On Vipassanā and Authenticity
Insight Myanmar17 Aug 2025

On Vipassanā and Authenticity

Episode #380: “I started meditation at a fairly young age,” begins scholar and author, Daniel Stuart. At nineteen, he traveled to India, disillusioned by the world he grew up in and searching for an alternative. What he discovered was vipassanā meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka, and for him it was “a quite revolutionary experience!”

For Stuart, meditation was never confined to the cushion. His practice sparked questions about history, authenticity, and cultural context. This curiosity took him through India and Burma, into the study of Pāḷi and Hindi, and ultimately into academia, where he now bridges rigorous research with personal commitment. A “die-hard student” of S.N. Goenka, Stuart nonetheless insists on examining the lineage within its historical complexity, even when this has put him at odds with the community.

Over time, Stuart has come to see that many teachings in the Goenka tradition emerged from Buddhism’s historical evolution over time, not in an unbroken line unchanged since the time of the Buddha, as is claimed in the tradition. Yet for him, this does not diminish the value of the teachings; it reveals how Buddhist traditions adapt and remain meaningful. He contrasts this with what is called the “Protestant” view of authenticity by many Western meditators who equate purity and authenticity only with the original texts.

Instead, Stuart sees Goenka’s teaching as a pragmatic response to the cultural worlds and contexts he navigated. He says that embracing this complexity has only deepened his faith and his practice. “We live in this space in between,” Stuart says, “like ancient tradition and modernity… and that’s where the whole game is.”

Avsnitt(507)

Simplicity And Solidarity

Simplicity And Solidarity

Episode #157: In 1995, Burmese assaults into Karen territory created thousands of refugees who fled to Thai refugee camps, including Eh Nay Thaw’s family. He spent the next ten years in a refugee camp...

31 Mars 20232h 2min

From Democracy to Demolition

From Democracy to Demolition

Episode #156: Even two years after the coup, the Tatmadaw continues its campaign of terror, disrupting communities, causing a massive refugee problem and destroying the country’s infrastructure. And b...

24 Mars 20231h 49min

Yearning For Home (Panel Discussion)

Yearning For Home (Panel Discussion)

Episode #155: What is a “home?” It is more than just the physical structure we live in; “home” has overlapping dimensions. We say that the town or city we live in is our home, as is our country, and t...

17 Mars 20231h 57min

Kory Goldberg is Along The Path

Kory Goldberg is Along The Path

Episode #154: When Kory Goldberg was just nineteen, he spent a year studying in India. After the program ended, he traveled around and kept “seeking out whatever I was seeking out,” he recalls.He atte...

10 Mars 20232h 25min

Tears Matter

Tears Matter

Episode #153: Rahel and Damon Lam founded A Cup of Color in 2014. It is an organization with the goal of “bringing art to places where there is brokenness.” They have created art in public spaces in m...

7 Mars 20231h 4min

I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)

I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)

Episode #152: Kristina Simion’s book, Rule of Law Intermediaries, looks at the complex transition period of the 2010s in Myanmar, when dramatic changes were sweeping across the country. Simion notes h...

3 Mars 20232h 3min

The Revolution will not be Incarcerated

The Revolution will not be Incarcerated

Episode #151: Tomas Martin is a prison researcher who presently works with DIGNITY, the Danish Institute Against Torture. His interest in prison research was first piqued when he heard about ten-day v...

28 Feb 20231h 5min

Overcoming The Nightmare

Overcoming The Nightmare

Episode #150: Joining the podcast over a year after her previous interview, Thiri returns to update listeners on her own personal story, as well as to discuss the state of the resistance and the democ...

23 Feb 20231h 54min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
motiv
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
spar
flashback-forever
rss-viva-fotboll
aftonbladet-daily
rss-sanning-konsekvens
blenda-2
svenska-fall
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-krimreportrarna
olyckan-inifran
rss-frandfors-horna
dagens-eko
svd-ledarredaktionen
rss-flodet
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2