Written by Dan Kaminsky In a recent blog post in which I was writing with critical inquisitiveness about practices done at centers, among the many thought provoking responses to come in was the idea that when you are going to a center, you are entering into someone else’s domain and because of that should do …
Month: June 2020
Is Dhamma Fragile?
You know the story: 2500 years ago the Buddha brought the complete path of Dhamma to India. Over the centuries, these teachings became polluted until they were lost in most parts of the world. Only in Burma was the complete teaching preserved in writing and practice. After 2500 years, the teachings were professed to return …
The Rigidity of the Tradition: Part 1
Written by Dan Kaminsky There is this fear that the meditation technique will get watered down or changed by people looking to make it easier or more pleasant, and the essence of the technique will be lost. This fear then leads to some of the rigidities around exploration that are in existence. This fear is …
Does Theory Matter?
Goenka shares a lot of theory in the 10-day discourses on topics like reincarnation, sankaras, metta, and liberation. He also shares that believing the theory isn't important as long as you follow the practice of sila, samadhi, and panna. Goenka wants students to learn the benefits of practicing vipassana through their own experience, and since …
Alternative Views on Sankhara’s and the Process of Purification: Part 2
Written by Dan Kaminsky My experience with meditation causes me to question Goenka’s explanation of Sankhara’s and the process of purification (discussed in part one of this post). In this post, I want to discuss the intellectual challenges I have with Goenka’s theory on Sankhara’s. On the intellectual level, two main things about Goenka’s model …
Continue reading Alternative Views on Sankhara’s and the Process of Purification: Part 2
Living Vipassana 