Ten Days of Silence: A Vipassana Memoir

Ten Days of Silence is an honest, day-by-day account of one person's first ten-day Vipassana meditation course at Dhamma Dipa in Herefordshire, England. In December 2025, Ajay Rawat entered the course expecting ten difficult days of silence and intensive meditation. What followed was a demanding encounter with physical pain, restless thoughts, anxiety, irritation, unexpected calm, and moments of genuine insight. The book takes the reader through those ten days-and the journey home on the eleventh day-hour by hour, meal by meal, sensation by sensation. Alongside the personal experience are faithful summaries of S.N. Goenka's evening discourses and reflections on how the teachings changed meaning after a day of practice. This is not a meditation manual, spiritual conversion story, or promise of enlightenment. It is a personal record of discovering a practical technique for observing the mind, facing discomfort, and learning to respond differently to everyday life.