On Mr Goenka on the deathless state

Just for the enjoyment of former Vipassana meditators I thought I'd collate a few publications of Mr Goenka on the state of deathlessness which is the goal to which he leads his students: On his Vipassana Research Institute website Mr Goenka has written an article titled Was The Buddha A Pessimist? - Acharya S. N. Goenka http://www.vridhamma.org/Was-Buddha-pessimist# In the article Mr Goenka writes that the Vipassana technique is to :

Asaṅkhatattha: To experience for oneself the unborn state where nothing arises Amatattha: To experience for oneself the deathless state where nothing passes away. ... If a person of any race, caste or class—walking on the path of the Dhamma (Universal Law) by the development of morality, mastery over the mind and experiential wisdom—attained the first of the four stages of liberation, he was called an Ārya (a Noble One). This stage is called sotāpanna (stream-enterer)—that is, this person has entered the stream of complete liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Such a person is partially liberated. One is totally freed from the possibility of future lives in the lower worlds because of eradication of all kammas (karmas) that would take one to such lower worlds even though one still has some kammas left which will result in a maximum of seven lives before final liberation from all rebirth. Hence, one is entitled to the epithet of ārya. Continuing the practice of Vipassana, the practitioner successively becomes a sakadāgāmī (once-returner), anāgāmī (non-returner) and finally attains the state of an arahat (fully liberated being). Thus, ārya-satya (Noble Truth) is a truth through the experience of which anyone can become an ārya—noble person. ... Pītisukhena vipulena, pharamāno samussayaṃ. When one practises Vipassana properly, one experiences not only bliss in mind and rapture in body but also the happiness of the infinite peace of the deathless. Yato yato sammasati, khandhānaṃ udayabbayaṃ; Labhati pīti pāmojjaṃ, amataṃ taṃ vijānataṃ. Whenever one directs one’s attention anywhere within the body (understanding the contact of mind and body), one is aware only of arising and passing. One enjoys bliss and delight and experiences the deathless (which is the field of the Noble Ones). This is the supreme happiness of nibbāna; this is supreme peace. ... We get attached to the five aggregates thinking, "This is my mind," "This is my body," and we cling to them as "me" and "mine". This deep attachment to these five aggregates leads to the repeated cycle of birth and death. Who can deny the truth of this reality of suffering? At least all the spiritual traditions of India accept the cycle of becoming as misery and aim at getting liberated from this cycle, to attain the deathless. ... In India in ancient times and even today, the human realm is called the ‘realm of death’ and the divine realm is called the ‘realm of the deathless’. According to this belief, if a being of the realm of death goes to a divine realm, it lives forever (it does not die). For example, in the devotional cult of Vishnu, it is held that if one goes to the realm of Vishnu after death, then one does not die again. However, the Buddha said that even the gods of divine realms are not eternal—they are subject to death; all realms of existence are subject to death. Only the state beyond all of these realms is eternal and deathless. Even in the highest planes of existence there is fear of death. ... Insistence of suffering is not peculiar to Buddhism, though the Buddha emphasised it overmuch. In the whole history of thought, no one has exaggerated the dark misery of human existence more than the Buddha. We cannot help feeling that the Buddha overemphasises the dark side of things. ... Come! Let us again welcome and re-establish the incomparable beneficial teaching of this great being for our own benefit, and for the benefit of so many others. In this lies the glory and honour of our country. [India]

One more thing about reincarnation being the root of Mr Goenka's teachings, and celibacy part of his solution to this supposed problem. Mr Goenka's Vipassana Research Institute gives a quote from Mr Goenka which sounds something like Monty Python's Anti-Sex League, straight from Mr Goenka:

A store-house of answers by S.N. Goenkaji ... Vipassana Practice (clarifications requested from practicing Vipasana students) 28. My mind still remains immersed in sexual desire and as a result I am unable to maintain the continuity of practice. What can I do? "Fight this battle. Lust is something which keeps following you life after life and it is a very deep sankhara. Whenever sexual desire arises in the mind don't focus on the object of the lust. Just accept the fact of lust as lust. "At this moment my mind is full of lust." Accept this, and see what sensation you have. At that moment start observing whatever sensation predominates anywhere in the body, and keep understanding, "Anicca, anicca. This is not permanent, this is not permanent. This lust that has come is also not permanent; let me see how long it lasts." In this way the sexual desire becomes weaker and weaker and passes away."