Earlier quoted context omitted.
Any recommendations on books on Vipassana?
https://vipassana-for-hackers.org/
Not sure if I am doing anything wrong, but I am unable to download the PDFs both from the website and github :(
Ask HN: Have you been on a meditation retreat? How has it changed your life?
41–44 of 44 posts
Re: Ask HN: Have you been on a meditation retreat? How has it changed your life?
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
"The point of a retreat is to spend time with the person you should love most of all, getting to know them better." You're being too clever for me. Do you mean yourself? God? Your actual romantic partner?
Retreat-shaped vacations are usually about isolation. To a true believer, you are always with god. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that it is about you.
Nope. I've spent enough time among Catholics and other Christians to know that "the person you should love most of all" would be unequivocally understood as God. In their worldview, just because God is with you all the time doesn't mean you are actually free to give him all your attention and focus on that relationship.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been on a meditation retreat? How has it changed your life?
#43I have gone on Catholic retreats, which are similar to what I think you're talking about, but not identical. The point of a retreat is to spend time with the person you should love most of all, getting to know them better. Every retreat I have been on has been worth it. Some have been easier to see the benefits at once, others have benefits planted that are reaped later.
"The point of a retreat is to spend time with the person you should love most of all, getting to know them better." You're being too clever for me. Do you mean yourself? God? Your actual romantic partner?
As a Catholic, that person is God.
To fill this idea out a little more - God is the source of all good and the ultimate goal of all creatures. The ultimate reason for happiness (which all seek) is the Person who creates all things. And He wants to spend time with us, but He also wants us to choose to spend time with Him. A retreat, like a pilgrimage, is time we choose to set aside to spend with Him.
Re: Ask HN: Have you been on a meditation retreat? How has it changed your life?
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Retreat-shaped vacations are usually about isolation. To a true believer, you are always with god. Therefore the only logical conclusion is that it is about you.
Nope. I've spent enough time among Catholics and other Christians to know that "the person you should love most of all" would be unequivocally understood as God. In their worldview, just because God is with you all the time doesn't mean you are actually free to give him all your attention and focus on that relationship.
For a certain brand of Christian, you are entirely correct. This argument is so compelling that I'm actually doubting my original interpretation of the text.