
I Left a Buddhist Retreat in Handcuffs - CraneWorm
https://www.esquire.com/uk/latest-news/a25651175/the-other-side-of-paradise-how-i-left-a-buddhist-retreat-in-handcuffs/
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I have been doing intensive meditation retreats 20 years, and I never
recommend them to anyone. People go to them when they really want to. No need
to advertise or hype them.

I have witnessed maybe 5-7 cases of psychosis, 3 of them requiring immediate
hospitalization one requiring police presence. Some people have been
hospitalized after getting home. It's rare but it definitely happens.

Some random things related to mediation and mental problems:

\- Goenka's Vipassana is famous from just taking random Joes from the street
into 10 day intensive Vipassana mediation retreats. Most other traditions like
to do prescreening and gradual increase in insensitivity. First establish
daily practice, then take day or weekend retreats before doing longer terms.
I'm not saying its not a good tradition, it's just that they do this
differently.

\- Meditation retreat is where things happen in your mind. If you repress
something successfully in the normal life, it probably does not work in the
retreat. If you are depressed but did not notice it before, you probably
notice it in the retreat. If you are predisposed to psychosis, meditation
retreat is the place where it manifests. What is caused by meditation and what
is revealed by meditation is not clear.

\- People seek to treat their mental problems with mediation. In principle
that's OK when combined with other treatments, but if you use it as
alternative for medication or professional health care you get random
outcomes.

\- Mindfulness as a therapy (like what Jon Kabat-Zinn does) is different. You
have a therapist connection with the mindfulness meditation.

\- Many long term practitioners who do intensive meditation have mental
problems but can successfully deal with them. Their secret is that they go to
therapy when they need it or use medication when they need it just like
everyone else.

\- Ancient meditation literature (sutras and such) are full of descriptions of
people having mental problems. Experiences with devils, monsters and hell
realms during meditation. One great example is Japanese Zen master Hakuin
Ekaku (1686-1768). He describes the mental problems plainly. He sought help.
He had to take break of several years from his zen training to recover before
he could continue.

\- If you want to find where the line is, you have to go both sides of the
line. Even if you are healthy and grounded individual sometimes you find scary
mental states. The difference between 'crazy' temporary mental state versus
clinical psychosis or mental problem is that you recover quickly after taking
a little break or sleeping over it.

