Note the qualification "are unwilling to explain what they actually advocate doing". So, in Robert's case he rejects that whole idea of choosing to sit or walk, etc... I take that seriously as a possible option.Mr Man wrote:Mike, what were the "criticisms of Goenka" that you find difficult to take seriously?mikenz66 wrote: As I said, if someone (not just yourself, but some others posting on this thread) are unwilling to explain what they actually advocate doing, I see little basis for discussion, and I find it very difficult to take their criticisms of Goenka or others seriously.
But if you are not in the Robert/Sujin camp, and do advocate some kind of choosing to sit, walk, watch the breath, etc, I would find it curious to criticise Goenka (or any other teacher I can think of, apart from Kuhn Sujin) for picking a particular way to implement the general instructions in the Satipatthana Sutta. Such implementations range from the very specific (Goenka) to the very general "try this or this, and figure out what works for you" (some of Ajahn Chah students I've had contact with), or the "just watch what happens in daily life" approach. But whether you take Goenka's advice or figure out something more specific for yourself you have to make some choice of time, objects, ordering, etc. [Unless you take the Sujin, or some similar, position.]
I've only done one Goenka retreat, and personally prefer the more free-form Mahasi-based approach that my teachers here usually recommend, but it seems to me that a particular, organised, approach can be very useful for some (and I certainly appreciated the well-organised aspect of it). For those of us who have ready access to individualised advice, it's perhaps not so necessary, but these retreats were developed to be able to accommodate hundreds or thousands of yogis.
Mike