In defence of an ancient prac­tice of med­it­a­tion

As someone who has been involved in Vipas­sana med­it­a­tion for over 13 years, I feel com­pelled to offer a dif­fer­ent per­spect­ive to the nar­rat­ive presen­ted in the pod­cast “Untold: The Retreat” presen­ted by Madison Mar­riage (Pod­casts, FT.com, Janu­ary 31).

First, it’s import­ant to cla­rify that Vipas­sana, as taught by SN Goenka, is rooted in the teach­ings of the Buddha and is dis­tinct from the reli­gious prac­tices and rituals asso­ci­ated with Buddhism that developed cen­tur­ies later. Goenka’s approach is not about cre­at­ing a cult-like fol­low­ing but about teach­ing a med­it­a­tion tech­nique that has helped count­less indi­vidu­als world­wide, includ­ing myself, find inner peace and per­sonal growth.

The pod­cast’s por­trayal of these med­it­a­tion courses as harm­ful and cult-like is a sig­ni­fic­ant devi­ation from my exper­i­ences. While it is true that med­it­a­tion requires dis­cip­line and can be chal­len­ging, it is equally import­ant to recog­nise that these courses clearly state they are not suit­able for those with severe psy­cho­lo­gical dis­orders.

It’s cru­cial for such invest­ig­at­ive pieces to offer a bal­anced view. A single nar­rat­ive should not define an ancient prac­tice that has stood the test of time and helped many lead more mind­ful and ful­filled lives.

Anita Ye
Zurich, Switzer­land