vipassana retreats

Laura1

Hello,

Any redirect to a thread where this has already been discussed would be greatly appreciated. I have searched but can't seem to find any.

I am a relative beginner (well, very much a beginner) to Buddhism and meditation. I am thinking of doing a 10-day vipassana course. I live in the US and there is one close-ish to me that I applied to once before but had to cancel at the last minute. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on the subject?

I do have some concerns which I think are probably just irrational fears...

possibilities

How to search on this forum: go to google, type in newbuddhist and the term you are looking for.
I got this, and there is more....

http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/10504/10-day-vipassana-retreat

http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/9416/vipassana-fellowship-meditation-course

http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/1246/vipassana-and-my-first-10-day-retreat


Best Wishes.

Laura1

Ooh, excellent, thank you so much! The threads I was finding with the search box above didn't seem to be related... :-) Thank you!

federica

Aaaaaw! I just love a happy ending....!

Hi @Laura1! I hope your search pays off.....!

WallyB

I am thinking of doing a 10-day vipassana course. I live in the US and there is one close-ish to me that I applied to once before but had to cancel at the last minute. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on the subject?

hi Laura

answering your question depends on which course you plan to do? is it a IMS (Insight Meditation Society) course? a Goenka course, etc,? thanks

patbb

Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations on the subject? .

Don't overthink it.

it's not going to match your expectations no matter what!

just do it. It was a life changing experience for me and i've never heard anyone say they regretted it.


an interesting thing i found was that it attracts people from all walks of life, serious mediators who get work done, seriously peaceful and inspiring people who did many retreats for many years, the bragging young people who approach spirituality as a sport, the hippies, the mom at home, the 9-5 work force, older curious people, lots of people with no idea what they are getting into who have been encouraged by their friends or family to join the course, lots of yoga people who want to take their spirituality a step further, some really depressed folks, some folks with some kinds of health problem...

All of these people have wildly varying expectations,


Right after my first one, i thought "well that was something, but now i know what it is so i don't think i'll ever want to take another one, at least not for many years."'
Then things started to settle, things started to find their place inside my head, like an enfgine that keep going because of momentum... and slowly but surely a year later i was itching to do another one

I'd do one every years if i could.
hell i'd do 10 every years if i could

just don't expect anything, just enjoy this little adventure


another tip, if your back ache too much, don't go all ego and just ask for a chair.

I forced myself to sit on the floor in the first retreat and it kind of messed up my back.

I was sitting on a chair for the second one and i could focus on something else then the crushing pain.

Laura1

Thank you so much for writing such a long reply, patbb. It's funny, I am so far away from being a person who would want to endure extra physical pain... I am definitely the type who needs to get over herself and her wants a little (part of why this "path" is a good idea for me) I guess one of my concerns is that I would be pressured (directly or by peer pressure) to go too far into such things.

Another is that due to work / vacation requirements I will have to time one of my rare visits to my family directly afterwards. I see them once, maybe twice a year, usually once, and it is often a slightly bittersweet experience. I miss them a lot but our relationship has been very difficult at times, and since I now live in a different country to them there is reverse culture shock to deal with. It seems like there is a distinct possibility I will be rambling insufferably about how enlightened I am directly afterwards ;-) or much better able to deal with the varying emotions that come up, OR perhaps I will be a bit of an emotional wreck. If I could time it any differently I would... but I sense this is the last opportunity I'll have for years, if ever, for one reason or another. (I realise no-one can answer this question for me and even someone who knew me well couldn't.)

Wally, it is an International Meditation Centre course.

I guess if anyone could clarify for me if they're a cult who are just trying to get me away from my immediate family for 10 days so they can harvest my organs, that would be great too ;-) Kidding. Sort of. That isn't my actual fear, but I guess I worry about being alone and vulnerable in a very remote place without things like a cell phone. (I have a job which clarifies the type of terrible things humans can do to each other very well indeed...) With legs that can't run because I've been sitting in an uncomfortable position all day ...
(that is me laughing at myself, a little bit)

Laura1

Well, apparently I'm not allowed to edit.

International Meditation Centre brings up several different things including the dhamma.org website - which it is not. The website I found said it is in the tradition of U Ba Khin and not Goenka.

I'm also interested to know the difference, if there was a schism or something, that sort of thing?

I was concerned about the effect not eating any dinner but a piece of fruit would have on a medical condition I have, and was told not to worry because the food was the same at dinnertime, there was just less of it. Perhaps that's the main difference? If so, that is fine by me ;-) Barely eating dinner and then having it be fruit of all things would be incredibly difficult, to the point of pointlessness discomfort, for me, and I guess I just wouldn't be able to go if that were the case. As I say I am actually enthusiastic about getting a little out of my comfort zone and learning to be more able to deal with that and being less self-indulgent; I just don't want to go to extremes, and doing something I know will make me sick definitely falls into that category.

As preparation I am trying to spend more time sitting on the floor, eating my main meal at lunchtime and making dinner very small, getting up and going to bed earlier, scaling back caffeine, and of course meditating more.

Thank you very much everyone for responding.

Sabre

On a retreat where I was asked to hand in my cell phone, I just kept it in my baggage. May not be the most polite thing to do, but you know.. the reason to hand it in is so you won't use it as a distraction, but I knew I wouldn't because I barely use it anyway.. Just something to consider.

person

I'd explain your medical and dinner concerns with whoever is organizing the retreat. In most cases people are willing to accomodate special needs if they can. So ask first before making that a reason you can't go.

Laura1

Oh, they did respond, and my fears on that score are gone, thank you! I'm just saying, that is one reason a Goenka retreat wouldn't be possible for me (unless they would make some sort of exception as you say.)

Sabre

You could also consider a retreat setting that is a bit less strict. A strict practice doesn't benefit everybody. There are also places where there is more private time, some other duties and talking allowed etc. but still very benifical to the practice. And it may be more easy to take a bit of that practice into daily life.

At the retreat with the mobile phone I was talking about, the leading monk said something in the lines of: "We'll be watching the ones who are sitting here every session, they might try too hard and those are the ones a teacher should be aware about."

I'm not trying to scare you off; if you feel like you want to go for it, just do it; it will enrich you. However, if you really feel a bit feared about doing a 10-day retreat, I would really consider the alternatives, especially if you are a beginner.


With metta,
Sabre

jll

just to add to the confusion, pl note that vipassana meditation
is part of the burmese tradition.
many great meditation teachers disagree with this method.
having attended the 10-day retreat myself, just be ready for
very strict enforcement of discipline.
its not suitable for everyone.
anyway, just consider it as an intro to meditation.
and remember its just 1 method which has
been critically challenged by many renowned teachers.

WallyB

The website I found said it is in the tradition of U Ba Khin and not Goenka. I'm also interested to know the difference

there is no difference, in my understanding. Goenka was one of the primary disciples of U Ba Khin. Goenka teaches the U Ba Khin method.

This is the international home page of the organizations which offer courses in Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka and his assistant teachers in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin

http://www.dhamma.org/

hi Laura

many people have done these retreats and they are perfectly fine in terms of not being some kind of cult. however, they are very physically demanding, where a lot of sitting is done (rather than a balance of sitting & walking). these retreats are often attractive due to the multitude of locations & because they do not charge money

Laura1

Hi all,

I decided not to go. Not because I think they are a cult ;-) - I'm sure they are not. I would like to go another time. But there are various logistical reasons it would be difficult. Oh well! Thanks, everyone.