Vipassana Centers in India

Here is a listing of vipassana meditation centers in India (links to their websites) if anyone is interested.....

Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh... I think that's the one the author visited in Holy Cow, the place which almost made her go insane. LOL.

well, I plan on going to a center that's within driving distance from me, so if I freak out, my husband can drive out to bring the strait jacket for me....

Why is vipassana so popular? I've met countless people who tell me about the video tapes they play to the students which sounds exactly like spiritual brain-washing No different to any other system it seems to me.

For some people who have problems from the past, like hidden issues in their minds, sitting without speaking can do more harm than good, especially if they are not ready to face them. Any psychiatrist will tell you that. Heard of some people finishing a vipassana course in a worse state than when they began. I just don't understand why this is so popular with westerners, perhaps someone could explain...

Hello Frog,

As a Vipassana meditator, I thought I'd respond briefly. I'm no expert, and I haven't tried other techniques - I'm satisfied with Vipassana. It is a very challenging practice, that does have a tendency to sound intimidating at first glance. I have found over a few years of practice that it is a very rewarding and helpful technique for me. Not sure where the spiritual brainwashing thing comes from. The videotapes and audiotapes keep hammering on students to think things through for themselves, and not accept any part of the teaching that seems dogmatic or requires students to accept something on faith, without direct personal experience - kind of the opposite of brainwashing as far as I can tell. As far as the psychological issues, students with a history of serious psychological disorders usually are encouraging to consult a psychiatrist of psychologist before attending the course, just as you suggest. Also, it is worth noting that Vipassana in India is popular with Indians, not just westerners.

Hi Bosquef,

Thank you for replying. One of the reasons why I question Vipassana and any other technique is the view that by practicing the technique you will become better, that is the mind will become clearer & clearer. i.e. the more practice the better I will become. I've seen so many who almost religiously practice this day in day out. But what about questioning the actual system itself? Can you ever live totally in the 'now' if your motive is to keep on practicing for some future goal?

Isn't the desire for clarity part of the problem? Is it any different from desiring money, fame? At least those desiring money are often aware that they are doing so. Yet isn't that the reason why you follow the system, if not why bother at all?

Does it matter how much time you sit and practice a system, for 10 days, 10 months or 10 years? Does it all 'add up'? Or is real meditation nothing to do with time at all?

Just finished the Dharamsala Vipassana course. Extremely difficult, but very worthwhile. There is nothing like brainwashing; in fact it's completely the opposite. You must work everything out on your own (with a bit of help, if requested, from the teachers).

The Dharamsala facility was scrupulously maintained and very beautiful.

as a meditator of 13 years, who has explored dozens of types of meditation, and has gone deeply into several of them, i can confidently say that...

vipassana, as taught by goenka, is crap.

it has none of the clarity, insight, and effectiveness of a technique taught by a living master. goenka got a technique passed down to him over a couple thousand year period, and it is so twisted and misunderstood at this point that it is dangerous.

two simple examples, of hundreds:

1. he defines shila as morality. he teaches one moral system with rights and wrongs. he teaches, for example, that it is wrong to have sexual encounters with someone whom you aren't married to (because it could hurt her family). he also teaches that a married couple should only have sex for procreation purposes. yet, he ever so kindly (that is sarcasm for the indian readers) says that if you fall into lustful love making with your wife that it is not breaking your shila, yet simply not good for you.

he claims that his teaching is free from religious conditioning, rites, rituals, dogmas, etc, but his explanation of shila as morality, and so nicely (more sarcasm) fitting indian morality, is absurd.

my brother, a tibetan buddhist scholar, was outraged with goenka's shila definition. my bro says shila means right conduct. and right conduct changes from situation to situation. (i won't bother further explaining this, assuming you get the point).

2. goenka teaches that the vipassana technique is one to be done with legs crossed (as we say in america "indian style").

this is absurd, as the western body isn't prepared for such sitting. he claims that any pain that surfaces is our psycho-spiritual issues surfacing. again, he is stuck in a very narrow view of the tradition, which has no freshness to the Now.

goenka is not a guru, he is not enlightened, he is not a master. all he is a man with an ego trip, with ideals, with dreams, and he sells his brand of spirituality by creating a story around it (it is the pure buddha's teachings).

25-50% of those who take his course don't make a donation at the end, according to the foundations literature. why?

when i exited his course i was surrounded by deeply disturbed and confused fellow students. why?

i could go on and on, i could write a book about this screwed up technique. but for now, all i can say, is stay away. it has made people gone crazy- which i have witnessed. it has sent people to the insane asylum. it has made people need to stop their travels in india and immediately fly home. it has broken up families. i can't say no one benefits, but the benefits are surely, without doubt, limited in potential. and the potential issues are too great to be overlooked.

the worst part of the course for me was seeing people getting scared away from meditation because of this quack.

livin-in-india, are you saying that all vipassana is crap, or just that taught by goenka?

as with yoga, we are attracted to the meditation styles that resonate with us.

I did a 10 day vipassana retreat and felt that I went through 6 days of hell and on the 7th was "reborn", i.e., I felt the retreat was transformational for me. but that's me. other people go nuts.

my background is study in Tibetan Buddhism. and what did not resonate with me was the rigidity of Goenka's style. Also, some of the stuff he says in the videos I just don't buy into...

like that vipassana meditators are the only "true yogis"; that the Buddhism in Burma is the "purest form of Buddhism". I run away as fast as I can from people who say that their style is the "only" this or that.

If you want to hear some opinions about vipassana being a "meditation factory" check out Buddhist Geeks here and here. good stuff.

and the one dude does a drop dead impersonation of Goenka!

i was not speaking against vipassana, just against goenka's transmission of it.

in my eyes he causes more damage than good. yes, some do get some benefits. but more get injured/confused. meditation is delightful if you are trying, as goenka teaches, you aren't meditating.

meditation is a state of being, not a technique. vipassana is a particular form of meditation that can only be discovered through letting go

anyway, if you want to try vipassana, you'd be better off in chaiya, thailand, at the retreat center there.

www.dhamma.org

www.dhamma.org is the best site. Has Vipassana locations all over the world.
The author of Holy Cow as a Holy Kangaroo, not knowing what she was writing about.

i plan to do it regardless of the 'dire consequences' warnings above. question (for those who have been through it): is there any way i can be better prepared for the ten days? i have almost no experience of meditation in the past. mild yoga every other day and that's about it.

You do not need any prior experience in meditation at all.

One advice: Bring as many sitting cushions as you can, since the difficulty of sitting for many hours (with a break after each hour) is the hardest part for Westerners not used to sitting on the floor for a long time. Actually you can sit in any way you prefer, even on a chair in case it is impossible to sit on the floor for a person, or if someone has an injury. But you will find out about the best way for yourself, if you have plenty of cushions to try and see how they help (for instance as support under the knees, etc).

The ideal sitting height is if your buttocks are higher than your knees.