Entheogenic Posted November 1, 2011 Hello 7baz I just completed a 10 day vipassana retreat only a few months in thailand. If you are wanting to become a monk I think the language barrier would be a bit of a difficulty. The place I was at was at was a Buddhist monastery but they had western vipassana teachers there that teach in english. Westerners can also live there and volunteer where you live the like a monk except you don't officially become a monk. Very beautiful grounds with a rainforest like atmosphere and views looking out to the ocean. http://www.watkowtahm.org/data/watmain.htm 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CβL Posted November 1, 2011 i am indeed not running around from anything.if anything i will be running myself into more hard issues and problems my brain will need to quickly overcome. being in a strange country , adapting to there way of life , the food in which i love anyway. , kissing goodbye my modern toys , internet etc. then getting used to the silence and quietness , meditating , learning new things.new faces. woof woof im not totally convinced either , but just the insight would be wonderful. it wont quite be like going to a scientology church where you can taste too many things that dont quite fit right lol and you bet i will be recording all my experiences here. before i go i will do a pic of how i look , and a pic of me actually being there , and so on. and will i be taking my camera along and going looking for wild trees and shrooms in the thai forest ? fuck yeah will be taking my canon EOS 100d camera with 3 different lens :D It sounds to me like I totally misunderstood what your reasons for going to Thailand were. It sounds like you should definitely go, and that you will get a lot out of the trip. Good luck man, I hope everything goes mostly smoothly (what fun would it be without a few bumps... ;) ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coin Posted November 3, 2011 nothing like a 10-day Goenka course to give a first impression of buddhism/buddhist practice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
klip247 Posted November 4, 2011 Goodluck with the practice and please let us know what your thoughts about the course were after you do it, if you do it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woof woof woof Posted November 7, 2011 Entheogenic how was the Vipassna? Have wanted to go. But for me it has been weighting out vacation days,... spending it on surfing and getting some good wave action or letting some dust settle. The adrenalin junky that I am has till now been in favor of scoring good waves and kicking up more dust with fungi! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coin Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) don't get confused.... a lot of people when they say "do a vipassana course" are referring to those run at worldwide centers whose head teacher/founder is S.N. Goenka. They run 10 day courses at no charge. If Entheogenic mentioned a vipassana retreat at a buddhist monastery, then this isn't a Goenka course. But vipassana isn't the name of a movement, an organisation or even a specific technique. Vipassana is the *aim* of the technique - and there are many techniques to achieve this aim. Vipassana is commonly translated as "insight" (hence the synonym "insight meditation") but then people get confused, thinking the aim is psychological insights into one's own personality/being, etc. which is also incorrect. Not that this won't happen but it is pretty much beside the point. The techniques can be practiced by anyone of any religious persuasion. It amazes me that some people can do a handful of Goenka courses over years and still have no broader scope of Buddhism/vipassana than these courses and are still confused about these points. You can certainly start learning/practicing without having to do a 10 day retreat. Edited November 7, 2011 by coin 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
