Goenka, S. N.

Autor: Goenka, S. N.
Rok: 1924-2013
Oblast působnosti: učitelé

Biogr./Hist. údaje: Barmský hinduista indického původu, duchovní učitel.
Zdroj: Autoritní databáze Národní knihovny ČR

Satya Narayan Goenka (30 January 1924 – 29 September 2013), commonly known as S.N. Goenka, was a Burmese-Indian teacher of Vipassanā meditation. Born in Burma of Indian descent, he became a student of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, under whom he trained for 14 years. In 1969, with Ba Khin's blessing, he relocated to India where he established a meditation centre at Igatpuri, near Nashik in 1976. His teaching was notable for its emphasis that the Buddha's path to liberation was not a sectarian religion but a universal path of knowledge that was fundamentally scientific in character. In time he became an influential pioneer of Vipassana meditation initially in India then throughout the world where he established a network of meditation centres. He trained more than 1300 assistant teachers who conduct courses using recordings of Goenka, and today more than 120,000 people attend Goenka-led Vipassana courses each year.The technique that Goenka taught represents a tradition that is traced back to the Buddha. However, there is no requirement to convert to any religious belief system. Goenka explained that, "The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal" and presented his teachings as non-sectarian and open to people of all faiths or no faith. "Liberation" in this context means freedom from impurities of mind and, as a result of the process of cultivating a pure mind, freedom from suffering. Goenka describes Vipassana meditation as an experiential scientific practice, in which one observes the constantly changing nature of the mind and body at the deepest level, through which one gains a profound self-knowledge that leads to a truly happy and peaceful life.Goenka was invited to address the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders on 29 August 2000 at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New York City where he received repeated standing ovations. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2012.