Guide for the interview with the teacher

Although the format of the interview will vary depending on the teacher, there are some specific points that are useful to keep in mind for all interviews in the Burmese tradition of Vipassana Satipatthana.

The interview helps the teacher understand whether you have understood the method, whether you are able to apply it, and what stage of the practice you are at. Based on this, the teacher will offer suggestions on how to proceed and how to deal with the difficulties you are experiencing. For this reason, the interview is very different from a psychotherapy session, and only certain specific and concise information should be reported:

• Report which objects you observe and whether you are able to follow them (the movement of the abdomen, the breath at the nostrils, or any other object that becomes predominant, such as pain, sleepiness, emotions, sounds, etc.) How you observe it (how you become aware of it: whether you label it or not, whether you see it arise or only notice that it is there after a while, whether you are able to see the moment when it disappears, whether it is clear or unclear, how long you are able to stay with the object.)
• What you experience or what happens: whether you are aware of the characteristics of the objects (hardness, tension, heat, movement, pleasant, unpleasant, etc., or whether you see concepts such as shapes, images, colors), whether you notice the relationship between one object and another (with anger, specific sensations arise in the body; boredom gives rise to the intention to do something else, etc.), whether you identify with phenomena or are able to observe them with some distance, whether the mind seems to move toward the object or whether the object seems to come to the mind; how the mind reacts, whether you notice these reactions and what you do, etc.
• What difficulties arise and what you do: thoughts, daydreaming, desires, aversions, laziness, sleepiness, boredom, restlessness, anxiety, fear, doubt, etc., how you relate to them, how you observe them, and what methods you apply to manage them.

Try to report the experience as objectively as possible, describing how you feel it in the body and what characteristics it has, without describing the content of your thoughts or why and with whom you are angry, nor telling the teacher about your past, present or future private life (unless necessary).

Below is an example of how an interview could be structured:

Primary object:
You can begin by talking about the primary object, the rising and falling of the abdomen or the breath at the nostrils. It is important to describe the primary object in clear and simple terms, including the main details you have observed. Whether you are able to follow it, for how long, what qualities it has, what changes you observe in the body or possibly also in the mind, etc.

Secondary object:
Examples of secondary objects are:

• Physical sensations such as pain, itching, hardness, cold, stiffness, pressure, etc.
• Thoughts: ideas, reflections, plans, memories, fantasies, judgments, criticism, etc.
• Mental states: anger, restlessness, pride, joy, calm, boredom, mindfulness, distraction, concentration, etc.
• Sounds or other sense objects: sounds, images, smells, tastes, etc.

If, while observing the primary object, one of these objects becomes predominant over our primary object, the meditator should direct attention toward this secondary object and observe it in the same way. What characteristics it has, how it changes, how we feel it in the body, what reactions it causes, and whether we see the moment when it disappears. Once it has disappeared or decreased in intensity, it is possible to return to observing the primary object.

You can conclude by talking about walking meditation and mindfulness in daily activities.