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Difference in retreats

Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal DhammaWe(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
edited April 2012 in Meditation
Is there a big difference between attending a Theravada/Vipassana retreat and a Zen retreat, other than the languages any chants might be in?

Comments

  • WallyBWallyB
    probably not. within Theravada/Vipassana, there is a very broad range of retreat styles, methods & teachings :)
  • BonsaiDougBonsaiDoug Simply, on the path. Veteran
    edited April 2012
    Hopefully someone with Zen experience will chime in. But from what I have seen and read, you can expect much more "just sitting" (Zazen) in Zen retreats. Most Zen retreats I've read about really stress long sessions of zazen (sitting). And sometimes, the more advanced ones, little more than long (as in day-long), silent zazen.
  • Invincible_summerInvincible_summer Heavy Metal Dhamma We(s)t coast, Canada Veteran
    probably not. within Theravada/Vipassana, there is a very broad range of retreat styles, methods & teachings :)
    So there is a difference, even between sanghas that host the retreats... is this what you're saying?
    Hopefully someone with Zen experience will chime in. But from what I have seen and read, you can expect much more "just sitting" (Zazen) in Zen retreats. Most Zen retreats I've read about really stress long sessions of zazen (sitting). And sometimes, the more advanced ones, little more than long (as in day-long), silent zazen.
    More zazen compared to what other activities?



    I'd like to get some more responses!
  • SabreSabre Veteran
    I agree with @WallyB,

    The variety in both Zen and Therevada retreat styles is so big, you can't really generalize it. But I can tell you one thing: No retreat is the same. Even different teachers within the same tradition can organize the retreat a bit different.
  • zenffzenff Veteran
    edited April 2012
    It’s all up to the group or the particular teacher in question.

    The most difficult retreat for me (in terms of hours of sitting meditation) was Vipassana.
    The easiest (by that standard) I did was Zen.
    But I found this last (easy) sesshin to be very hard. The total lack of challenge and of “doing it well” was hard to handle for me at that time.
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