Regarding 'Scanning' in Goenka Lineage

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Greetings Ven Bhikku, Bhikkunis and all fellow meditators.

I have been meditating under SN Goenka Ji lineage for 3 years daily at home, and this post does not mean to de mean him or his contribution towards propagation of dhamma.

That being said, I have realised I have been scanning sensations without being even objective with them for 3 years yet the organisation values scanning over objective observation of sensations, I read Suttas translation by Ven Bhikku Analayo, and dropped scanning, and stayed mindful of breath then sensations ( I also read the book by Ven Nyanaponika Thera), and I felt benefited. (note: I do not intend to say scanning does not work)

Thus I arrive to my question - Goenka Ji in his course states Buddha dhamma became corrupted in india in Medieval period and was preserved in Burma( The Burma, now Mynamar) yet the technique of scanning is no where in EBTs, and was an introduction by Saya gyi Uba Khin himself. Then what is the metric of corruption? I know many who are practicing later sects of Buddhism claiming to be pure too.

P.s I mean to be respectful towards Goenka Ji, Saya gyi Uba Khin and everyone mentioned. Metta

Krishna

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Hi there. :slight_smile:

As we don’t allow discussing personal practice around these parts, it might be best to leave that stuff out of the discussion. :slight_smile: However, you’re still welcome to discuss in abstract, like “So and so is taught in this tradition”, and compare it to EBTs. :slight_smile:

I don’t know much about Goenka tradition, but this article series was famous, coming from a former Vipassana teacher:

I don’t know the specifics of “scanning” in Goenka, but, in Satipatthana Suttas (DN 22, MN 10, MA 98, EA 12.1), there’s specific sections about being mindful of bodily experience, usually in the terms of four elements among other observations.

There’s no shortage of “Pure Dharma” teachers. Everybody has a different metric, really. Ask here and you’ll get 10 different answers from 10 different people!

To me, AN 8.53 is a good benchmark to measure Dharma:

“Gotamī, you might know that certain things lead to passion, not dispassion; to yoking, not to unyoking; to accumulation, not dispersal; to more desires, not fewer; to lack of contentment, not contentment; to crowding, not seclusion; to laziness, not energy; to being burdensome, not being unburdensome. Categorically, you should remember these things as not the teaching, not the training, and not the Teacher’s instructions.

You might know that certain things lead to dispassion, not passion; to unyoking, not to yoking; to dispersal, not accumulation; to fewer desires, not more; to contentment, not lack of contentment; to seclusion, not crowding; to energy, not laziness; to being unburdensome, not being burdensome. Categorically, you should remember these things as the teaching, the training, and the Teacher’s instructions.”

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Welcome to the forum!

It looks like there are some other topics tagged with goenka you might want to check out.

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topics tagged with goenka you might want to check out.

Yes! Along with the posts on Sutta Central, I would recommend this article by Bhante Analayo that gets to the heart of your question:

ancientrootsUbakhin medtn Analayo.pdf (173.1 KB)

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Hello , thank you very much for your reply, Am sorry for the part I have mentioned , I would be mindful henceforth, I thought it would provide a suitable background to my question rather than being the center of discussion.

And , I have deeply benefitted from your reply to say at least, with that note, I would not want to purse the answer of my question anymore since I am satisfied with yours. Thank you. Metta

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Vandami Bhante , Thank your for your input, will go through it now.

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Thank you for your reply, will sure do so.

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With no disrespect for Goenkaji intended, statements like this need to be taken with a grain of salt. One of the D&D FAQ’s touches on this:

posted with metta

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Thank you for taking out time to share this.

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