Ten-Day Vipassana Retreats
An Old Student’s Perspective
As I write this, I’ve attended a Goenka-style ten-day Vipassana retreat four times, which makes me an “old student.” These retreats represent industrial-grade meditation training and practice, demanding around ten-and-a-half hours of meditation per day. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably either attended at least one, or you’re planning to attend one. In order to get the most from these retreats, here are four things I’ve learned to value.
Return to the Practice
Everyone’s retreat experience is unique, and different content seems to come up each time for the same person. For me, a recurring thread that runs through my retreats is some form of emotional distress. On more than one occasion, I’ve considered going to the teacher asking, “Is it normal to be this emotionally disturbed?” I usually answer this kind of question myself: it doesn’t matter. What’s happening is what’s happening; there is no escape from it. What’s being asked for is to return to the practice: bring the attention back to the sensations within the framework of the body.
If I believe what Goenka tells me, this practice releases a ton of sankaras (old psychological imprints) which manifest as all the things I struggle with on these retreats, such as anxiety, loneliness, regret, lust, and a…
