100 Hours of Meditation in 10 Days

A totally normal part of insight meditation is to cycle through states of mind that have increased suffering. They're so common, that experienced meditators can pinpoint when they are entering into "Fear", "Misery", "Disgust", "Dissolution", "Desire for Deliverence", etc.

It is these states of mind, where, if you can hold strong to the meditation instructions and objectify everything in the field of experience, the possibility for liberation from suffering arises. When you realize that these experiences are just experiences arising and vanishing on their own, not things happening to 'I', there is an immediate relief from the suffering of those experiences.

From http://alohadharma.com/2011/06/12/the-dark-night/

"As the meditator moves along the path and has already experienced their attention syncing up with the arising of phenomena, then the peak of phenomena, it then moves to the passing away of phenomena. I call the next section of the path the “Dark Night” and in the commentaries it is also called “the knowledge of suffering.”

As you can gather from the name, this is a pretty difficult part of the path. It is so difficult in fact, this is where most meditators get into trouble, and can become stuck. The sheer discomfort and negativity of this part of the path may lead the meditator to conclude that they are no longer “doing it right,” and they may decide to just quit meditating. After all, why keep at it when it pretty much hurts to meditate? In the Zen tradition, this part of the path is called the “rolling up of the mat” for just that reason – the meditator just wants to throw in the towel and stop.

This actually makes a lot of sense if you do not know the map. The memory of the rapturous A&P is still fresh in the mind of a meditator who initially steps into the Dark Night. Compared to the joy and wonder that was only just experienced, the Dark Night is a horrible let down. But it is important to know that the difficulty being experienced is a sign of progress – it means that you are doing the meditation correctly."

So, the reason for the aloofness of the staff is partially because these phases are totally expected and normal, and unless you are having a true psychotic episode, the whole point is to push through.

>>They will be waking us soon, at 4am. I toss on the narrow cot.

You can't beat a good wank for helping you get to sleep.

If all you want is altered states of mind we have drugs for that :)

When asked why Zen Mind Beginner's Mind didn't include much on Satori, Shunryu Suzuki admitted he'd never reached it[0]. He never broke through, he just sat on his cushion every day and when he did he was just sitting on a cushion. No fireworks, nothing special. At the same time he's also one of the most respected and widely read Buddhist teachers the West has even known.

And, sadly this part is noteworthy, he's one of the few teachers in America who never had any major scandals.

[0] - http://www.cuke.com/bibliography/ZMBM/preface.html

> Are these Vipassana retreats suitable for someone who has very little knowledge about meditation and zero experience?

If you're young, in great health and looking for a huge challenge: maybe. It's a very extreme intro to meditation. Vipassana retreats break people.

> Are there other options? I would prefer to be guided by a person than read a book, that option will just slip out of my schedule.

Check for groups in your area, meetup.com is a good resource. So is google. Look up the lineage, the teacher, etc. For school X look up "X controversy" and there will almost always be something there, that's OK but there are some weird traditions out there that you'll do well to avoid. Trust your intuition.

A lot of Buddhist meet-up groups will have a little note that says something like "if you're a beginner, second Tuesday of every month is beginner's night so show up a half an hour early and we'll square you away." Some have a "young people's night". There's a lot of luck involved.

A usual evening should be a bit boring and might include one or two 20-minute sitting meditation sessions, maybe some walking meditation, maybe refreshments, some sort of a talk, some social time, and hopefully an opportunity to ask questions.