Guest guest Posted July 28, 2001 Report Share Posted July 28, 2001 I thank you for the recommendation of the website on Vipassana practice. I am not a stranger to this practice and thought it would be wonderful to attend a 10 day session. I can't believe they are doing this for free. I am concerned about my age and physical condition. Has anyone attended a session? Are they difficult physically? Thanks for all the great words of wisdom from the group! Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 28, 2001 Report Share Posted July 28, 2001 Hi Judy, There are tons of articles on the Web by people who attended Goenka sessions . If you can't find any, tell me and I'll try to find some. There are also documentary films and lots of other stuff... the organization is quite a big deal in some countries. The Indian government uses Goenka teachers inside Indian prisons to rehabilitate prisoners. I imagine you could call the particular retreat center you'd be visiting and ask if they can accomodate your age and physical condition. It's amazing that it's free, yes. Goenka is a rich businessman and this is what he decided to do with his money. Generally the organization has an extraordinarily high reputation among almost everybody, but it generated some bad publicity for itself a year or two ago after it apparently told a woman that she was unwelcome to attend a retreat because she is a lesbian. Gay and Lesbian groups got involved, attacked Goenka, etc. Goenka himself got involved, met with the groups, promised to rectify the situation, etc. His explanation was that the organization has nothing against gays and lesbians but there was a practical problem at that particular center, namely, the housing arrangements. Men and women stay in separate housing at Goenka retreats to minimize distractions caused by sexual attractions. But this only works if all the people are heterosexual. So to accomodate lesbians, they needed a different kind of housing. Obviously this is pretty naive because in any large number of people there are always gays and lesbians. I don't know the outcome but the complaints seem to have died down. The only other criticisms I've heard come from Indians of the Hindu nationalist persuasion who are afraid the organization is too effective and threatens to turn India Buddhist again! I'm not making them up, you'll find articles like this all over the Web also. Regards, Rob - Judith Millard Realization Saturday, July 28, 2001 3:39 PM Vipassana Meditation I thank you for the recommendation of the website on Vipassana practice. I am not a stranger to this practice and thought it would be wonderful to attend a 10 day session. I can't believe they are doing this for free. I am concerned about my age and physical condition. Has anyone attended a session? Are they difficult physically? Thanks for all the great words of wisdom from the group! Judy..........INFORMATION ABOUT THIS LIST..........Email addresses: Post message: Realization Un: Realization- Our web address: http://www.realization.orgBy sending a message to this list, you are givingpermission to have it reproduced as a letter onhttp://www.realization.org................................................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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