"A great opportunity to meditate if you can ignore the indoctrination into their "

A review of Vipassana Trust Meditation Centre by M.M. written on Saturday 28th of May 2011

First off, please understand that I had a pleasant experience while I was there. In the hills away from city noise and bustle, eating light, no alcohol, lots of stretching (of my own doing - stretching and walking were the only exercises permitted), and of course 11 good hours of meditation a day - this is a good formula for a healthy heart and mind. I was indeed happy, and I was in quite a good mood the whole time. I had just finished a 1200km long pilgrimage on foot (the Shikoku 88 Temples pilgrimage), and thought that following it with a good meditation retreat would have been a wonderful finish before getting back to the rest of the world, if you know what I mean. (c:

When I first arrived, red flags went off in my head with the naivety of the managers. I was in Japan, near where the March 2011 tsunami hit, and thus close to the problematic nuclear power station. During orientation, the female manager told us: if there is an earthquake (there were still aftershocks, even here at two months later), stay in the buildings, do not go out (into the big open field were there are no trees or buildings or anything). She explained that because the buildings were new, they were strong and could withstand an earthquake. Second, do not worry about the water because they had water filters that would kill the radiation. I was surprised to hear this, and reading the surprise on my face, she repeated this, "Some of you look like you may be worried, so I want to make sure you understand: the water is safe, we have water filters and it will kill all the radiation."

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my glasses to the retreat and my right contact tore the very first morning. Although this is a silent retreat, we are permitted to speak with the managers if there is a problem. I went to the male manager and explained the situation and, having had to hand over my phone, I asked if either they or myself could call my wife in Japan and ask her to mail my glasses to the compound. I explained that I wrote her number down as my emergency contact on the registration forms we had to fill out when we arrived. He said he would take care of it. The next day, he informed me that they could not make the call, since it's an overseas phone call, and he needed her email address. I explained again that she is Japanese, we live in Japan, and if he would look at the number I had written down for them, he would see that it was a local call. Just in case, however, he asked if I would give him the email address anyway. I explained the email was in my phone in their safe, and asked if I could see it to get the address. He did a quick, sucking inhalation and hesitated, which those of you familiar with Japanese culture will recognize as meaning that the answer is "no", but he didn't want to say "no". Anyway, he said he would try to call. Later I learned that he was still waiting for her email address, and when I came to him during a lunch break, he had already forgotten what we were talking about. Long story short, it took about two and a half days, but eventually a phone call was made to my wife for the glasses. I mention this as an example of the general absent-mindedness of this manager. He and the woman before were representative of the compound.

The chanting also surprised me, as I didn't know Vipassana "followers" did a chanting call-response, or any kind of chanting at all for that matter. About every hour, one of several clips are played with Goenka chanting in a language said to be the language of Buddha. At certain times during the chanting, the students give a slow respond chant of "sadhu, sadhu, sadhu". Goenka explains this to simply mean "well done" or "well said", to assuage any questioning newbies such as myself. The question is of course not what the chanting means, but why followers get involved in this call-response chant with their leader in something that is touted to not be a religion, only a technique. As a further note, I later learned that the workers at the retreat all keep tapes of Goenka's chanting playing when the students aren't around. This is their mantra.

The chanting during meditation sessions put my meditations off just a bit. I found that I could meditate much better without it, but this isn't so important. The 90 minute discourse videos that we were subjected to watch every evening were a bit disturbing, however. I am indeed about to call Goenka's Vipassana retreats cultish. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I do have experience with cult mentality through family members that got involved with such things, and Goenka's Vipassana retreats, as benign as they may be, do indeed show traits of cult mentality. And I specify "Goenka's" Vipassana as there are other ways to learn Vipassana, despite his followers are likely to tell you that you can only learn it through Goenka. I believe this is called a personality cult.

Again, I was in very good spirits while I was there. Furthermore, the people, as misled as I may think them, were kind and I never felt myself threatened at any time. There are indeed pros and cons to the experience.

The video tapes. Most of the time, Goenka is teaching rudimentary Buddhism mixed with very inaccurate and dogmatic "facts". (The compound leaders told me however that he does not teach religion or any sort of "-ism".) Goenka is very long-winded, talks in circles, and gives poor or misleading examples. You could take all the information from a 90 minute video and consolidate it probably into about 10 minutes or less. Here are some of the things he taught in the videos, in order:

1) Those who do not complete a Vipassana course are weak-willed. You absolutely must finish the course. (This pressure permeates the facility.)

2) People sometimes come to him whining about how from so much meditation their legs ache, their backs ache, or they have headaches. (Goenka actually put on a whining, mocking voice when saying this.) These aches are not to be taken seriously. They are nothing more than manifestations of the mind trying to escape the meditation technique. After a few days of Vipassana, you will not need to move your body while meditating, even when meditating for hours on end.

3) Vipassana comes from Buddha. It was what he used to become enlightened. Furthermore, all saints and all buddhas and all enlightened people in history became thus by using Vipassana. (I have since read an interview with Goenka where, when asked if Vipassana is the only way to become enlightened, he responded that it seems there are exceptions where some people learn it spontaneously, without knowing the name Vipassana.)

4) As you practice Vipassana, you will understand through experience (the experience being that of the meditation itself) the Law of Nature. The Law of Nature begins with the 5 precepts: Do not kill (or eat meat), Do not steal, Do not engage in sexual activity outside of marriage, Do not lie, Do not take intoxicants.

5) All religions have the same message: do good/pious things, and do not to bad/cruel things. The Law of Nature is this message. Religions however often make two mistakes: they do not use all of the 5 precepts, and they do not use Vipassana. Vipassana is the only way to liberation and happiness. ("But," Goenka repeats regarding other religions after saying they are all incomplete because they lack Vipassana, "I do not condemn them!, I do not condemn them!")

6) Vipassana is most rational, and it is scientific.

7) As you practice Vipassana, you will become more and more aware of subtle levels of your body. This will progress until you can feel actual individual atoms in your body. The Buddha himself felt this level, which is why he knew and taught that we are made of trillions of tiny components.

8) Western science through machines has made some of the discoveries that Buddha did through Vipassana. A western scientist made a "bubble" machine that allowed him to find out exactly how small an atom is. A few Indians were excited when they learned that science could know for sure the same things Buddha said, and they went to find this scientist. When they found him, however, they were disappointed in that he was a man of great suffering, and with a miserable life. This was because he did not use Vipassana.

Finally, after day 4, I had a meeting with the male AT (assistant teachers - Goenka's Vipassana has him as the sole teacher, and all other facility leaders as assistants) and the silent leader of the camp - an older, much more experienced monk-looking Japanese gentleman who would come to meditations and sit silently with the ATs. Although he had never been introduced or even referenced during the course, it was clear that he was some kind of leader.

In the meeting, which was very civil and again pleasant in general, I explained my heart: I loved the meditation, and everyone was very kind. However, the chanting and particularly the videos I found were disturbing my meditations.

"What is it that disturbs you?"

So, I went on to recount things from the list above. However, I was quickly stopped.

"We cannot discuss the philosophy with you. We can only help you with the meditation. If the chanting is disturbing you, you may meditate in the dormitory instead of the main hall."

I told them I loved that idea, and asked if I could also meditate during the video presentations. It was, after all, really the videos that were disturbing me. Unfortunately, the videos were a requirement. I told them I did not think the videos necessary, as all he really does is talk about his Vipassana-philosophy, and that the techniques are taught once a day on the CDs played in the main hall. But still, all new students were required to view all of Goenka's daily 90-minute discourses.

I told them that while I might leave, I would give it more time. I later asked one of the managers, "Is Goenka the only person that teaches Vipassana correctly?" He told me that yes, only Goenka teaches Vipassana. (I think most of us know this to be very incorrect.) I told the AT and compound leader that I had come across the meditation used in Vipassana before. (It is a basic sensory-sensation meditation, pleasant, but not unusual or a great secret). When I said this, they both nearly jumped out of their seats, "Really?! Where?!" They explained that after Buddha, the technique fell into the hands of Burmese monks, where it was kept a secret in their order for nearly 2000 years. Then, about 150 years ago, they began teaching certain people, starting with a farmer. When Goenka was lucky enough to learn the technique, he started a campaign to spread the secret and the truth to the world.

I decided to leave.

To summarize, the experience was all in all pleasant. The people were kind, albeit a bit misled. Goenka's teaching is largely harmless, although it is inaccurate and carries strong traits of a cult of personality. Having the opportunity to get in so much meditation in such quiet and natural surroundings is fantastic, and if weren't for the daily required dogmatic videos (which in my opinion are indoctrination videos), I would indeed have recommend the retreat.

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