Community conversations and shared experiences for people looking to discuss or learn from others about challenging meditation experiences.
The 10 Day (Goenka) Vipassana Retreat – A Warning
This personal account describes a couple’s negative experience at a 10-day silent Vipassana retreat in the tradition of S. N. Goenka.
They say they arrived with high expectations but instead found the retreat restrictive and intense, with strict rules, limited sleep and food, prolonged periods of painful sitting, and strong doctrinal messaging about suffering, rebirth, and lifelong commitment to the practice.
The author warns prospective participants to carefully consider the physical, psychological, and ideological demands before signing up.
The blog post includes a number of comments, some in agreement with the authors, sharing other similar experiences, and some in disagreement.
They say they arrived with high expectations but instead found the retreat restrictive and intense, with strict rules, limited sleep and food, prolonged periods of painful sitting, and strong doctrinal messaging about suffering, rebirth, and lifelong commitment to the practice.
The author warns prospective participants to carefully consider the physical, psychological, and ideological demands before signing up.
The blog post includes a number of comments, some in agreement with the authors, sharing other similar experiences, and some in disagreement.