As you might know, sometime back I have conducted a research on behavioural difference between people who practice Vipassana and people who don’t practice Vipassana. I have tested differences between these groups covering 4 dimensions – Ability to reflect and Change behaviour, Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation and Empathy.
For example, I have asked participants to rate following statement with 4 options – Always, Most of the time, Rarely and Never. “It is difficult for me to maintain composure, when a colleague takes credit for work that I have done.”
Those who answered Rarely or Never i.e. people who rarely/never find it difficult to maintain composure – 75% people are Vipassana practioners. In other words, it is easier for Vipassana practioners to maintain composure in the above given situation.
On the other hand, those who answered Always or Most of the time i.e. people who find it difficult to maintain composure – only 27 % people are Vipassana practitioners.
I am currently analysing responses to all other statements/ situations (43 more situations) and I can conclusively find a trend that positively differentiates the Vipassana practioners from the rest.
I still believe that now I need to go next level of analysis which would establish an unambiguous relation of these results with Vipassana. In other words, currently I know there are significant behavioural differences between these groups but still I am not able to conclude that those positive differences among Vipassana meditators can be solely attributed solely to practice of Vipassana.
I mean with respect to above example – I know that Vipassana practioners maintain composure in difficult situation and I can’t really establish that Vipassana is solely responsible for maintaining that composure. I don’t know how to factor in the effect of those other factors (if there are any) that might also responsible for maintaining that composure.
I would share more analysis and insights from the data. Till then Bravo Vipassana meditators !!
