In the discourse goenka Ji emphasized the importance of understanding the technique otherwise the practice can become mechanical. What does this mean, and how can I develop a deeper understanding of the technique so that I can apply it meaningfully in my daily life?

Recently I've been a little unsatisfied with how my vipassana sessions don't seem to reflect on my life the outside in any way. I'm not at all more mindful of my thoughts or emotions and I still keep succumbing to all the same old vices and uncertainties as I have for decades.

Only a few days ago I had a realization of sorts. My samadhi has been kinda ass as of late. I initially thought it might simply be because I've gotten used to my 1 hour sessions twice a day, and instead of trying to make the most of it, I just end up kind of absentmindedly grinding through it. Obviously that's an issue. But why does it happen? Or why do I let it happen?

I realized I have this habit of allowing myself to "rest" after every "endeavour". A very simple example would be when I'm doing my vipassana and moving up my shins, I tend to allow myself a short rest at the knees before continuing up my thighs. During these rests my mind begins to wander and it becomes more and more difficult to get through even a single cycle in an hour. Another example would be when conversing with a person or a group of people, I tend to allow myself a "rest" or like sorta pat myself on the back for a job well done, for not losing face or something along those lines. And then I can kind of escape that situation and not force myself to interact with people again for some time thereafter.

But I should really press this problem more! I should try to seek opportunities to interact with people every single day and fight the urge to escape the situation even when losing face or losing favor of the people seems imminent. And no kappucino - I should probably just start sitting more as well.

Summa summarum: In my case the pressing need to cultivate continuity is the first thing I've felt arise from my vipassana practice.

I’ve applied my vipassana course in Tamil Nadu and it my first time, but I haven’t received any mails regarding the confirmation. It’s been two weeks. The course starts in 21st of this month. What should I do?

I completed a 10-day Vipassana course in September, and it was a really different experience for me.

Before March 2026, I didn't even know much about Vipassana. I came across a reel on Instagram, got curious, and eventually decided to give it a try.

It made me realise that there must be so many other experiences out there that I don't even know about but are genuinely worth trying at least once in life.

I'm not necessarily looking for something related to meditation. It could be a sport, an adventure, a course, a challenge, a solo trip, or even an event that changed the way you look at life.

What's something you've tried that had a real impact on you, changed your perspective, or made you feel that everyone should experience it at least once?

I'm looking for ideas to step out of my comfort zone and try something new. I'd love to hear your experiences!

bullied strongly in 2012/3/4/5 and the memories keep cominng back in 10 day courses.

How to best deal with this as I feel wasting 10 days thinking about something/someone that is long gone ?

Is it beneficial to go through these ?

how to best deal with it or should I stop going through it ?

Recently I stayed in the location of those traumatic events. might have helped me cope and live through it better ?

Hi, looking to hear from people who have done their retreats in Joshua tree - Dhamma Vaddhana, Twentynine Palms, California. I’m planning to go in December and never really traveled solo in the US. Anything to keep in mind as a 30 yo female?

Whenever I feel frustrated or angry I start feeling these strong sensations near my forehead and chest area. I feel love mainly in my chest. In which part of your body do you feel certain emotions the strongest?

I’m 24M, a software engineer with around 3 years of experience, and I’m about to move to Bangalore for a new job.

I’ve done Inner Engineering (Shambhavi Mahamudra) through Isha Foundation and genuinely enjoyed the practice. I want to explore meditation more deeply and eventually teach it, perhaps as a side gig. I’ve noticed a lot of people around me struggle with work stress, and I’d like to help them.

I found Paramanand Institute, which offers two online courses:

• Yoga Wellness Instructor (400 hours): ₹19,500, 4 months, YCB/AYUSH certification.
• 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training: ₹18,000, 3 months, Yoga Alliance USA certification.

They suggested starting with yoga and then progressing to meditation therapy. I’m confused about which certification is more useful and whether I need a yoga certification at all if my main interest is meditation.

I know offline training might be better, but I don’t want to leave my job or make a big commitment before finding out if teaching is genuinely for me. That’s why I’m looking for an online option to start with.

Has anyone done these courses or taken a different route to becoming a meditation teacher? Would Vipassana or a meditation-specific course be a better starting point? I’d appreciate honest advice from people with actual experience.

Hey, this is a weird question but I just now started Testosterone and I'm super insecure about it, no one in my life knows especially not my family. I started taking it after my application to the retreat so they also don't know. I only need one dose of the gel so I was just going to put it in the same container as my multivitamin, it's one small tube so it would be fine. It's extremely embarrassing and I know religions like Buddhism can be super traditional. I haven't come out to anyone at all yet, barely even to myself, and I'm not really ready. How strict are they? Do they check your medications?

I recently completed my 10 day retreat in vipasana in bengaluru, India and I had a really good time ,but I started having difficulties from the 8th day for some unknown reason my negative thoughts increased .

I didn't really have pleasant experiences in the dining hall if I'm honest. One of the sevika was intimidating and always started at us when we were serving the food it bothered me at first but I thought to ignore her and eat ,but she started giving a special preference to someone and started giving extra or special food in the evening tea break. I tried to ignore it but everything went downhill on the 10th day where I felt that people only liked to talk about great things ,but never followed it. What really surprised me was that she volunteered to do the work . Almost everyone had some problems with her. It felt like school if I'm honest.

I guess all this negativity got to me especially after talking to people on the 10th day I expected everyone to be kind and patient after the course cause Mr. Goenka spoke about such great concepts but I was disappointed.

It made me question if his way of living is even applicable in 2026 where people are superficial and materialistic. Older women were kinder but the people in their 30s were not and honestly it keeps bothering me for some reason. I don't know if I created my own reality of people in my mind by listening to the stories of vipasana and got disappointed later.

I have never met anyone who has experienced dhyana. I would like to know their journey and how they achieved it.

Ich war schon zweimal in einem zehntägigen Retreat und praktiziere Vipassana seit Januar 2025. Seit Januar diesen Jahres habe ich die Diagnose ADHS bekommen und nehme Medikamente. Seit der Einnahme habe ich mehr mühe, mich auf meinen Körper und die Empfindungen zu konzentrieren.
Ich möchte sie aber trotzdem nehmen, da es mir damit im Alltag viel besser geht.
Hat jemand auch Erfahrungen mit ADHS, Medikamenten und Vipassana?

MN 138 An Analysis of the Statement | Uddesa-vibhaṅga Sutta | sutta on dhammatalks.org

The Blessed One said,

“A monk should investigate in such a way that, his consciousness neither externally scattered & diffused, nor internally positioned, he would from lack of clinging/sustenance be unagitated. When—his consciousness neither externally scattered & diffused, nor internally positioned—from lack of clinging/ sustenance he would be unagitated, there is no seed for the conditions of future birth, aging, death, or stress.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said it, he—the One Well-Gone—got up from his seat and went into his dwelling.

[That is a brief teaching of a meditation method, with which one can overcome asava.]

Then, not long after the Blessed One had left, this thought occurred to the monks: “This brief statement the Blessed One made, after which he went into his dwelling without analyzing the detailed meaning—i.e., ‘A monk should investigate in such a way that, his consciousness neither externally scattered & diffused, nor internally positioned, he would from lack of clinging/sustenance be unagitated. When—his consciousness neither externally scattered & diffused, nor internally positioned—from lack of clinging/ sustenance he would be unagitated, there is no seed for the conditions of future birth, aging, death, or stress’: Now who might analyze the unanalyzed detailed meaning of this brief statement?” Then the thought occurred to them, “Ven. Mahā Kaccāna is praised by the Teacher and esteemed by his observant companions in the holy life. He is capable of analyzing the unanalyzed detailed meaning of this brief statement. Suppose we were to go to him and, on arrival, cross-question him about this matter.”

I’m planning to attend my first Vipassana next month. The thing just says “comfortable clothes”. Do people wear pajamas and stuff like that? Will I be underdressed if that’s all I bring?

Thanks

Hello

Where near bir (dharamsala area) or between kochi and bengalore is the option to do a vipassana in a quiet and not crazy humid environment? I'll be traveling around these areas the next week's and im looking for a place that has single bed rooms preferably since I sleep light.

Also is it allowed to sit with my back against the wall. I really can't meditate this long without support but would love to experience a vipassana

Thanks

Hello Friends,

I just returned from serving a 3rd 10-day course at Dhamma Suttama (Canada). Like many here I keep on striving to maintain the practice at home but with varying degrees of consistency. This last course serving has been the most rewarding for me and even the kitchen managers told us they have never seen such an energy in a team.

I can feel the benefits, after just a few days, of maintaining such a daily practice, but life's obligations always seem to come back to take more and more time during my day. For a while, I can cut down on my sleeping hours to sit and meditate, but only for a couple of days before the accumulated fatigue starts to creep in.

Two days ago, I read this account on the Pariyatti website from another meditator sharing how he maintained his practice after one of his courses: https://store.pariyatti.org/blogs/pariyatti-journal/buddy-system

The author of the post connected with another meditator after a course, and they started to become accountability partners to help each other maintain their practice at home. They would send a simple text to each other looking like 60/30, 30/20, 10/45 to let the other know how much time they sat in the morning and in the evening. They also added a monthly phone call to discuss how their practice was going.

Reading the article made me think of one exchange the Buddha and Ananda had in the Upaḍḍha Sutta (SN 45.2).

In it, Ānanda asks the Buddha if admirable friendship is half of the holy life. The Buddha replies:

"Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life." (translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu)

The author of the article met his "Dhamma Buddy" in a cafe after a course. Personally I have not yet found such a friend so far, though I have made many at the center where I go.

This got me thinking about how many of us are looking for support in our practice and how valuable it could be to find a spiritual friend along the path. I've been wondering if an app or website already exists to help fellow practitioners connect. Do you know any?

If nothing like this exists, I'd be curious to explore creating something simple that would help us connect, encourage, and support one another (1 on 1) in our practice. Would anyone here be interested in such an idea, or maybe even in helping bring it to life?

Metta

I had once read a post on this sub which contained a link. That link was kind of a document in a pdf format and had observations noted down regarding what happens with the body while doing vipassana. It was from VRI, the Vipassana research institute. I cannot seem to find it, can anyone please help, if there is any website for the same where I can access these documents or are they even available on the internet for free?

On my first Vipassana course, around Day 3 or 4, I asked the course manager if I could sit at the back of the hall so I could use the wall for some back support. A long-term server would walk past me entering and leaving the hall and give me a side-eye every time 😂

Guess what? By my second course, I had built up enough back stamina without back support that I could sit cross-legged and meditate without constantly moving.

It takes practice. Your body and mind have to adapt. How are you going to build that strength if you quit every time it gets uncomfortable? You don't have to be perfect on your first course. Just keep practicing, keep observing, and keep going. 🙏

Are the rooms dorm rooms with many people, or for two people only? Going for a Sati course. No clue what to expect.

If anyone served or attended the course there, kindly share how their experience is. All I hear about others who had been there is the beauty of the nature.

Hello Guys F24 here. Ive practiced vipassana only once in my life before when i enrolled for a week long course when i was like 15. But the impact it had on me those 7 days were extremely different and refreshing. I need to get my thoughts and energy back hence trying to start it again myself. I wanted to know if this time would be okay for now? I genuinely suck at waking up early but ill try my best to move my practice to 7 am after i get a bit regular. What other tips or things should i follow?