The tour’s second leg in Canada came to an end today. The Dhamma Caravan left Dhamma Suttama and travelled a short distance through the windy roads of Quebec countryside dotted with gentle hills, rolling meadows and quaint little towns.

The Caravan entered the US through a small entry post within a half hour of leaving Dhamma Suttama. It continued its way through the green mountains of Vermont and reached the KOA campsite in Littleton in the evening. This was the last ‘travel day’ of the tour.

Day Hundred and Twelve (July 30) (Boston, Mass., USA)

Caravan Crew

Since there was no scheduled event in the morning, Goenkaji decided to use the time to meet some of the volunteers on the Caravan. Some of them had never sought any interview with him though they were with the Caravan for weeks. He met with them individually. They had an opportunity to express their gratitude in person and sought guidance on their practice. Goenkaji expressed joy and appreciation for the selfless service they had rendered.

John Hancock Center

Throughout the tour Goenkaji had talked to many business people. Today again he talked to an audience of invited businesspeople at the John Hancock Center.

Goenkaji explained that as one becomes more and more successful and acquires more and more material wealth, there is more and more attachment. Material comforts and sensual pleasures lead to fear of losing them. Thus one lives a life full of anxiety and fear.

He then went on to narrate his own story and how Vipassana changed his life.

Charity

He also talked about how to give donation properly. For any donation to contribute to the peace and harmony of an individual and that of the society, the volition behind the donation has to be that of compassion and goodwill.

When one earns money there is tendency to develop a big ego. And as long as there is ego, there is no peace. On the one hand a householder has to earn money. On the other hand, the money tends to generate ego in you. This is why a good meditator understands that one is not only earning for one’s own maintenance and the maintenance of all those who depend on one but one is also earning for others. Others have a share in one’s earning. Then the ego becomes less and less.

A donation is given according to one's own capacity. It is immaterial whether one gives less or more. One gives with a pure mind, not expecting anything in return. Donation becomes impure when one expects something in return.

The charity that comes with the volition to serve others, with the wish to see others come out of their misery helps one on the path to real peace.

Because a business person earns more, it is all the more important for him or her to use part of this earning for the benefit of society.

Spiritual Attainments

At the end of the talk, Goenkaji’s was asked about his spiritual attainments. He replied that his life should reflect his attainments. If one’s so called spiritual attainments do not translate into actual upright behaviour in life then they are useless.

When one looks for a particular experience in meditation instead of checking whether it has really made one a happier and more peaceful person, then one misses the whole purpose behind Vipassana. Attachment to these experiences in meditation generate ego and bring further misery.

Day Hundred and Thirteen (July 31) (Boston, Mass., USA)

Kresge Auditorium, MIT

Again in the morning, Goenkaji spent time with the Caravan crew that had served him during the tour.

In the evening he spoke at the Kresge auditorium at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Goenkaji expressed joy that he was speaking in the great city that has so many world-renowned educational institutions.

He explained that Vipassana is a scientific way of understanding yourself.

At the end of the talk he was asked about miracles and meditation. Goenkaji replied that the greatest miracle is when a miserable person comes out of misery. All other miracles are irrelevant.

Another question was about modern scientific discoveries and the Buddha’s insights into material phenomena. Goenkaji replied that the Buddha certainly knew a lot more than he actually taught. The Buddha discovered so many truths on his journey of exploration of the mind and matter phenomenon. But he taught only that which was relevant to liberation from misery. Once while travelling through a big jungle with the Bhikkhu Sangha, the Buddha took a handful of leaves in his hand and said that what he knows can be compared to all the leaves in the big jungle and what he teaches to the handful of leaves in his hand. But he teaches only this much because this is all that is necessary and relevant for liberation from suffering.

Goenkaji was also asked why he doesn’t speak much about advanced stages of meditation in his public talks and even during his ten-day courses. Goenkaji replied that theory and practice must go hand in hand. Intellectual knowledge of the so-called higher stages of meditation would not only be useless to someone who has no such experience but also an obstacle to this progress. Goenkaji said that the Dhamma is like a great ocean that slopes slowly from the shore and becomes deeper and deeper as one goes further from the shore. The Dhamma is also profound and deep as one progresses more and more on the path of Dhamma.

After the talk The Caravan drove to Dhamma Dhar±, theVipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne Falls. They reached there after 1am.

Day Hundred and Fourteen (August 1) (Dhamma Dhara, Shelburne Falls, Mass.USA)

VMC: Twenty Years of Service

Dhamma Dhara, theVipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne Falls is popularly knows as VMC among meditators here. It was the first center established in North America and has been serving people for the last twenty years. The meditators and especially all those Dhamma workers who have served there in the last twenty years were very happy that Goenkaji was visiting the center on its twentieth anniversary. When the center was purchased there were many young and enthusiastic meditators who volunteered their time and skills to build the center. Some of them were present during Goenkaji’s current visit.

Goenkaji gave the concluding session of metta practice to the thirty-day course in the morning. Then he met with many meditators from the course at noon.

In the evening he meditated in the central meditation cell of the beautiful and quiet pagoda. It was a great opportunity for many to be able to meditate in the presence of their teacher in one of the oldest meditation pagodas in the tradition. All felt refreshed in spite of the long work-day and stifling heat throughout the day.

One of the participants in the sitting was a meditator who had given a lot of service at the VMC and who was dying from cancer. He and his meditator wife had earlier met Goenkaji and told him that they remained joyful and equanimous in the face of impending death. Goenkaji was happy to see a shining example of the courage and equanimity one derives from Dhamma.

Dispersed Crew

Because the center was packed with meditators, the Caravan crew dispersed and had to be accommodated in different places. Some stayed in the houses of other meditators adjacent to the centre. Some tried to finish various tasks before the end of the tour, some took a well-earned rest and some took the opportunity to meditate as much as possible at the center.

Day Hundred and Fifteen (August 2) (VMC, Shelburne Falls, Mass., USA)

Meeting Meditators

Goenkaji spent most of the day meeting meditators and answering their questions. He also walked around the property with the local teachers. It was a nostalgic walk for Goenkaji and Mataji as they remembered the various stages of development of this first center in the West.

At noon, he gave a question and answer session in the Dhamma hall that was full with meditators.

In the evening he met with the trustees and senior Dhamma workers along with assistant teachers. He emphasized that the assistant teachers and teachers have more experience in Dhamma work and the trustees should listen to their advice. He asked assistant teachers and teachers to be actively involved in all major decisions in the center, especially when there is a lot of expenditure involved.

Day Hundred and Sixteen (August 3) (VMC, Shelburne Falls, Mass., USA)

One Day Course

Meditators came from all over the continent for the opportunity to meditate with their Teacher in a one-day course at VMC. Goenkaji gave Anapana and Vipassana to the students of the one-day course.

Later in the evening he again met meditators.

Packing

Mataji had a big job at hand as she started packing for their departure the next day to New York. The motorhomes would not be used on this final leg of the North American part of the tour as Goenkaji and Mataji would be staying in an apartment. Goenkaji continued with his work while she was packing. She finished most of the packing today.

Some volunteers took care of packing the kitchen equipment, the books and other things that the Caravan had carried throughout the tour.

Some of the volunteers who had earlier left the Caravan due to other responsibilities came back to VMC and joyfully met with the volunteers who had taken over their duties.

Day Hundred and Seventeen (August 4) (VMC, Shelburne Falls, Mass., USA)

Remembering Goenkaji

Goenkaji gave a talk in the Helen Hill Hills Chapel in the Smith College in Northampton in the evening. When Goenkaji came to the U. S. in the year 2000, he had given a talk at the same venue.

Goenkaji talked about how he came to Dhamma; how he was full of doubts about the Buddha’s teaching in the beginning and how he was convinced of its benefits by practice and how all his doubts were dispelled when he read the words of the Buddha.

There were many questions after the talk. One question was about how Goenkaji would like to be remembered by the future generations. He replied, “Why remember me? Remember the teaching of the Buddha. That is all that matters.”

After the talk was over Goenkaji returned to a parking lot where his motorhome was parked. He ate his dinner—the last meal he would eat in this motor home. This was the last time the two main vehicles of the Caravan were together. Most of the other vehicles had already separated. The motor home that housed their kitchen was taken back to VMC.

It was quite late when Goenkaji’s motor home started its journey to New York. It reached Manhattan around 3 am. It was almost 4 am before the necessary things were moved from the motor home and the apartment was set up properly. Goenkaji’s “car house”, as he called his motor home, left immediately back to Dhamma Dhar±.

Day Hundred and Eighteen (August 5) (Manhattan / Queens / Manhattan, New York, USA)

Monkey Mind

Goenkaji gave a public talk in the Sheraton Hotel, Queens in the evening. There is a vibrant expatriate Chinese meditator community in Queens. They had organized Goenkaji’s talk in the same venue during Goenkaji’s visit in the year 2000.

The talk was translated into Mandarin.

In a Vipassana course Goenkaji narrates how the mind is so fickle. It keeps jumping from one object to another all the time like a restless monkey jumping from one branch to another. In this talk Goenkaji again explained that we have a monkey mind and that we can train it using awareness of breath.

The mind becomes progressively sharper as one keeps one’s attention on the area below the nostrils and above the upper lip. A sharper mind is able to feel subtler realities in this area. Later on a meditator is taught to be aware of all the sensations throughout the body.

Goenkaji answered questions from the audience at the end of the talk and then met with some of the meditators as well as their family members afterwards.

Day Hundred and Nineteen (August 6) (Manhattan, New York, USA)

Exhibition Gallery in the Global Pagoda

The remaining crew members hoped that this would be relatively free day but Goenkaji had other plans.

Goenkaji set out in the morning to look at the Museum of Natural History to see how information could be made available to people using modern technology. This was in a way an educational tour for Goenkaji wherein he learned about displays in modern museums.

The exhibition gallery in the Global Pagoda will give historical information about the Buddha and his teaching. It will help remove many misunderstandings that the people of India have about the Buddha and his teaching. Goenkaji is looking for effective ways to do this. He already has an outline of the contents in the gallery but wants to use the most effective ways to present it to people.

He saw in the Museum of Natural History how various dioramas are displayed. He also saw the modern interactive ways of educating people.

He then decided to visit the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration where he saw how a serious subject matter is explained. Again he was interested in novel ways of presenting information to people. Centuries of false propaganda had given a bad name to the Buddha’s teaching. The Global Pagoda will be a focal point of correcting that misinformation.

It was late in the evening before he returned to his apartment.

Day Hundred and Twenty (August 7) (New York, USA / London, UK / Brussels, Belgium)

India’s Role in the Spread of Dhamma

Goenkaji took the opportunity to give a Sangha D±na at the New York Vihara, which was kindly made available by Ven. Piyatissa Mahathera. So many meditators took the opportunity to visit the Vihara and to serve virtuous monks even though it was a working day and it was arranged on short notice. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi Mahathera had kindly consented to be present at the Sangha D±na. Goenkaji, Mataji and so many Vipassana meditators felt so happy to serve the monks.
The ambassadors of the permanent commissions of Myanmar and Sri Lanka also took the opportunity to come and join in this meritorious deed.
Ven. Bodhi Mahathera gave a short speech at the end of paritta chanting. He said that the mankind is facing two extremist evils.
The first, rampant materialism, is pushing mankind to hedonism. Corporate greed and materialism are causing an expanding gap between the rich and the poor, thus further destabilizing human society.
The second evil, religious fundamentalism, is eroding the values of tolerance and mutual understanding and leading to fanatical outbursts of violence, often taking as its toll the lives of many innocent people.
The Mahathera said that the message of the Buddha-Dhamma is needed today. He expressed appreciation for the work of Goenkaji. He added that Goenkaji taught in a way that is acceptable to people in modern society, especially those who don't already have devotion to the Buddha. Goenkaji's emphasis on experiential wisdom strikes a chord in the mind of today's scientific and rational generation. This has enabled him to take the Buddha's teaching to people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds all over the world.
"Most importantly", the Mahathera added, "Goenkaji's efforts and success in the revival of the Buddha's teaching in India are extremely valuable. The world looks upon India as the home of spirituality. For the followers of the Buddha, India has even more significance. Unfortunately, in the last millennium India suffered both in the field of spirituality and material progress. Goenkaji's early success in bringing Vipassana to all sections of the Indian society is a good sign. It is important for India to become strong in Dhamma so as to be the driving force behind the revival of the Buddha Dhamma around the world."
Goenkaji spoke after Ven. Bodhi Mahathera. He thanked the Sangha for giving him the opportunity to serve them and expressed gratitude to the Sangha for preserving pariyatti and paµipatti. He echoed Ven. Bodhi Mahathera's sentiments on the relevance of the Buddha's teaching in today's world.
Immediately after the Sangha D±na at the New York Vihara, Goenkaji and Mataji were taken to the airport. Only a few of the Caravan crew were there to bid them goodbye. They flew out in the early evening for Brussels via London.

Day Hundred and Twenty One (August 8) (Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium)

Arrival in Europe

Goenkaji and Mataji had agreed to stop in Europe on the way back from America. They arrived in the Brussels airport on the morning of August 8 and were taken to Dhamma Pajjota.

The torrential rain the day before had failed to dampen the enthusiasm of Dhamma workers who had arrived from all over Europe. As Goenkaji’s car drove in, they were seen painting the road-front building, cleaning the campus etc.

Goenkaji’s residence was on the top floor of the three-storey building at the centre. This building serves as the residential building for the students as well as for assistant teachers. Goenkaji has difficulty climbing steps due a knee injury that he suffered several years ago. Whenever he stays in a building where there is no elevator, a stair-lift is installed temporarily. In Dhamma Pajjota, a Scalamobile (a chair operated by another person that lifts [or lowers] it from one step to the next) was hired for Goenkaji. A local assistant teacher took on the responsibility of operating the Scalamobile.

Large dormitory tents had been erected at the Centre to accommodate the students arriving from all over Europe and beyond.

There were no formal engagements on this day.

Day Hundred and Twenty Two (August 9) (Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium)

Violence vs. Firm Discipline

Goenkaji gave a press conference on the morning of August 9. Print media and television reporters had come to Dhamma Pajjota. When asked about the purpose of his tour Goenkaji said that it was to take the message of Dhamma to the maximum number of people. He gets to meet and inspire his students in different parts of the world but more than that he gets an opportunity to attract non-meditators to Vipassana through his public talks and media interviews.

He said that he was happy to see that the Buddha’s pragmatic teaching is gaining increasing acceptance in the West. He emphasized that only a healthy mind can bring peace to the world.

One journalist asked the difference between violence and strict disciplinary action. Goenkaji explained that one can take a very strong physical and vocal action if necessary but with the base of compassion. When one lacks compassion, one’s actions become violent and ineffective.

Not my Centres

When asked about ‘your centres’, Goenkaji was quick to correct the reporter. “Vipassana centres are not my centres. They belong to the Vipassana meditators. They build them and run them as per the principles of Vipassana laid down by me.”

Infirm Body, Firm Mind

Answering a question about his own advanced age and hence of death, he said that the body is bound to become old, decayed and frail; it is bound to get afflicted with various sicknesses but the mind remains healthy with the practice of Vipassana. Talking of fear, he said, “When one lives in the present moment, one becomes fearless.”

In the television interview he exhorted viewers to come and give Vipassana a try. “Don’t be afraid. Come and see for yourself. It is not a cult or a ‘foreign’ faith. It is a simple mental exercise that keeps the mind healthy and happy.”

How Will Vipassana Last?

One reporter asked him whether he is worried that Vipassana won’t last for a long time after him. He said that he has no such worries. As long as the purity of the technique is maintained and Vipassana centres operate on a non-commercial basis, Vipassana will certainly last. The Buddha’s words will act as a guiding beacon whenever there is doubt. The practice matches the words of the Buddha. He warned that merely reading the words of the Buddha is not going to help as without actual practice one can easily misinterpret them.

In the evening he gave an evening public talk in the nearby city of Hasselt at the Cultural Centre there. The talk, entitled “Inner Peace for a better World”, attracted a houseful crowd. Goenkaji’s talk was translated into Dutch by a meditator.

Even the word “Vipassana” is new to most of the world but now people are slowly understanding that is beneficial, non-sectarian, giving results here-and-now, involving no conversion from one organized religion to another organized religion.

As usual the talk was followed by a lively question and answer session.

Day Hundred and Twenty Three (August 10) (Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium)

Biggest Course Outside of South Asia

A one-day course was scheduled at Dhamma Pajjota. The Meditation Hall, a large tent, accommodated about 800 students from 20 different countries. This was the biggest course ever held outside of South Asia.

Goenkaji came into the Hall to give Vipassana.

At the same time as the course was going on a film crew from Reuters arrived to film the day’s events. It recorded some scenes of the one-day course throughout the site. Goenkaji gave an interview with the film crew, as did the conducting teacher and four students.

Immediate response from the Reuters work followed later in the day with a three-minute slot on the 7 p.m. news of a national Belgian TV station. It was the second item on the news and showed the Dhamma Pajjota site and extracts of an interview with the conducting teacher, another assistant teacher and a student.

A big contingent of French meditators including expatriate Cambodians had hired a bus to come to Dhamma Pajjota from Paris. The Cambodian community of meditators had prepared sumptuous Cambodian food for meditators on the one-day course, which was supplemented by delicious food prepared by meditators in Dhamma Pajjota. Their service was obviously much appreciated!

During the lunch break Goenkaji gave an hour for questions and answers with the students. For most of the students this was the first chance to meet with Goenkaji and to meditate in his presence.

The one-day course came to a happy conclusion with a tea and delectable pies baked in a nearby bakery by meditators. The day remained sunny and warm. Though meditators spoke different languages, communication didn’t seem a problem as they talked to each other at the end of the course and later on. Many meditators stayed on for the entire weekend at the centre.

Day Hundred and Twenty Four (August 11) (Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium)

European Union—Unity Among Meditators

Sunday was reserved for various trusts and groups of meditators from around Europe (and Israel) to meet with Goenkaji. This was a chance for both the countries with centres and those beginning to develop courses, like Serbia and Scandinavia, to discuss their problems and responsibilities with him. Goenkaji said that each of the European countries should have a legal organization and each country should have a Vipassana centre. He said that if founding a Vipassana centre was beyond the current means of the trust, they should make an effort start a Dhamma House. He praised the unity shown by meditators. Dhamma Pajjota in Belgium is a wonderful example of meditators transcending national and linguistic boundaries to come together for the Dhamma. When the centre was bought most of the seed money came from the German meditators and now most of the Dhamma workers at this centre are Dutch.

As Goenkaji keeps saying—true spirituality always unites people. Dhamma Pajjota is a shining example of what Goenkaji says.

The students staying at Dhamma Pajjota volunteered to take care of all the tasks that needed to be done. Because of their service the centre management had hired the tents but had not hired anyone to help to erect and take the tents down. This was done by meditators and saved precious d±na money.

In the evening Goenkaji gave an interview to a magazine columnist and also met with some of the teachers who had come from different European countries. Around 10.30 pm he met with the building committee including two meditator architects to review the proposed building plan of the centre.

Day Hundred and Twenty Five (August 12)
(Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium / Vught, Netherlands / Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium)

Spirituality in Business but no Business of Spirituality

Goenkaji had been invited to be the keynote speaker at the Spirit in Business Conference Vught in Netherlands. This conference followed a similar conference in New York. Also present were about twenty-five meditators from the business world from Europe. Most of the meditators who took an active part in the conference were young entrepreneurs.

Goenkaji spoke for half an hour; followed by another half an hour of questions and answers. After his address, Goenkaji met with a journalist from a Dutch newspaper. Goenkaji emphasized the role of spirituality in business. He often says, “There should be spirituality in business but we should not make a business of spirituality.”

It was decided that there would be a course at Dhamma Pajjota next year in May for businesspeople and leaders of society.

Goenkaji returned late in the evening to Dhamma Pajjota.

Day Hundred and Twenty Six (August 13)
(Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium / Cologne, Germany / Dhamma Pajjota, Belgium)

Congress Hall, Cologne

In the morning Goenkaji gave interviews to a newspaper in Belgium, a leading financial newspaper, a Hindu newspaper and a political newspaper from Holland.

In the evening Goenkaji went to Germany by car to give a talk at the Congress Hall in Cologne. The hall was filled to its capacity.

The building was 555 years old. The caretaker informed organizers that the building was originally built as a marketplace but once completed it started being used as an assembly hall. It was used for the coronation ceremony of an emperor and as the emperor’s court about 500 years ago and had recently held the meeting of the European Council. It is close to the Rhine and within walking distance of the famous Cologne Domes.

The talk was titled, “Ethics and Mindfulness in Business” Goenkaji said that Vipassana is mindfulness of the truth inside. Greed is the root cause of all business malpractices including corporate scams. Profiteering comes out of greed and greed comes from lack of awareness of the truth inside.

There were many questions at the end of the talk. Goenkaji answered as many as time permitted. Then he moved to the room where a press conference was organized. There were many questions. One journalist was keen to know why Goenkaji had a strict policy of not charging for his courses though it would give him financial resources to spread Vipassana far and wide. Goenkaji said that it looked like a good argument superficially but any such venture is bound to harm the Dhamma. When money is involved, sooner or later profit becomes the most important motive and one starts making compromises to please ‘customers’. The Buddha had strongly warned against making a business of Dhamma.

Goenkaji returned to Dhamma Pajjota after midnight.

Day Hundred and Twenty Seven (August 14) (Dhamma Pajjota, Dilsen, Belgium)

Another Ten Day Course Begins

Many requests for media interviews kept coming from Belgium as well as from the neighbouring countries so in the morning Goenkaji gave interviews. There were reporters from a financial daily and a magazine for engineers in Germany.

In the evening Goenkaji gave an interview to the Network television that had come to the centre to report on Goenkaji’s visit. Two prison directors from Holland joined this course. The TV was keen to know about role of Vipassana in prison reforms. \

Goenkaji took a brief tour around the centre.

Later on Goenkaji gave Anapana instructions to the students who had joined the ten-day course that day. It was appropriate that his last formal engagement of the tour was an Anapana session to begin a ten-day course since it is through a ten-day introductory course that a person first learns Vipassana. In last thirty-three years, Goenkaji has given hundreds of ten-day Vipassana courses and perfected the structure of the course giving gradual instructions and evening discourses through his experience of hundreds of thousands of students. It has been tested throughout the world in diverse cultural backgrounds, in diverse socio-economic groups and in different religious groups and has proved useful in every situation. Thus for an universal technique taught by the Buddha, Goenkaji used a ten-day course format that was used by his teacher and teacher’s teacher; and proved that it works so well all over the world to bring Dhamma to the suffering humanity.

Day Hundred and Twenty Nine (August 15) (Dhamma Pajjota, Dilsen, Belgium)

Meeting at European Union

Goenkaji met Commissioner for International Trade of the European Union Mr. Pascal Lamy on the last day of his European stop on the "Meditation Now" tour 2002. Goenkaji left the beautiful Dhamma Pajjota at 6.15 am and went straight to the airport. After checking in his luggage he went to the European Union (EU) Headquarters in Brussels. It was a holiday and the streets and offices were deserted but the Security Office at the EU was informed and was waiting. A security officer escorted Goenkaji quickly to the Office of the Commissioner for Trade.
Mr. Lamy welcomed Goenkaji and thanked him for taking time to visit the EU Headquarters. He congratulated Goenkaji on the success of his tour in the West and told him how appropriate it was that this method of mental culture (Vipassana) was finding wider acceptance in the West. Mr. Lamy had already studied some of the literature that he was given earlier by a Vipassana meditator.
He asked Goenkaji various questions on spirituality in general and Vipassana meditation in particular. Goenkaji explained the universal and practical nature of the technique. To his question as to whether religious people are more attracted to Vipassana or non-religious ones Goenkaji said, "Both". The religious people find elements of their own religion in Vipassana as morality, mastery over the mind and the purity of the mind are common denominators of all the religions. On the other hand because of the scientific and practical nature of Vipassana, non-religious people find it equally acceptable.
Goenkaji explained the technique of Vipassana to Mr. Lamy. Breath is a universal object of concentration that is non-sectarian and is intimately related to the mind. In a Vipassana course one progresses from the observation of breath to the equanimous awareness of sensations (which are also universal and non-sectarian) which are the key to our misery and happiness.
Goenkaji explained in detail how Emperor Ashoka changed from “Ashoka the Terror” to “Ashok the Benevolent” due to the Buddha's teaching. He said he hoped that the leaders of the modern society would accept Vipassana, which in turn would help the society in general.
The meeting was scheduled for thirty minutes but Mr. Lamy asked if the meeting could go on. Since Goenkaji had checked in his luggage at the airport he could stay a little longer. Mr. Lamy then asked Goenkaji about the socio-economic and business situation in India and in Myanmar (Burma). Goenkaji told him that he was not involved in politics or business any more and that his entire focus was spirituality. However, he praised Mr. Lamy's efforts to help the “Least Developed Countries” and his "Everything But Arms" initiative.
Mr. Lamy commented, as the meeting ended, that Goenkaji's approach of helping the individual to create a better society and the Western world's efforts to provide better conditions for humanity were complimentary. He wished peace and prosperity for the countries of India and Myanmar. The meeting that was scheduled for thirty minutes lasted about sixty minutes. In the end, Goenkaji was escorted to the gate of the building by the Chief of the Cabinet of Commissioner for Trade. He reached the airport in time to catch his flight. Mataji was waiting there along with the meditators who had brought Goenkaji's party to the airport.

Chocolate Icing on the Dhamma Tour Cake

Even as a man overcome by hunger and exhaustion may get a meal with honey, wherever he would bite into it, he would find it satisfying and of delicious flavour; similarly the Buddha’s words are truthful, sweet, agreeable to the ear, salutary and auspicious.

Goenkaji is an ardent practitioner and a prudent master of the Buddha’s teaching. Based on the experiential wisdom borne of nearly half a century of serious practice, the experience of more than three decades of teaching Dhamma to diverse populations and fine oratory, Goenkaji’s Dhamma talks made this tour a sweet cake—everywhere along the tour those who listened to him got a taste of the benevolent Dhamma and they were gladdened in heart. Each one of his Dhamma discourses on the tour had the ability to generate confidence towards Dhamma in the minds of those who didn’t have trust and to increase the trust of those who already had trust in Dhamma.

During Goenkaji’s visit Dhamma Pajjota, a young centre in Belgium, hosted the biggest Vipassana course outside of South Asia. The public talks drew enthusiastic response and the media showed so much interest that it became difficult have enough time to satisfy their need for interviews Goenkaji.

Belgium, the little country famous for its chocolates, was the last stop on the four-month tour. It turned out to be the chocolate icing on the “Meditation Now” tour cake.

S.N. Goenka Tour of the West Report July 29 to Aug 15