Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

I fell in love with the dhamma around 18. i started w/ goenka retreats and got obsessed with that for a few years. then i became disenchanted when i started researching into their claims and so moved to thai forest monasteries. i did a pilgramage in thailand and burma and then transfered from JC to UC berkeley. most recently i've been spending months at tassajara. i'm finishing my degree this year. i'm comfortable here, but not any closer to lasting changes in consciousness as far as i can tell.

You didn't surf when you lived in Santa Cruz? My god! Anyway, maybe you should consider another pilgrimage or a long retreat after you get your BA. Do you have any interest in becoming a bhikkhu (judging by the other post I'd guess not)?

no, i always felt lost in the water unfortunately. yeah i thought about ordaining. i spent the last year or two lifting weights every other day and eating six meals a day, so i might do it at tassajara where i can keep that up. i would like to ordain at a theravada monastery with a teacher that has the time and motivation to teach me how to meditate. also, i am waiting till i'm more flexible, because most theravada monasteries don't like their monks to sit on chairs (and i have bulging disc issues due to sitting on the floor too often without flexibility growing up)

convivium wrote:I fell in love with the dhamma around 18. i started w/ goenka retreats and got obsessed with that for a few years. then i became disenchanted when i started researching into their claims and so moved to thai forest monasteries. i did a pilgramage in thailand and burma and then transfered from JC to UC berkeley. most recently i've been spending months at tassajara. i'm finishing my degree this year. i'm comfortable here, but not any closer to lasting changes in consciousness as far as i can tell.

what are their claims?

hi alan,
have you done a 10 day 'goenka retreat'? you can download his dharma talks on the internet. goenka states in very absolutist terms that his technique/lineage is the only one that traces back to the buddha directly (on the 10th day). the goenka people say things are from the suttas that aren't from the suttas; e.g. bhanga nana, kalapas, etc. they disparage jhana on the grounds that you can get attached to it (which is a debate i don't want to get into here). however more than what they say (which is generally good when taken with a grain of salt and not contextualized too deeply) is the rigid and exclusionary way in which they say it. they leave out 80% of buddhism and restrict what their practioners (so as to remain in the tradition, and do longer retreats, etc) to a very limited scope of even the sutta's teachings. those are some things that come to mind. hope that helps

Welcome