Goenka’s Vipassana Movement
The Oxford Handbook of Meditation October 8, 2020 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.013.31 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | The movement uses rhetorical strategies to distinguish itself from religion, leading to a process of tacit conversion where members' conversion becomes invisible, and explores disengagement pathways. |
Abstract
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 implication of these discourses on shaping unique patterns of conversion and disengagement. It introduces the term “tacit conversion” to describe a process whereby increased socialization into a movement and the adoption of its language paradoxically renders conversion invisible for the member. The chapter subsequently explores various disengagement pathways from this movement.