S.N. Goenka Vipassana Movement (10-day retreats)
Major global Vipassana retreat network in the S.N. Goenka tradition (founded 1969). Distinctive 10-day silent retreats with strict structure. Mostly low-control, some documented retreat-distress cases.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — Goenka 10-day Vipassana retreats; intensive but voluntary; some ex-participant concerns about psychological harm without clinical support.
Profile facts
In context
S.N. Goenka brought the Burmese Sayagyi U Ba Khin Vipassana lineage to global mass scale through 10-day silent residential retreats with no fees (donation-supported). Most participants report transformative benefit; specific cases of retreat-induced psychological distress without clinical support have been documented.
This profile is in progress — history, deeper BITE evidence and survivor voices are still being added. Contributions welcome via GitHub.
Timeline
- 1969Goenka begins teaching in India
- 2013Goenka dies
Sources
- Various wellness press coverage search ↗
- Cheetah House (David Treleaven) trauma-informed-mindfulness research search ↗
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. The search ↗ link runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.