Thank you for replying and I respect your opinion completely Andrea.
I have heard this from many people. But with you post (which was highly logical) I would hope that people would expect this type of behavior and only go on this retreat if they are ready for the harsh conditions.
That isn't to say you didn't go when you weren't ready.
But the retreat is harsh and displays strange activity (like you stated, cultish behavior).
From my perspective, the dharma is priceless. The Buddha spoke about how one should never be charged to hear the dharma. Yet we see many examples in the real world of this happening. Goenka offers a retreat that is (in my opinion) in line with what the Buddha taught in terms of not charging.
I spoke to another yogi about people charging for the dharma, such as with books and whatnot (and it is expected some charge would be implemented to cover costs like publishing and whatnot but not for profit, at least it shouldn't be according to the Buddha), and here is what he said;
But let me tell you this small story. I once had a religious and spiritual journey from my country and visited my Sufi Sheikh in another country in a trip that lasted for 10 days. Do you know how much it cost me? I returned with extra money! The sheikh's disciples refused that i stay in a hotel and i stayed with a disciple at home (full board) and the sheikh insisted on giving me the airplane's ticket fare.
That's how real spiritual Masters operate. They give away their teachings and their money too.
I know some of them are ascetics and don't have money to help people, but as ascetics they refuse to take money adamantly (what use do they have for it as ascetics?). And if they can't give their teachings without taking money, they won't teach.
Now, these are the Masters I know and trust.
Now I know what it means to have any expectations on awakened individuals. We have seen how this backfires greatly right here on this website. When someone has an expectation on how one should act, if that person acts otherwise, lots of suffering occurs.
However, the Buddha was clear in that the dharma should not be charged for. Granted, one can get the teachings online for free. One could argue that one isn't get charged for the teachings (for they are available online for free) rather, the opinion of that teacher/yogi.
Many systems of meditation and retreats work off of donations from other people. It's a system that can and does work.
Too bad that one of the most wide-spread retreats acts more like a cult rather than a sangha.
Anyways, thanks again for your opinion