delf7 wrote:if i found myself in the middle of a highway and there was a truck speeding toward me, my "gut" would tell me to get out of the way. so... should i get out of the way, or should i stand there and question if my "gut" is a reliable source of information? maybe that truck is only a reflection of my own fears & anxieties. anything is possible.
One of the things the "gut" wants to do is preserve its "self." And one of the things the "gut" will do, to do that, is project onto its environment its fears, where faces look threatening or overly grim, etc.. Also, there is a significant difference between standing in the middle of a highway and being in a retreat that is uncomfortable.
i guess what i'm not understanding about this whole discussion is why the pro-goenka faction here at dhammawheel cannot simply accept that his methods are not right for everybody
They are not right for everyone, period. But what is interesting is that you, in your negative response to the Goenka retreat, referred us to an anti-Goenka blog of rather dubious character that holds that the type of practice is simply wrong. Also, there is at least one anti-Goenka-ist here who has been arguing that point. So, my point is, you may want to go back and look at how you came across in your initial post-retreat posting.
this rabid defense of goenka reminds me of the "born-again christian" mentality that there is only "one way" - that "my way or the highway" mentality which i think, if i'm understanding my reading correctly, goes against what the buddha taught.
Again, you might want to look at how you came across in your post-retreat posting here.