In this episode, I am once again joined by Dhammarato: a lineage teacher in the Thai Buddhist tradition who is known for his unique, 1-1 teaching style conducted over Skype. 

Dhammarato challenges what he sees as the widespread misconceptions about meditation practice, focusing in particular on American Buddhism and the Goenka and Mahasi methods.

Dhammarato discusses issues such as the dangers of meditation retreats, the problems with sleep deprivation and other austerities, and recounts stories of men he has known who crippled themselves through obsessive meditation practice in damaging seated postures.

Dhammarato also calls for a return to the original teaching of the Buddha, advises on how to find and keep spiritual friends, and shares his perspective on how to meditate well.

…

Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep241-myths-of-meditation-dhammarato

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

...

00:00 - Intro

00:53 - Challenging Western Buddhism

03:54 - Drawbacks of Goenka Vipassana retreats

04:14 - Buddha’s advice for meditation

06:21 - Common meditation mistakes

07:28 - How to see dukkah

08:16 - Coming out of victimhood

09:28 - Drawbacks of the Mahasi method

11:21 - The problem of pain on meditation retreats

13:48 - Following the Ānāpānasati Sutta and jhana practice

16:18 - Western practitioners who destroyed their knees and legs while meditating

17:47 - Sleep deprivation

18:38 - Take it easy and be gentle

19:18 - Dangers of meditation retreats

20:31 - Essence of Buddhism

22:01 - Misunderstandings about meditation posture

28:16 - Magical body postures and siddhi powers

32:29 - The Donald Trumps of Buddhism

33:56 - What attracts people to extreme asceticism and psychedelics?

35:23 - Does Dhammarato’s approach merely suppress suffering?

43:00 - The myth of life enhancing meditation

47:24 - Dhammarato’s advice for regular practice

50:22 - The value of noble friends

55:49 - The Open Sangha Foundation

59:23 - Getting out of magical thinking

01:01:08 - How to make Dhamma friends

…

Dhammarato Episode Playlist

- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=DHAMMARATO

…

To find out more about Dhammarato, visit:

- https://dhammaratoblog.wordpress.com/

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjxg5GJFsRqnS-YLTzyrjLQ

…

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

…

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James