Mindfulness
June 21, 2023
Masoumeh Rahmani, Valerie van Mulukom, Miguel Farias
14 citations
Objectives: The beliefs and expectations people bring into mindfulness practice can affect the measurement outcomes of interventions. The aim of this mixed-method study was to examine the key beliefs in the powers of mindfulness-understood as non-judgmental awareness of the present moment-to transform the individual and the society, and to develop and validate the Belief in the Powers of...
Drifting through Samsara
December 2, 2021
Masoumeh Rahmani
Abstract This chapter offers a detailed examination of the narratives of individuals who left Goenka’s Vipassana movement after years of intense commitment. The analysis is done in light of the recent developments in religious disengagement literature. Through detailed linguistic analysis of a case study, the chapter argues that Vipassana disaffiliation narratives are characterised by an...
Drifting through Samsara
December 2, 2021
Masoumeh Rahmani
Abstract This chapter introduces the concept of tacit conversion as an analytical framework for conceptualising the process of personal transformation and increased commitment to Goenka’s Vipassana movement. This chapter is based on a detailed examination of an old student’s language and his performance of the role of a Vipassana meditator. By paying attention to the content of speech, as well...
Drifting through Samsara
December 2, 2021
Masoumeh Rahmani
Abstract This chapter explores deconversion as a rare exit pattern from Goenka’s Vipassana movement. Through a detailed exploration of a single case study, this chapter explores the narrator’s attempt to flee the movement’s universe of discourse. The chapter introduces the term ‘authenticity talk’ to refer to a style of discourse that functions both as (1) a recourse for self-reconstruction...
Drifting through Samsara
December 2, 2021
Masoumeh Rahmani
Abstract This chapter explores (1) drifters in samsara and (2) pursuers of the gateless gate as two common Vipassana disaffiliation trajectories. The chapter argues that deconversion or migration outside of the movement’s universe of discourse is a rare exit pattern in this movement. It shows that in the vast majority of cases the participants’ search for an alternative universe of discourse...
Drifting through Samsara
December 2, 2021
Masoumeh Rahmani
Abstract This chapter adopts Gooren’s conversion career model as a heuristic framework to demonstrate how one’s universe of discourse changes with increased participation and identifies the linguistic markers of this change. The chapter is divided into four sections and is rich with data: the first section explores the participants’ preaffiliation context by looking at their biographical...
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation
October 8, 2020
Masoumeh Rahmani
Abstract S. N. Goenka’s Vipassana movement is famous for its ten-day intensive silent retreats and its consistent rejection of religious categories, though its teachings and practices are directly derived from Theravada Buddhism. Drawing from qualitative research, this chapter examines a range of rhetorical strategies that Goenka uses to distinguish his movement from religion and the...
Handbook of Leaving Religion
February 11, 2020
Masoumeh Rahmani
This chapter explores the disaffiliation narratives of former members of one of the most successful international Buddhist organisations – S.N. Goenka’s (1924–2013) Vipassana meditation movement. To date, Goenka’s network is the largest donor-funded Vipassana organisation with over 170 official, and over 130 non-official centers worldwide. These centers offer courses of varying durations (3–60...