Background. According to The Buddha’s teaching, mental reactions to bodily sensations are the source of mental negativities (including anxiety, hatred, greed, and jealousy). From this perspective, reducing mental reactions to bodily sensations will result in less mental negativities that make people miserable and, in turn, contribute to better well-being. It is believed that people are often unaware that their minds constantly react with craving and aversion to pleasant and unpleasant bodily sensations, respectively. These uncontrolled reactions lead to misery and suffering, mistakenly attributed to external events or internal thoughts and emotions. Traditionally, The Buddha's teaching has been found to be helpful in examining these processes and bringing them from unconscious to conscious levels of awareness

Vipassana Meditation trains students to reduce and ultimately eradicate craving and aversion towards bodily sensations. Courses of Vipassana Meditation, as taught by S. N. Goenka, are practised worldwide and used in prison systems in several countries as a rehabilitation strategy. Globally, 10-day residential courses are offered in 238 centres and 138 non-centre locations. During the course, students learn to be continuously aware of the impermanent nature of bodily sensations without reacting. The 10-day courses are considered to be the beginning, as Vipassana Meditation is a way of living or a lifestyle intervention. When practised long-term, Vipassana Meditation is likely to lead to changes in the persona of the meditators.

Peer-reviewed studies have examined the effects of Vipassana Meditation. Studies have used measures like questionnaires and physical indicators, including heart rate variability, EEG, and MRI, which may not provide an in-depth understanding of the effects. Furthermore, research examining the effects of practising long-term Vipassana Meditation is lacking. The current study was designed to address these limitations. It has examined the effects of Vipassana Meditation after practising it for long periods. It also has employed a phenomenological approach to develop an in-depth understanding of the meditators’ experiences of the effects of the practice on their lives.

Participants and Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven Vipassana meditators practising for at least eight years (on average 16 years) and residing in New Zealand. The interviews aimed to encapsulate the changes participants noticed within themselves after practising Vipassana Meditation and adopting it as a way of living. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, a qualitative data analysis approach.

Results. Participants were four females and three males. The average age was 50.1 years. The average number of years they have practised Vipassana Meditation was 16.5 years since their first course (range: 8-21 years). Analysis of their interview transcripts identified three main effects of the practice: positive traits were increased, negative traits were reduced, and participants gained insights regarding the nature of their minds and life. In addition to these effects, interviewees described how they practised Vipassana Meditation and embedded it into their daily lives. Finally, participants described the background of the period they took their first course, including life circumstances and previous meditation practices.

Discussion and Conclusion. The current studies’ results validate the quantitative research findings on Vipassana Meditation. In general, previous research found positive effects on psychological well-being. The current research findings were in accordance with the literature. However, while most existing studies examined mental health-related variables, including anxiety and depression, the current research found benefits aligned with The Buddha’s teaching. Participants reported developing the Ten Pāramī (loving-kindness, wisdom, effort, equanimity, tolerance, generosity, morality, truthfulness, renunciation, and strong determination) and a reduction in taṇhā (craving and aversion). The current research has added a new perspective to the empirical knowledge base about the outcomes of Vipassana Meditation.