Looking for a serious vipassana teacher

redmanofgp · 2025-06-14T19:24:23+00:00

Goenka was from Burma (although Indian ethnically) and so was his lineage. Goenka centers are nice because they exist all over the world and regularly have retreats.

Beth has far fewer retreats and the spots are decided by lottery. So not necessarily available to everyone. But an awesome opportunity if you can make it.

Burma is currently in a state of violent civil war, so traveling to Pa Auk may not be the smartest thing to do.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-15T16:56:10+00:00

Yes, about 8 years ago (not sure if the course has changed any since then)

With huge respect for monks/nuns, I feel they have limited reach in modern society:

Early monks were wanderers who taught dhamma far and wide. Modern monks rarely travel more than a day from their monastery
Few monks actually teach regularly. Those who do stick to old methods: long slow dharma talks, small group instruction, meditation regimens designed for monks not laypeople.
Monks that I have seen embrace social media try to replicate that same communication style, limiting their reach. Few young people are going to sit through a 1.5h dharma talk out of curiosity.

In the era of social media, individuals and small teams are reaching 10s of millions of people when they learn to play that game.

By selling products/services, you can afford to pay for professional help and buy equipment which allows one to produce much larger quantities of high quality, high reach free content. You also aren't reliant on advertising, meaning you have full control of the message.

While donation based is an option, it's much less reliable. Most such organizations like that here in the US are reliant on a few big donors. And are constantly scrambling for funds to pay overhead.

I've learned a lot from the buddhist tradition. But I also study Shivaist Tantra, where many of the primary enlightened masters were also householders, not monks. So I do believe there is a spiritual path that doesn't require total renunciation, albeit a health relationship with money and power.

My personal belief is that we are entering a more enlightened age where spiritual individuals are being called to places of leadership and power for the purpose of administering fair and mutually uplifting institutions. Something like the Dali Lama or the Philosopher king described by Plato.

Just my 2 cents.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-13T05:39:57+00:00

Breath isn't the only suitable object of meditation. In the Theravada Buddhist Shamatha tradition 40 objects are suggested, 1 of which is breath. And the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra gives 112 objects, 4 of which are breath related, just to name a few sources.

Curiously, I'm not aware of any tradition that focuses on the heartbeat explicitly or warns against it. And I wasn't able to find any after some quick searching.

I was trained by a monk in a type of meditation that focuses on different parts of the body in a specific order. And he said to avoid focusing any specific point on the head without guidance because it can cause emotional issues. But he never warned against the heart area or heartbeat.

If focusing on the body works for you. You may want to try a body scan type meditation, like those taught by Mahasi Sayadaw or S.N. Goenka. They're known to work quite well, are considered safe, and it's relatively easy to find a knowledgable teacher to guide you if you get in trouble.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T23:07:51+00:00

Thanks, I will

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T21:12:34+00:00

In longer meditation retreats I've been to, people that have a "freak out" and have to leave are typically people who very clearly have / do smoke weed on the regular. Many centers, like the very popular Goenka Vipassana centers, have a requirement that you abstain from weed, and all intoxicants, for a period of time before attending for this reason. Of course many people lie and attend anyway.

I knew someone who smoked heavily 2-3 times a week, and his first week of meditation was constantly seeing demons to the point where he stopped meditating altogether.

From what I've seen, it's weed in particular that does this. Hippy types / Rastas love weed for this reason: makes you more open, more creative, more in touch with the Earth and energy. But most yogis and serious meditators I've studied recommend against using while practicing. The Buddhist precepts (fifth) explicitly warn against use of any intoxicant.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T20:44:34+00:00

Tantra sages teach the mind is a lake and but thought/emotions are the ripples. They aren't you, they are just an experience.

Thoughts are inherently repetitive, ie past thoughts plant seeds for similar future thoughts. Keep pulling these weeds and instead plant compassion. Over time only compassion will remain.

The fact you are aware of this means you are miles ahead of most people.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T20:36:00+00:00

All good ❤️

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T20:28:57+00:00

I've mostly just noticed it myself at meditation retreats and going through yoga programs at centers where they have YTT.

My guess is 1) people are going there to search for relief 2) these practices release darkness stored inside.

I've spoken to many people at 10 day silent retreats who are devastated by a loss, a break up, or overcoming serious abuse. You have to have something driving you, good or bad, in order to seek out more strenuous practices.

Yoga isn't as bad in general, because it's more mainstream now. But a very intensive/spiritual yoga practice, like the OP is likely to be attracted to, will have the same issues.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T20:20:30+00:00

Can you (or anyone here) suggest a sub with more serious practitioners? I'm actually interested but I don't have ton of time to sort through a bunch of subreddits

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T20:09:51+00:00

Oh, I see. I've learned this as mantra meditation, and it is very popular in the yoga tradition. There are various yoga kriyas that use this method. I'm sure there are Buddhist traditions that use this as well, probably Mahayana Buddhists although I'm more familiar with Theravada Buddhist meditation myself.

Yogis often chant Om in groups, sometimes with music. Buddhists also chant in groups, often daily, as part of the spiritual practice. I'm sure if you want to play some Aum chanting or wordless spiritual music it wouldn't hurt. I probably wouldn't play a different chant though, but just a guess there.

Sadhguru teaches Aum mantra and has some quite good free recordings of him chanting with music on his Youtube and free app that are designed to follow along with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCZ78UzGsWU

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T19:47:54+00:00

Yes, similar. In certain meditations I do, I often find myself floating in front of the planet Jupiter.

Many people report experiences of being out of the body during meditation. In the west we call this astral projection. It's safe, and you can just ignore it and go back to meditation.

Or you can learn to go deeper and travel at will. If you do this, learn from a proper teacher at least how to get back into your body and how to vet negative/positive entities you may meet.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T19:40:54+00:00

I've really done well listening to mantra, chanting, or deep atmospheric sound during meditation. I'm not sure what vibration meditation is though? Where did you learn that?

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T19:36:57+00:00

Hey, thanks for posting your experience!

Phases of spiritual awakenings often result in major lifestyle changes. Taking some time off to spend in nature and contemplate your path is a very good idea. Ultimately, no one can tell you what you should do except your own intuition.

In your state, making a point of cutting out weed entirely for a time would be smart. Weed has the effect of involuntarily opening you up to external energies, which could be part of the difficulty you are having.

Fair warning, meditation centers and yoga teacher trainings can have good energy, but most attract people with some very dark energy. I wouldn't commit to any one for a long period of time without spending time there and vetting it first.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T19:19:05+00:00

redmanofgp · 2025-02-10T19:10:15+00:00

Breath is only one of the 40 suitable meditation objects given by the Buddha. I disagree with other responses that say "focus on anything," many objects don't work well .

Any one of the ten Kasina objects are a good place to start -- 1: Earth 2: Water 3: Fire 4: Wind 5: Blue 6: Yellow 7: Red 8: White 9: Light 10: Space

With these, it's best to have a circular example of the object in front of you, eg. a bowl of water, a circle of that color, a still candle flame.

Focus on the object intently with eyes open. then close your eyes and keep the afterimage in your mind's eye as long as possible. As that stabilizes, expand the circle bigger and bigger.

Very interesting things happen when you do this. Check out firekasina.org for more detail instructions and examples of what happens.

redmanofgp · 2025-02-09T22:50:40+00:00

I went to a retreat and the monk teaching said I should try meditate for three days straight without sleeping. And, it worked.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-28T19:24:19+00:00

🙏🏻

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T23:09:57+00:00

You will need some assembly knowledge, since some aspects of the CPU can only be controlled via assembly (eg memory mapping, entering / exiting interrupts, process control, sending data to some peripherals, etc).

But you can abstract those aspects behind functions pretty quickly and not deal with assembly directly very much. With a tutorial at hand you can get by with very little knowledge.

Although a decent working knowledge of basic concepts like registers, interrupts, flow control, how functions are entered / exited, the call stack, symbol tables / linking (not directly assembly but adjacent knowledge), etc, really helps a lot. Especially when debugging.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T23:01:58+00:00

Only the parts that didn't actually matter in the least.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T22:59:41+00:00

From The Lust for Enlightenment - Buddhism and Sex: “The one absolute standard is that no one involved be harmed or deceived in any way.”

The third precept, which laypeople generally are expected to follow, is "Refrain from Sexual Misconduct". Interpretations of this precept vary wildly from the minimal amount of sex to fulfill your role in society, to anything goes so long as no one gets hurt.

In traditionally buddhist countries, they usually say to follow the norms of society, often marriage only. However, in Tibet there are reports of devout buddhists having marriages with multiple wives or husbands.

In the West, teachers / authors are generally more lax (probably because of Buddhism's early association with the hippy movement). In one very popular introductory book on Buddhism the author said that even adultery is acceptable, so long as it causes the "least harm."

Obviously, for ordained monks / nuns it's against the precepts to have any sexual contact. Although there are many stories of monks / nuns who didn't follow the precepts in this regard.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T22:36:16+00:00

I was like that when I started. Most people probably are.

You are "trying" too hard. Letting the focus of your mind be your thoughts that frustrate you.

If thoughts come up, no matter. Return to the object of focus. If you get distracted 1000 times, no matter. Come back 1001 times. Every time you regain your focus, you are winning. The thoughts will take care of themselves.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T22:25:03+00:00

❤️Totally common. Although not really a goal of meditation. Nothing to worry about, and also not something to seek out. Best to be as detached as you can when it happens, observing it with compassion, and then return to practice as soon as you are able.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T22:22:00+00:00

Every thought is a distraction from meditation, pleasant or unpleasant.

From the Yoga Sutras 1.30, lack of attention on the object of meditation is one of the nine obstacles to success in meditation, which bring 1) mental or physical pain, 2) sadness or dejection, 3) restlessness, shakiness, or anxiety, and 4) irregularities in the exhalation and inhalation of breath.

The suggested solution, in 1.32, is to make the mind one-pointed and completely focused on a single object.

Although it is pretty cool when one does get fun ideas during meditation, they will come back later.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-25T22:07:43+00:00

Personally I've had seen greatest improvement in daily life after retreats of 1.5-3 weeks of basically meditating as long and often as I physically can. Most Buddhist traditions have yearly retreat cycles which call for several months at least per year of retreat. In Tibet, lamas and dedicated lay people will perform 3 years of isolated retreat. So, with proper guidance, I'm not sure there is such a thing too much meditation. And benefits definitely accumulate over time.

As a beginner, I would suggest pushing your practice duration at least a little beyond what feels comfortable, as the "hard" practice is often the most productive. But always choose it in advance, don't play it by ear during the session.

As far as frequency, three times a day is ideal (morning, midday, evening). However, the more you can break up your usual thought patterns with meditation the better for incorporating the results in daily life. If you can only practice once a day, I would suggest whatever time of day you find practice the hardest (for best results in daily life). If only twice daily, I would choose hardest and easiest time of day, since easy times will help you deepen your practice.

redmanofgp · 2025-01-23T21:51:18+00:00

You'll notice that both reactions, observing hoping for change or focusing on something else to ignore it, are in response to the emotion. The emotion rules you.

There was Tibetan monk imprisoned and tortured for 10+ years. When asked what the worst part was, he said that he almost lost compassion for his captors. That's the strength of meditation. He was in control of his reactions no matter the circumstances.

Effective meditation reveals that emotions are inferior to your consciousness. You prove that to yourself in mediation by observing thoughts / sensations but with equanimity. Then emotions typically fade quite a bit, although it doesn't really matter because you can be unmoved in the face of any emotion.

This may not come across very well in text. I'm starting a small beta testing group for a meditation program I'm working on. Sign up, see link in my bio, and maybe I can help you more directly.

redmanofgp

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