His search for a cure brought him into contact in 1955 with Sayagyi U Ba Khin, who combined the public role of a senior civil servant with the private role of a teacher of meditation. In learning Vipassana from U Ba Khin, Mr. Goenka found a discipline that went far beyond alleviating the symptoms of physical disease and transcended cultural and religious barriers. Vipassana gradually transformed his life in the ensuing years of practice and study under the guidence of his teacher.

In 1969 Mr. Goenka was authorized as a teacher of Vipassana meditation by U Ba Khin. In that year he came to India and begun teaching Vipassana there, reintroducing this technique into the land of it's origin. In a country still sharply divided by caste and religion, Mr. Goenka's courses have attracted thousands of people of every background. Thousands of Westerners have also participated in Vipassana courses, attracted by the practical nature of the technique.

With so many students participating in courses all around the world, it was impossible for Mr. Goenka to teach on every course. So in the early 1980's old students, who were established in the technique, were appointed as assistant teachers to Mr. Goenka and so were authorized to take courses on his behalf. The teaching still primarily comes from Mr. Goenka via the use of audio and video tapes played throughout a course. It is because of these mediums that all the 10 day courses in this tradition have the same format from the same teacher, thus ensuring that the technique retains it's purity.