-Auk Tawya Forest Monastery in Burma (Myanmar) | Meditation Magazine
The American Monk student of Pa Auk Sayadaw

What is insight (vipassana) meditation actually for? This word doesn't mean "meditation" at all. And the practice millions know from Goenka's free 10-day silent retreats was born not in the Buddha's proto-India, but in [George Orwell's] colonial Burma, the day an empire stopped protecting the Theravada Dhamma.

This is the true story of insight meditation: what vipassanā really means, how it nearly vanished, and how a monk, a farmer, an accountant, and a businessman carried it to the modern world.

📿 DISCOVER:

The original meaning of vipassanā and why it never simply meant "meditation"
How the fall of the Burmese kingdom sparked the modern Vipassana Movement
Why meditation was rare even among Buddhist monastics for nearly 1,000 years
Why many Buddhist teachers say today's vipassana is both ancient and surprisingly modern
The unlikely relay that saved insight practice: from Buddhist monk Ledi Sayadaw to a rice farmer to S.N. Goenka's flight home in 1969
What today's vipassana retreats, the mindfulness movement, and scientific research gained... and what may have been left behind.

🙏 If this changed what viewers thought meditation was, subscribe. The next episode uncovers the other half the world forgot: the deep stillness of jhana ("meditative absorption" as samma-samadhi or "right stillness," "coherent unification of mind") the Buddha paired with insight.

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Day 4 — inside the silence
01:54 What vipassanā really means
04:33 The ice cube — what seeing actually means
09:43 The king is gone — Mandalay, 1885
15:09 The farmer, the accountant, and the businessman
18:48 How vipassanā conquered the West
23:28 The homecoming

#vipassana #vipassanameditation #insightmeditation #buddhism #meditation #buddhistwisdom #mindfulness #theravada #buddhisthistory #goenka #Buddha

📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING: (affiliate links)

Primary Buddhist Texts
Saṃyutta Nikāya (SN 22.59) — Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta ("The Discourse on Not-Self")
Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta ("The Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse," Majjhima Nikāya, MN 10)
Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta ("The Greater Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse," Dīgha Nikāya, DN 22)
Ānāpānasati Sutta ("Discourse on Mindfulness of In-and-Out Breathing," Majjhima Nikāya, MN 118)
Selected passages from the Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification) by Buddhaghosa

Historical and Scholarly Resources

Erik Braun — The Birth of Insight: Meditation, Modern Buddhism, and the Burmese Monk Ledi Sayadaw amzn.to/4h8DnaQ
Robert Sharf on meditation in monastic history; Robert Buswell on the lapse of vipassanā practice
Bhikkhu Anālayo — works on Satipaṭṭhāna and early Buddhist meditation amzn.to/4bDh1KT
Rupert Gethin — The Foundations of Buddhism amzn.to/4wGpXr3
Bhikkhu Bodhi — translations of the Pāli canon amzn.to/4w4iJNB
Prof. Donald S. Lopez, Jr. — writings on modern Buddhism
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche — teachings on Tibetan Buddhist meditation and lhaktong (vipaśyanā)
Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Zen) — teachings on mindfulness, concentration, and insight amzn.to/4w6ILjx

Modern Scientific References

Jon Kabat-Zinn — Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) amzn.to/4yooPKg
Research on mindfulness, attention regulation, stress reduction, and contemplative neuroscience

#vipassana How this was made: Made with AI. Sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated. Learn more

The Seven (7) Levels of Buddhism

(Greg Knows All) The 7 levels of Buddhism in 27 minutes

This silly looking cartoon of a video is profound, so much so that we are included to call its maker, Greg Knows All, "Añña GREGḍañña" or "Greg who knows" (after the Buddha's very first enlightened disciple, Añña Konḍañña, "Kaundinya who knows, who see").

When the wandering ascetic Siddhartha first thought to teach and make known the Path to Enlightenment (Bodhi) and Liberation (Nirvana), what today the ancient Theravada tradition calls "Buddhism" or Buddha-Dhamma (The Doctrine of the Awakened One), he had no one to teach, no one at least whom he thought would understand. There were his wise albeit unenlightened teachers, but they were passed away and reborn in worlds where they could not be reached for a very long time. Some planes of existence are so long lasting, it's staggering. So he realized his five former companions on his spiritual quest might get it. When he taught them, one did. And that was Kondanna (Kaudinya)

He may be reading this from somewhere, possibly What the Buddha Taught or a scholarly rundown of the historical Buddha's path by Bhikkhu Bodhi or Ven. Professor Analayo. Wow, Greg.

Buddhaghosa's The Path of Purification
Guide Through the Path of Purification
Introducing [Theravada] Buddhist Abhidhamma
Sila is virtue, morality, ahimsa (nonharming)
Kasinas (discs) as Kammaṭṭhāna (one's Field of Effort in Meditation)
Monastic Disciplinary Rules (Patimokkha, the "Path to Moksha" for Buddhist nuns and monks)
The Buddha's Gradual Path of Progress does not drop off suddenly but deepens like the ocean shelf, producing its result. 1) Virtue is established to bring about peace of mind and serenity of spirit free of misgivings and worry. 2) Atop that foundation of peace and blamelessness, stillness (samadhi), profound peace of mind, is placed. 3) The crowning of this pyramid is what establishes it and makes it permanent, insight (the gnostic experience of wisdom for oneself and depending on no one's authority, direct knowing-and-seeing, personal realization)

Bruce Lee beats John Wayne's big bodyguard

WATCH: John Wayne's 350 lb. bodyguard attacks Bruce Lee — then Wayne watches him get crushed

John Wayne’s 350 lb. bodyguard attacked Bruce Lee — then watched him get crushed

(AI Bruce Lee Diaries) Backstage at a Hollywood soundstage in 1972, Bruce Lee arrived for a quiet studio meeting. What he didn’t expect was a challenge from a massive former Marine — the personal bodyguard of John Wayne.

Future of kung fu: robots?

AI robot’s first day at work at a call center ends

in full kung fu meltdown office chaos on CCTV

Who? "John Wayne was a Nazi"

(M.D.C., Millions of Dead Cops) Who's famous TV cowboy John Wayne?

Kids with Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, 1948

The man believed real combat training made movie martial arts useless. Fifteen minutes later, only a handful of crew members would witness what really happened. In this true behind-the-scenes story, discover how Bruce Lee — the star audiences knew from The Green Hornet — was openly mocked and tested in front of Wayne himself.

The 350-pound bodyguard thought size, strength, and Western military experience guaranteed him victory. What Bruce did next shocked everyone in the room — including "The [Grand] Duke."

Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do: The "Stop Fist Way"

This isn’t just another Bruce Lee legend. It’s the moment when raw Western power collided with a real Eastern understanding of movement, timing, and control — and when one of Hollywood’s toughest men learned that fighting isn’t about who’s bigger, it’s about who understands more.

For decades, this quiet backstage confrontation between Bruce Lee and John Wayne’s bodyguard stayed out of the spotlight. Now, the full story of how a 350-pound former Marine was taken down — twice — can finally be told.

#johnwayne #brucelee #truestory #hollywood #martialarts #behindthescenes. How this was made: AI sounds or visuals were altered or fully generated. Learn more

(Bruce Lee: The Untold Truth) John Wayne's bodyguard Victor Kane (6'4" 295 lbs., former MP) grabbed Bruce Lee on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show
AI Bruce Lee Diaries, Feb. 15, 2026; Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon, Sheldon S. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Jackie Chan on the great Bruce Lee

Mexico's Aztec Dance to the gods 👹

Ritual human sacrifice in the Aztec religion, real or myth? (Codex Magliabechiano/Wiki)

(Miguel Perez) Before Columbus: Danza Prehispanica de Mexico (Alta/Baja California) 2017

Catholic converts drew stories to colonial priests

The Aztec religion is a polytheistic and monistic pantheism in which the Nahua (Nahuatl, the indigenous language of Mexico) concept of teotl was construed as the supreme god Ometeotl, as well as a diverse pantheon of lesser gods and manifestations of nature [1].

The popular religion tended to embrace the mythological and polytheistic aspects, and the Aztec Empire's state religion sponsored both the monism of the upper classes and the popular heterodoxies [2].

The codices were made by Catholic priests

The most important deities were worshiped by priests in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), particularly Tlaloc and the god of the Mexica (the tribe from which the word "Mexico" derives), Huitzilopochtli, whose shrines were located on the Templo Mayor ("Main Temple").

Their priests would receive special dispensation from the empire. When other states were conquered the empire would often incorporate practices from its new territories into the mainstream religion [3].

Native American and Mexican crystal skulls from space

Bizarre Crystal Skulls found in every American civilization

Aztec Mexico has world's largest pyramid

Great Mexican Pyramid of Cholula model
The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl (Nahuatl/Mexicano for "Constructed Mountain"), is a complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. It is the world's largest pyramid (by volume) and archeological site of a pyramid (temple) in the world confirmed to exist on Earth today [1, 2], not counting massive artificial "mountains" in Bosnia, Buddhist Indonesia, Cambodia, and China, California (not lake but possibly on Colorado), Missouri (Cahokia), dark Alaska, which is four times larger than Giza, and Pyramid Peak. The adobe brick pyramid stands 82 feet (25 meters) [3] above the surrounding plain, which is significantly shorter than the Great Pyramid of Giza's height of 481 feet (146.6 meters), but much wider, measuring 984 by 1,033 feet (300 by 315 meters) in its final form [3], compared to the Great Pyramid's base dimensions of 756 by 756 feet (230.3 by 230.3 meters) [4]. This holy pyramid is a temple that traditionally has been viewed as having been dedicated to the feathered serpent (naga) god Quetzalcoatl [5]. The architectural style of the building was linked closely to that of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico, with influence from the Gulf Coast evident as well, especially from El Tajín [6]. More
The world's largest pyramid is not in Egypt
An Inglorious Columbus: or, Evidence that Hwui Shan and a Party of Buddhist Monks from Afghanistan Discovered America in the Fifth Century, A.D. (Edward Payson Vining, 1885)
How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America (Rick Fields)

In common with many other indigenous Mesoamerican civilizations, the Aztecs put great ritual emphasis on calendrics, and scheduled festivals, government ceremonies, and even war around key transition dates in the Aztec calendar [4].

Aztec calendar, often seen in depictions of more sophisticated Mexican Mayan Calendar

Maya Calendars: How did the Maya count time with moving gears? | TheCollector

Pok ta pok ballgame (Mesoamerican ballgame) Native Maya Indians in Mexico

They built massive sports complexes like the Great Ball Court in Chichen Itza, Mexico

Quetzalcóatl (Aztec religion)

Public ritual practices could involve food, storytelling, and dance, as well as ceremonial warfare, the Mesoamerican ballgame (precursor of football, soccer, and basketball), and human sacrifice (a tribute to appease bloodthirsty gods of military service and slaughter) [5].

The cosmology of Aztec religion divides the world into 13 heavens and nine earthly layers or netherworlds [6]. The first heaven overlaps with the first terrestrial layer, so that heaven and the terrestrial layers meet at the surface of the Earth, where we are.

The celestial entities of "shining ones" (sky devas)

Each level is associated with a specific set of deities and astronomical objects. The most important celestial entities in Aztec religion are the Sun, the Moon, and the planet Venus (as both "Morning Star" and "Evening Star") [7].

Convert or die: Become Catholic

After Conquest by Spain, Aztec people were forced to convert to Catholicism, and the two religions syncretized.

In this religion, your black magic blood sacrifice will come from a scapegoat, who is the God Himself disguised as a human to pay Himself a ransom for your eternal soul washed in blood: You have to accept it, or we'll kill you. And let our priests molest your kids because they don't have wives. The Vatican orders it. Don't worry. His Mom is very nice and will do lots of favors for you.

Let me just liberate your iishti so you can go back to the Son, I mean Sun (Codex Laud, f.8)

This syncretism is evidenced by the Virgin of Guadalupe [8] and the Day of the Dead. More: Aztec religion

Short Attn Span Theater: strange, DMT🤯

Wait, wait! What are you talking about, Chase Hughes? Why brain won't allow change

WARNING: Basketball Violence

I've had it with God, Krishna and Jesus

(Life of BeerBiceps) How Lord Krishna and Jesus Christ are related: Sindu/Hinduism+Christianity

A Hindu's Crisis of Faith

(Neo Dharmism) I stopped feeling God's presence — Hinduism had an answer I didn't expect

Great Lord Krishna of Hinduism
Hindu Lord Vishnu (the Preserver), Narayana, Hari, the Supreme god of Vaishnavism. [This is a beautiful avatar so much so that the Buddha, the Christ, and the dark Lord Krishna (whose name means "black" Kānha, Sanskrit कान्हा, "The dark-complexioned beloved one" 108 Names of Shri Krishna) are said to be avatars and incarnations or emanations of this god. Of course, in the case of the historical Buddha, this can't be quite right. It is a beautiful sentiment, indeed, but the Buddha is not reborn here or elsewhere, is not a "god," and rises beyond the gods.
Radha and Krishna=Jesus and Mary
As for a historical Jesus, maybe, but surely most Christians (or perhaps they should more rightly be labelled Jesuits or Jesevites) would not like to think that their all-powerful, supreme controller, creator of the entire universe were an avatar of a neighboring faith, in spite of the fact that Jesus practiced Hinduism to some extent or was exposed to it in his 18 years of travel in Tibet and India (Nicolas Notovitch). However, the title avatar may well apply to Lord Krishna, the central object of veneration and faith in popular Hinduism today, sometimes rivaling Lord Shiva and the great Goddesses Lakshmi, Sarawati, Parvati, Kali, Ma Durga, and his consort Radha.]
Ishtadeva or Ishtadevata (Sanskrit इष्ट देव(ता), iṣṭa-deva(tā), literally the "cherished divinity" from iṣṭa, "personal, liked, preferred, cherished" and devatā, "deity, divinity, godhead, tutelary deity" or deva, "deity"), is a term used in Hinduism denoting a worshipper's favorite deity [1, 2] or favorite form of the deity if approached from a monotheistic or henotheistic point of view. More

Buddhist monk left Science: Matthieu Ricard

(Study Buddhism) The Western Nepalese Vajrayana Buddhist monk (lama) who left Western science behind: Dr. Matthieu "Happiest Person in the World" Ricard on finding human perfection

Tao Te Ching, world's 2nd most translated book

(Flowing Void) The Tao Te Ching ("Book of Changes") explained in simple words

Why won't brain allow change, Chase Hughes?

Chase Hughes needs to be silenced at all costs. Destroy him. Start with his reputation.

Why 100% of scientists Chase Hughes knows agree that DMT experiences and entities are NOT hallucinations 🤯

(Chase Hughes) The biological BRAIN won't let us change -- until this happens

The Passport for PUA players

Liven: Take a 3-minute quiz. Is your brain working against you? Discover what's keeping you stuck and finally break the cycle. This journey is intended to help you better understand your patterns and structure your experiences. Treat this quiz as a moment of honest reflection.
Liven is not related to Chase Hughes and is not intended to replace professional diagnosis, treatment, or therapy. Everyone's experience is unique. Results may vary. Experiencing medical or mental health concerns? Please reach out to a licensed healthcare professional.

People (operatives?) who hate Chase Hughes want to shut him up

The Passport by Chase Hughes (2007)

Who is Chase Hughes? (Zach Elwood wants to tell us on the behavior-podcast.com, The Chase Hughes podcast series. Here's a shot from the back cover of Chase Hughes' 2007 pick-up artist book The Passport.

Chase Hughes' 2007/2008 website allegedly sold a supplement he called "Redshift with Neuridium." He claimed it was used by "all branches of the United States Armed Forces" and that it had "international recognition," neither of which seems to be the case.

I'm a handsome success. Buy from me.

Why is Chase Hughes popular? Chase has appeared on popular podcasts and shows, including Joe Rogan's podcast, the podcast Diary of a CEO (as seen in the clip above), and the Dr. Phil Show.

There are a lot of people leaving positive reviews for his books on Amazon.com and his YouTube videos.

But the truth is, haters say, that Chase Hughes has been lying about his credentials and experiences for most of his adult life. His "success" and popularity are based on a few factors.

(Liven) PRIVATE RESULTS: Your ADHD patterns suggest your brain may be locked in an avoidance cycle — treating important tasks as low-level threats and redirecting your energy toward anything that offers immediate relief. This is often fueled by years of accumulated pressure between high capability and low output. Over time, this can take a significant toll — chronic procrastination, task paralysis, and a widening gap between your intentions and your actions. This cycle is extremely difficult to break through willpower alone, as your neurology is prioritizing short-term safety over long-term execution.