Which is the better type of meditation, Zen or Vipassana?

This is a question that I'm often asked by new meditators, because they hear about Zen meditation retreats from one group of friends, and Vipassana meditation retreats from another group of friends. Or they go to a bookstore and find that, on the Buddhism shelf, half the books are about Zen meditation and the other half are about Vipassana meditation.

If that's a question you've asked yourself as you've explored Buddhist meditation, here's a story that probably won't help you at all, but at least you'll find it entertaining.

(BTW, I often tell this story before pointing out that there are *other* options… like the Instant Advanced Meditation techniques from the I AM Course.)

One of the first Western Vipassana teachers is a woman named Ruth Dennison. Ruth had a Zen meditation background before she went to Burma and met her Vipassana teacher, U Ba Khin.  After studying with U Ba Khin, she went back to Japan, and once a day, at a particular time, she would do her Vipassana practice.

After a while, her Zen teacher asked what she was doing, and she explained the practice that U Ba Khin taught her, explaining how she was putting her attention on the changing nature of the sensations that she experienced throughout her body.

Her teacher pulled her aside almost conspiratorially.  "That's a very ancient Zen practice and it's only taught to a few rare students every generation," he said.

I'm not telling you the story to suggest that if you're making a choice in meditation zen or Vipassana, that one is better or worse than the other. Merely to suggest, perhaps, the exact opposite idea: that is that may not be as important to pick the one you think is better. Just pick a meditation technique you enjoy and go with it.

Next Post: Jerry Seinfeld's Zen meditation retreat

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