ed c:
I’ll give you the opinion of someone with no attainments. Three advantages it appears to me people with insight/concentration skills have over others.
1) Being able to produce Jhana (Tarin points out can be helpful in finding/creating(?) felicity) http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/1114402
2) Improved perception skills. I often think I am floundering on the surface of something and perhaps lack the skills to penetrate to the truth of a situation. This could however be a self fullfilling prophecy.
3) Experiencing a true shift in your mind that comes from concentration/insight practice, which shows you proof what is possible in a way that is theoretical or belief based for me.
I liken the whole thing to going to college for a degree you end up not really using in the way you intended. It was still helpful compared to have not having gone to college at all. I signed up for a 10 day Goenka course yesterday in an effort to address this in my AF practice…
Ed
HI Ed,
thanks for the thoughts. I have mixed thoughts about the stiffness of the Goenka retreats haveing done two now. that said, they were both very beneficial to me and i would do another again in a second if i didn't have a great personal place to do retreats. my tips.. ear plugs for sleeping, know that any bad tendencies you note in others are your own baggage..anyway that's how it was for me. i wish you great success and think that with the information that one gleans from this site has the potential to supercharge a goenka retreat. my tone might come across a little negative but i am supremely grateful to mr. goenk for providing these retreats to everyone.