I would be interested in hearing more about the experiences others have had with Vipassana as taught by SN Goenka. I first encountered the technique in 2004 and have been engaged with it since that time. I'm aware that different people of different experience levels view the approach through different lenses. During one course I sat with a venerable monk from Sri Lanka who later gave me some additional context in which to understand Goenkaji's approach. He seemed gratified to have an opportunity to help out at the center, yet it also was clear that he took some of Goenka's discourses with a good-natured grain of salt.
In a different thread, Retro offered a comment that intrigued me:
For me, that raises the question: To what degree could Mr. Goenka's technique be more specifically aligned to the suttas, and is this lack of specific alignment something that has the potential to create obstacles for those of use who employ the technique? Or am I overthinking this?retrofuturist wrote:I too have done a 10-day Goenka course (May 2007, I think) and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, even if my practice now is more specifically aligned to the suttas than it is to Mr. Goenka's technique.
I'd also be interested in the impressions of venerables here, if they feel it is appropriate to comment.
Metta