On Sep 13, 2008, at 8:45 AM, Patrick Gillam wrote:
The problem with this teaching-as-a-gift
model is that it's not sustainable.
Well it has been, at least for a couple of millenia.
One of the shining examples of such an approach, is the Vipassana
awakening schools of Goenka.
Wanna awaken? Go to a free 10 DAY meditation retreat, lodging and food
included.
After ten days, if you liked it or got something out of it, you donate
some money; what's comfortable for you. Total sliding scale.
Not only has this model been sustainable, it's been extremely
successful with courses selling out faster than new courses can be
scheduled. Thousands have begun to awake because of it, so that makes
it naturally self-sustaining.
It also has been applied and worked in some of the most deplorable
conditions imaginable, like the most notorious prisons in India (as
detailed in the documentary Doing Time, Doing Vipassana). It also
proved that the most imprisoned souls can be begin to awake, even if
society sees it fit to separate them from that society. Compassion in
action, not just a way to tap into federal or state dollars (that
would be applied greed).
And this is just one example. The Shambhala tradition is another that
teaches nondual meditation for free, in a number of different
approaches, as the student integrates more and more. And they have an
incredible infrastructure globally despite the fact their meditation
is taught for free.
