Practicing meditation in India?
Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 5:22 pm
Hello all! Long time lurker, first time poster, unabashedly trying to take advantage of you all for advice:)
I created this account because I’m planning on moving to Asia soon- most likely India- and I’m having a hard time finding information about a place to do my training. Now, you might be wondering, “Why is an kungfu guy going to India? Why not China?” To that, I say that India has long been a welcoming home to spiritual seekers, and hosts a huge variety of ashrams that provide room, board, and a quiet place to practice meditation in exchange for some manual labor or a very small fee (sometimes none at all). Basically, I’m saving up a bunch of money and plan on living somewhere for a few years that meets the following requirements:
1. Is very inexpensive (where dollars go a long way),
2. Is bare bones kind of living (no AC, somewhat rural, squat toilets, etc.),
3. Has a roof over my head and easy access to a couple of meals per day,
4. And will allow me to practice standing meditation (zhan zhuang).
I come from a taichi/bagua background. Life has been hectic lately and I just want to simplify. My dream is to go on retreat for a few years to practice mostly standing meditation, with a little bit of movement as well to supplement. Think Rocky 4, but with zhan zhuang instead of boxing. I have a wonderful teacher already, and I’m not looking to be taught new material; I just want a space where I can devote myself to work on what I already have. But my search for such a place is coming up empty handed.
Apparently in the past 20 years or so, spiritual tourism from the west has just exploded, and 90% of all the ashrams I’m finding online are just like yoga resorts that cost more than I can afford. These places offer tennis courts, massage, and western style yoga, nice views of the Ganges, etc. The other few places that I’m finding are specific to one particular religious affiliation or another, i.e., Swami So-and-So’s Ashram that only caters to his devotees, where people go if they want to do a whole lot of chanting or worship or volunteer work. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with any of the ashrams I’m finding online. Different paths just cater to different needs.
I’ve read here and there that these quiet, non-advertising little rural ashrams and meditation centers exist, but none of the people that find them want to give away the information, and for good reason. I would be reluctant to as well, since these places wouldn’t even be equipped to handle the flood of backpackers and tourists that would then swarm in demanding free food and beds. Since they’re not out to make money, they simply have no need to create websites and market themselves. So unless you have a connection, they might as well be invisible from where I am in America.
As a possible option, I’m looking into working and training in the ten-day vipassana retreat centers that are all over India, the one’s started by S. N. Goenka. The ten-day retreats operate on a donation basis, and for people who volunteer with them to work, they may stay there and continue to use the facilities between courses. But the only person that’s written back to me so far has explicitly stated that even a simple standing posture with the feet together and the hands hanging by the sides would “not be acceptable,” as it might distract all the seated meditators.
So, any ideas of where I might be able to look? Perhaps you know a guy, who knows a guy who has lived for a while in a meditation retreat, ashram, monastery, or some other such place that’s inexpensive, simple, provides food, and will allow its members to practice meditation in a standing posture? If you don’t want to post this information publicly, feel free to write me privately. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Danny
I created this account because I’m planning on moving to Asia soon- most likely India- and I’m having a hard time finding information about a place to do my training. Now, you might be wondering, “Why is an kungfu guy going to India? Why not China?” To that, I say that India has long been a welcoming home to spiritual seekers, and hosts a huge variety of ashrams that provide room, board, and a quiet place to practice meditation in exchange for some manual labor or a very small fee (sometimes none at all). Basically, I’m saving up a bunch of money and plan on living somewhere for a few years that meets the following requirements:
1. Is very inexpensive (where dollars go a long way),
2. Is bare bones kind of living (no AC, somewhat rural, squat toilets, etc.),
3. Has a roof over my head and easy access to a couple of meals per day,
4. And will allow me to practice standing meditation (zhan zhuang).
I come from a taichi/bagua background. Life has been hectic lately and I just want to simplify. My dream is to go on retreat for a few years to practice mostly standing meditation, with a little bit of movement as well to supplement. Think Rocky 4, but with zhan zhuang instead of boxing. I have a wonderful teacher already, and I’m not looking to be taught new material; I just want a space where I can devote myself to work on what I already have. But my search for such a place is coming up empty handed.
Apparently in the past 20 years or so, spiritual tourism from the west has just exploded, and 90% of all the ashrams I’m finding online are just like yoga resorts that cost more than I can afford. These places offer tennis courts, massage, and western style yoga, nice views of the Ganges, etc. The other few places that I’m finding are specific to one particular religious affiliation or another, i.e., Swami So-and-So’s Ashram that only caters to his devotees, where people go if they want to do a whole lot of chanting or worship or volunteer work. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with any of the ashrams I’m finding online. Different paths just cater to different needs.
I’ve read here and there that these quiet, non-advertising little rural ashrams and meditation centers exist, but none of the people that find them want to give away the information, and for good reason. I would be reluctant to as well, since these places wouldn’t even be equipped to handle the flood of backpackers and tourists that would then swarm in demanding free food and beds. Since they’re not out to make money, they simply have no need to create websites and market themselves. So unless you have a connection, they might as well be invisible from where I am in America.
As a possible option, I’m looking into working and training in the ten-day vipassana retreat centers that are all over India, the one’s started by S. N. Goenka. The ten-day retreats operate on a donation basis, and for people who volunteer with them to work, they may stay there and continue to use the facilities between courses. But the only person that’s written back to me so far has explicitly stated that even a simple standing posture with the feet together and the hands hanging by the sides would “not be acceptable,” as it might distract all the seated meditators.
So, any ideas of where I might be able to look? Perhaps you know a guy, who knows a guy who has lived for a while in a meditation retreat, ashram, monastery, or some other such place that’s inexpensive, simple, provides food, and will allow its members to practice meditation in a standing posture? If you don’t want to post this information publicly, feel free to write me privately. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Danny