What's wrong with Vipassana
Tens of thousands of people around the world have taken 10 day silent meditation retreats under the video guidance of Mr Satya Naryan Goenka of India. Some take longer courses or tens or even a hundred 10 day retreats. All the students start by repeating the phrase,
"I surrender myself completely, to Buddha and my present teacher, for proper guidance and protection ...
Please teach me the technique of Vipassana Meditation, so that I can experience, the Nibbanic peace within me".
Underlying principles of the technique
The technique is a crash course intensive openly stated to be mind washing to remove supposed very deep and invisible mental impurities which, the students are told by the teacher have arisen from past deeds in countless past lives. The self imposed mental isolation, and focusing on the respiration and sensations of the body, in the manner taught by Mr Goenka, is combined with repetitious instructions from Mr Goenka, and nightly discourses from Mr Goenka in which he teaches openly his beliefs on past and future lives, as if they are facts, as if Nibbana is a fact, however unfortunately it cannot be explained in words, and that Buddha showed the way to eradicate impurities from past lives and so obtain Nibbana.
One is told to disintegrate, dissect, dissolve, the entire mental and physical structure, and to find that there is only arising and passing away. Mr Goenka describes this as mental surgery conducted by the meditator on oneself. Everything one experiences in the world is to be viewed through the lens of sensations on the body and mind, and every sensation is to be viewed through the lens of Vipassana meditation, with the understanding of anicca - impermanence, arising and passing away. That's it. That's the whole wisdom of the technique. Everything arises due to a cause, which is some form of past attachment, which causes mind and matter to come into existence and pass away trillions of time every moment. Understanding this one then learns by experience to become detached, no longer generates attachments, and ultimately extinguishes the flame of existence by entering into Nibbana where nothing arises and so nothing passes away, thereby attaining the deathless and so ending the cycle of birth and death. One has attained Nirrodha, - cessation, where one does not have to be born again in a future existence after this life. One has obtained liberation.
All this metaphysical stuff is very esoteric and so is not stated in the literature, but it is hammered home by Mr Goenka to the students who are compliantly focussing on their respiration and sensations ardently.
After the course finishes one is to go back into the world armed with this new technique, and to apply it as far as possible every waking moment of the life. This lens of Vipassana comes between the meditator and the life he once lived, which he now instead meditates.
A very serious question arises, that if practitioners are meditating to eradicate impurities from past lives, they are dealing with metaphysical and religious beliefs which bear no relation to the reality that there is no past and future lives, there is only this one life which we are living now. Mr Goenka through his teaching of Vipassana introduces to the practitioner a completely false understanding of themselves, whilst providing a tool for conducting psychic self surgery based on this premise.
Mr Goenka assures the meditators that the mind will revolt against this psychic surgery because the impurities have taken over the mind and do not want to leave, but with Vipassana they have to leave, so they kick from within. For example Mr Goenka describes how meditators during the course may start having feelings of violence towards others and start getting frightened. He assures the meditators not to worry, that this is only impurities giving a kick from within. He does not question whether these reactions may be due to the meditation and associated belief system. Nor does he suggest what a student should do if these feelings do not go away.
A meditator may dive into this new world of past and future lives lived through the lens of ardent focus on sensations on the body with the understanding of impermance. Mr Goenka assures the student that the mind's reactions against this is just mental impurities which have taken over the mind and are giving a kick from within. With ardent practice of psychic self surgery under Mr Goenkas enthusiastic directions, the natural mind is really under assault. Mr Goenka constantly harrangues the meditators "don't play games of sensations". This combat continues as the mind revolts against this mindwashing technique, leading to more ardent application of Vipassana to suppress it. The more the meditator suppresses the mind, the more it revolts.
Mr Goenka instructs the students that they will tame their mind, like a Bull is tamed by a rope tied to a nose ring and tethered to a stake. But like a fox caught in the jaws of a foxtrap will knaw off it's own leg to escape, so also the mind tethered by the nose ring of Vipassana will not be bound to the mindless. It will revolt. This is not impurity to be suppressed. This is the real mind revolting against the imposition of a belief system that presupposes that the mind is full of deep impurity as a result of kamma from previous existences which must be rooted out. Any mind will revolt against this nonsense.
As long as one subscribes to this primitive revivalist belief system of past and future lives, mental impurities, and escaping the cycle of life and death to attain Nibbana, one can never live in peace with one's own mind. Anything which arises in the mind, good or bad, will be understood by the meditator to be the result of the unknowable past of previous existences, some invisible stock of mental formations in the deep recesses of the mind.
But by abandoning the superstitions of past and future lives which are taught as fact by Mr Goenka, the meditator can return to normal life. Better make the most of this one and only life, with all of it's idiosyncracies. There are many ways of being alive in this world and each of us is unique and valuable without having to conduct any psychic surgery. All have the innate capacity to work out their own existence.
A belief in past and future lives, is a religious belief, and a practice which Mr Goenka states is to eradicate impurities from past lives in order to achieve the deathless is a religious practice, a dogma. It is innately harmful.
Having practised Vipassana meditation with the utmost seriousness for several years and undertaken over twenty full 10 day silent retreats, and a 30 day silent retreat under the watchful guidance of Mr Goenka on his videotapes, and having had the chance to contemplate this experience in the years since, I would not recommend Vipassana Meditation as taught by Mr S.N.Goenka to anyone at all.
Dan Taylor
The writer formerly practiced Vipassana Meditation as taught by Mr Goenka.
Tens of thousands of people around the world have taken 10 day silent meditation retreats under the video guidance of Mr Satya Naryan Goenka of India. Some take longer courses or tens or even a hundred 10 day retreats. All the students start by repeating the phrase,
"I surrender myself completely, to Buddha and my present teacher, for proper guidance and protection ...
Please teach me the technique of Vipassana Meditation, so that I can experience, the Nibbanic peace within me".
Underlying principles of the technique
The technique is a crash course intensive openly stated to be mind washing to remove supposed very deep and invisible mental impurities which, the students are told by the teacher have arisen from past deeds in countless past lives. The self imposed mental isolation, and focusing on the respiration and sensations of the body, in the manner taught by Mr Goenka, is combined with repetitious instructions from Mr Goenka, and nightly discourses from Mr Goenka in which he teaches openly his beliefs on past and future lives, as if they are facts, as if Nibbana is a fact, however unfortunately it cannot be explained in words, and that Buddha showed the way to eradicate impurities from past lives and so obtain Nibbana.
One is told to disintegrate, dissect, dissolve, the entire mental and physical structure, and to find that there is only arising and passing away. Mr Goenka describes this as mental surgery conducted by the meditator on oneself. Everything one experiences in the world is to be viewed through the lens of sensations on the body and mind, and every sensation is to be viewed through the lens of Vipassana meditation, with the understanding of anicca - impermanence, arising and passing away. That's it. That's the whole wisdom of the technique. Everything arises due to a cause, which is some form of past attachment, which causes mind and matter to come into existence and pass away trillions of time every moment. Understanding this one then learns by experience to become detached, no longer generates attachments, and ultimately extinguishes the flame of existence by entering into Nibbana where nothing arises and so nothing passes away, thereby attaining the deathless and so ending the cycle of birth and death. One has attained Nirrodha, - cessation, where one does not have to be born again in a future existence after this life. One has obtained liberation.
All this metaphysical stuff is very esoteric and so is not stated in the literature, but it is hammered home by Mr Goenka to the students who are compliantly focussing on their respiration and sensations ardently.
After the course finishes one is to go back into the world armed with this new technique, and to apply it as far as possible every waking moment of the life. This lens of Vipassana comes between the meditator and the life he once lived, which he now instead meditates.
A very serious question arises, that if practitioners are meditating to eradicate impurities from past lives, they are dealing with metaphysical and religious beliefs which bear no relation to the reality that there is no past and future lives, there is only this one life which we are living now. Mr Goenka through his teaching of Vipassana introduces to the practitioner a completely false understanding of themselves, whilst providing a tool for conducting psychic self surgery based on this premise.
Mr Goenka assures the meditators that the mind will revolt against this psychic surgery because the impurities have taken over the mind and do not want to leave, but with Vipassana they have to leave, so they kick from within. For example Mr Goenka describes how meditators during the course may start having feelings of violence towards others and start getting frightened. He assures the meditators not to worry, that this is only impurities giving a kick from within. He does not question whether these reactions may be due to the meditation and associated belief system. Nor does he suggest what a student should do if these feelings do not go away.
A meditator may dive into this new world of past and future lives lived through the lens of ardent focus on sensations on the body with the understanding of impermance. Mr Goenka assures the student that the mind's reactions against this is just mental impurities which have taken over the mind and are giving a kick from within. With ardent practice of psychic self surgery under Mr Goenkas enthusiastic directions, the natural mind is really under assault. Mr Goenka constantly harrangues the meditators "don't play games of sensations". This combat continues as the mind revolts against this mindwashing technique, leading to more ardent application of Vipassana to suppress it. The more the meditator suppresses the mind, the more it revolts.
Mr Goenka instructs the students that they will tame their mind, like a Bull is tamed by a rope tied to a nose ring and tethered to a stake. But like a fox caught in the jaws of a foxtrap will knaw off it's own leg to escape, so also the mind tethered by the nose ring of Vipassana will not be bound to the mindless. It will revolt. This is not impurity to be suppressed. This is the real mind revolting against the imposition of a belief system that presupposes that the mind is full of deep impurity as a result of kamma from previous existences which must be rooted out. Any mind will revolt against this nonsense.
As long as one subscribes to this primitive revivalist belief system of past and future lives, mental impurities, and escaping the cycle of life and death to attain Nibbana, one can never live in peace with one's own mind. Anything which arises in the mind, good or bad, will be understood by the meditator to be the result of the unknowable past of previous existences, some invisible stock of mental formations in the deep recesses of the mind.
But by abandoning the superstitions of past and future lives which are taught as fact by Mr Goenka, the meditator can return to normal life. Better make the most of this one and only life, with all of it's idiosyncracies. There are many ways of being alive in this world and each of us is unique and valuable without having to conduct any psychic surgery. All have the innate capacity to work out their own existence.
A belief in past and future lives, is a religious belief, and a practice which Mr Goenka states is to eradicate impurities from past lives in order to achieve the deathless is a religious practice, a dogma. It is innately harmful.
Having practised Vipassana meditation with the utmost seriousness for several years and undertaken over twenty full 10 day silent retreats, and a 30 day silent retreat under the watchful guidance of Mr Goenka on his videotapes, and having had the chance to contemplate this experience in the years since, I would not recommend Vipassana Meditation as taught by Mr S.N.Goenka to anyone at all.
Dan Taylor
The writer formerly practiced Vipassana Meditation as taught by Mr Goenka.
Dear Dan,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience.
I had just one question.
Since Mr S.N Goenka would have spoken about Sankharas from past life in the very first of your 10 day course, Why did you still choose to attend more 10 day courses.
In other words, the reason you provide for quitting Vipassana is something which you would have discovered at the very begining, why did you wait so long to quit?
Thanks,
Fractal