Finding a Vipassana Teacher in a pandemic

Question

I have been having questions from time to time about my practise. I do the cushion practise once a day in the morning for half an hour and try to follow the five precepts through the day.

A lot of times through the day I have questions that make me feel like I need to discuss this with someone who is more experienced than I am.

How does one "find a teacher" that can help me customise path & methods for a better practise?

I live in a city called Bombay, in India.

Any help and/or insight appreciated.

PS: I have had the privilege of learning through a 10-day SN Goenka Vipassana Retreat once. :)

-With Love & Chai.

Answer 1

Ven. Yuttadhammo, who was formerly a moderator of Buddhism.SE, heads the Sirimangalo International Meditation Centre in Ontario, Canada. He was a student of Ven. Ajaan Tong Sirimangalo.

He teaches vipassana meditation, which is very beneficial.

You can find his meditation e-books online:

• How to Meditate
• How to Meditate II

The "How to Meditate" e-book is based on meditation lessons taught by Ven. Yuttadhammo, which can be found in this YouTube video playlist.

Sirimangalo International Meditation Centre has an online at-home meditation course:

At-Home Meditation Course

For those seeking to undertake a Meditation course at home, please visit this link https://meditation.sirimangalo.org/course (you may need to sign up and log in).

You will need access to headphones and a microphone. Further instructions on how to book an appointment and connect for your session/appointment are given on the page with the link above. Our at-home meditation students meet weekly with a teacher. Completion time for the course varies.

We recommend to read the booklet by Venerable Yuttadhammo on which our meditation practice is based. It can be found here http://htm.sirimangalo.org.

And it also has the online Meditation+ program - through which you can ask questions directly to Ven. Yuttadhammo himself:

Meditation+

We call our online meditation group Meditation+ and it is located at http://meditation.sirimangalo.org.

Here you can join together with other meditators in our tradition to log in your meditation time and help yourself to establish a regular practice . You can also communicate with fellow meditators through a live chat function. Meditation+ can be used on any computer or device as it is a mobile friendly site.

The site feature the following:

• a list of all meditation sessions in progress
• a live chat with emoticons
• a log of total minutes of the site’s meditation by hour of day for the past month
• a list of commitments that can be undertaken by members and tracked for fulfillment
• a page to submit questions which Venerable Yuttadhammo answers on the Wednesday night Q & A session on YouTube

For especially dedicated meditators, there is even the opportunity to meet weekly with Venerable Yuttadhammo via Google Hangouts for private meditation instruction. (See Schedule tab at Meditation+.) Please note, booking a weekly appointment must be done from a computer or other large screen device to display properly.

We invite you to join us.

Answer 2

For students who have already done a course one can use the mobile app: Dhamma.org Mobile App.

Also, some centres have organised online group sittings for old students: https://pamoda.dhamma.org/en/os-vipassana/online-group-sits/

Answer 3

Young householder,

The Power of Judgment and Association with People of Integrity are useful helps, following the Buddhas advices, to find a good teacher. Sure good to do such search in monasteries or other places away from worldly interests, of course, since importand to access a borderland. And at least, not to forget!, the most raw Vipassana training starts with basics, such as performing basic merits, generosity, service. Where ever such can be done for virtuous, there one may find his teacher toward right path soon.

[note that this isn't given for stacks, exchange, trade... but to get out of this wheel]