Vipassana and Hridaya: two silent retreats, two views

A Vipassana meditation retreat in the tradition of S. N. Goenka is a ten-day silent course teaching observation of bodily sensation, taught worldwide from the same recorded instructions and offered without charge. A Hridaya silent meditation retreat teaches the awareness of the Spiritual Heart and Self-Inquiry, and runs over three, five or ten days. Both are held in continuous silence.

At Cave of the Heart Retreats we run Hridaya retreats at Karuna Retreat Center in Monchique, in the Algarve, Portugal. One of our retreat leaders, Ricardo (Ricky) Marticorena, sat Vipassana retreats in the Goenka tradition and practised in that method for a few years before coming to Hridaya, so what follows is written from inside both rooms rather than about one of them.

This is not an argument that one is better. They are built on different views, and the view is what shapes everything else.

What the two have in common

Both are silent meditation retreats. In both you keep mauna, noble silence, for the whole course. In both you set aside phones, reading, writing to friends, and the ordinary social habits that fill a day. You do not talk to other participants, you do not look at them, you do not interact with them in any way.

In both you are asked to commit to a practice and stay with it, to look within rather than around, for days at a time. Both traditions describe their technique as non-sectarian, and both mean it: neither asks you to adopt a belief system, and neither requires you to be a Buddhist, a Hindu, or anything at all.

If you have sat one and are considering the other, the container will feel familiar. The days are long, the silence is real, and something can be recognised in it that is not so easily recognised at home.

The difference is the view, and the view shapes everything

The Goenka courses belong to the Buddhist tradition, and they rest on the Four Noble Truths: that suffering exists, and that a human being is capable of ending it. Hridaya rests on the non-dual traditions, mainly the inspiration of Ramana Maharshi, and on the recognition of what we most essentially are.

Everything else you might notice, the rules, the schedule, what you are asked to do with your attention, what happens when your knee hurts, follows from that. The differences are not preferences. They are consequences of a particular view.

What Vipassana teaches, and why

For the first days the instruction is anapana: awareness of the natural breath in a very small area, at the nostrils and the upper lip. The purpose is refinement. Attention becomes concentrated, and the mind settles. It is a purification, and a sharpening of the instrument, so that it becomes able to focus and to discern fine detail.

From the fourth day the practice is called Vipassana: observing sensations throughout the body in a systematic sweep, understanding their nature, and, in their own words, learning not to react to them. The attention is in continuous movement, which keeps presenting the mind with something new, and in some ways makes it easier to drop into the flow of the practice.

What that reveals, day after day, is impermanence. Sensations arise and pass. Pleasant ones pass. Unbearable ones pass. Sitting with that long enough, you might stop identifying with them, because you have watched, thousands of times, that they are not staying. The course closes with a day of metta, loving kindness.

It is a coherent, well-built method, and it has served an enormous number of people. If you want it described by the people who teach it rather than by us, their own account is at dhamma.org.

Those courses run on conscious contribution. Nobody is made to pay to attend. This is beautiful, and it has carried this practice into many countries, reaching many human beings throughout the world. We hold that work in genuine respect.

What Hridaya teaches, and why

Hridaya does not dispute any of that. Impermanence is real, and we say so.

But we approach it from the other end. Rather than becoming intimate with what passes, we look for what does not. We seek to open to the essence of our being, which is always here, and to learn to rest in the witness, in the silent loving awareness that we already are. Resting in something deeper, non-identification happens by itself: things come and go, and we let them, because we are no longer identified with them.

Nisargadatta Maharaj put it as an instruction rather than as a conclusion:

Go back to that state of pure being, where the "I am" is still in its purity, before it got contaminated with "this I am" or "that I am". Your burden is of false self-identifications. Abandon them all.

What is left when those are set down is not an absence. It is what was there the whole time, unnoticed only because it was never among the things we were looking at.

So we are also recognising impermanence. We are simply arriving at it by finding that which is more permanent, that which carries a deeper sense of truth within.

The method has three pillars, which we describe in full on our Hridaya meditation page: awareness of the Heart centre, awareness of the pauses in the breath, and Self-Inquiry, the pure I-feeling and the question "Who am I?".

In this retreat we aim to open to a direct recognition of our essence, to something that is natural, unconditional, completely free and independent, and always present.

Since this recognition may be occluded by the veils of our human experience, our retreats share many other practices, which invite us to calm the mind and open the Heart, creating the conditions for Self-Inquiry and for a more direct recognition of ourselves. We draw inspiration from the classical teachings of yoga, from the tantric traditions, from Sufism, from Christian mysticism, and from Buddhism as well.

Every human being has their own way of opening to the truth of their being. The Indian saint Ramakrishna put it as "as many faiths, so many paths", and the Rig Veda long before him: truth is one, the wise call it by many names. What both are saying, and what we work from, is that the truth does not vary but the doors do, and yours may not be the one that opened for the person sitting next to you. Every human being has their own path for recognising the one essence. We could say: as so many monks, so many paths.

None of the practices is the point. They are meant to take you towards something beyond practice, towards a natural state. And what opens that state, more than any technique, is understanding: what the yogic tradition calls jnana, wisdom born of direct experience. This is why, alongside the guided meditation practices, we also share inspiring talks.

What a practice does, and what a view does

You can spend your life anxious about the future. When the anxiety comes, you can bring awareness to the breath, or to sensation, and do the practice, and the practice will bring calm, and you will cope. This works for some time, but it does not tackle the root.

A view does something else. It goes to the root, because it changes where you are looking for safety in the first place. It teaches you to stop seeking security in things that are coming and going, and to find the centre in your own being.

Ramana Maharshi drew the same distinction, and he drew it about practices themselves. Asked whether there were other means of making the mind quiet, he answered as the teacher of Self-Inquiry, about the path he taught:

Other than inquiry, there are no adequate means. Through the control of breath the mind will become quiescent; but it will be quiescent only so long as the breath remains controlled, and when the breath resumes the mind also will again start moving. Like the practice of breath control, meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, restriction on food, these are but aids for rendering the mind quiescent.

He is not dismissing any of them. In the same text he says that when thoughts are resolved the mind becomes one-pointed and strong, and that for such a mind Self-Inquiry becomes easy. Anything that quietens the mind prepares the ground. What he is saying is what each thing is for.

Sitting still: immobility on Vipassana and Hridaya retreats

On a Vipassana course, after some days, participants are encouraged to sit for an hour without moving at all. The reason is sound and it belongs to their view: uncomfortable sensation is exactly where impermanence is hardest to believe and most useful to see, and the will to stay still is what makes that seeing possible.

We ask for something different, and the reason is also a view rather than a preference. What we are opening to does not depend on the position of the body, on the activity of the mind, or on any emotional state. It is here all the time, and it is so intimate that it cannot be taken away from us. So no posture can deliver it and no movement can take it away.

We do ask you to keep the spine straight, to move as little as you reasonably can, and to keep the interiorisation, because those things help. But we do not ask you to hold still through pain, especially when that could injure the body or the psyche.

We see meditation as a love affair with the essence of our being, a romance with the divine and the sacred within our own hearts. Not a matter of pushing through pain or emotion, but a way of embracing what is happening. Hridaya means Heart. Hridaya meditation is about the Heart, about love and awareness.

So if you need to move, move. The invitation is only to keep the presence while you do it, and to look at where the impulse is coming from, because often it is an agitation of the mind asking to be expressed through the body. Wait a moment and look. Maybe you move. Maybe you find there was no need.

Hatha Yoga

On a Vipassana course, participants are asked not to engage in any other practice, and Hatha Yoga in particular is set aside for the duration.

In our silent meditation retreats we practise Hatha Yoga daily, because it is an ancient practice developed to support meditation and to work together with it, carrying the recognition that meditation opens into the physical and the subtle bodies. It is about an hour and a half a day, taught slowly and in silence, with long holds, and with the attention placed in the Heart as much as in the shape of the posture. Nobody is corrected in front of anybody else, and no experience is needed.

We describe what it is and what it is for in yoga and meditation retreats in Portugal.

Rules, or agreements

The guidelines at both retreats look similar on paper. Silence, no phones, no reading, full attendance, no other practices during the days you are here.

The difference is in how they are held. Here they are not rules imposed from outside. They are agreements we take together, chosen by the people taking them, to create the conditions in which something deeper can be looked at. The reason each one exists is explained rather than asserted. You can read them before you book, on our Retreat Guidelines page.

It is the same distinction as the one about immobility of the body, applied to the container instead of the body: something to push through, or something entered from the heart.

Who is actually in the room

In the Goenka tradition the teaching is a recording, the same recording everywhere in the world, played to a hall that might hold a great many participants. That consistency is a genuine achievement.

Our retreats are led by people in the room, and the group is small. Every retreat is different, because it is made not only by the ones leading it but by the ones sitting it. There is a daily question and answer session: you write your question on a note, and the retreat leaders answer as best they can, from their own understanding and from the teachings. The questions shape the talks. A retreat here is a live thing.

That difference shows up in the silence too. In neither retreat do participants communicate with each other at all. What differs is the channel to the teacher. On a Vipassana course you may speak with the teacher, privately at midday or aloud in the hall in the evening. Here, you write a note, and the answer can come back as a private note or aloud in the question and answer session, as you prefer.

For some people, speaking to a teacher and meeting their eyes in the middle of a silent retreat is itself a source of anxiety. That conversation is part of the programme on a Vipassana course, and it is not part of ours. Of course, at Cave of the Heart, in an emergency or an acutely challenging moment where you need support, you can always choose to speak with the retreat leaders in private.

How the retreat ends

Both retreats reopen speech before people go home, rather than sending them from ten days of silence straight to a car park.

At Cave of the Heart, the return is guided, and it is done together. There are moments to share with each other, and the entrance back into the world of speech happens as a group, so that everyone is included and nobody is left out of it. The closing of the retreat together is, for many, one of the most beautiful parts of it.

Which one could suit you best

Your own inner knowing will take you to the right place.

If you want one technique taught thoroughly and practised without variation, if the discipline of not moving appeals rather than repels, and if you want a format available in almost every country and offered without charge, the Goenka courses may be the right choice for you.

If you are drawn to the non-dual traditions, or to the yogic and mystical ones, if you long to open to the essence of your being, to the Heart, if you wish to rediscover your natural state of meditation, if you want more than one practice so that you can understand what supports you most at each moment, or if you would like teachers who answer your actual question, then our Hridaya silent meditation retreats could be a good choice for you. Beginners are welcome at every length we run.

Both practices are beautiful and useful, and each has its own specificity. Many people here have sat both. If you have done Goenka courses and are curious, you are very welcome to come and try.

If this would be your first silent retreat of any kind, our honest guide for beginners goes through the concerns people actually raise, and what to expect on a silent meditation retreat describes a full day here hour by hour. If you are living with mental health challenges, please read our Meditation Retreat Mental Health Disclaimer before booking anything, here or elsewhere.

Dates are on our silent meditation retreats in Portugal page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Vipassana and Hridaya meditation?

Vipassana in the Goenka tradition teaches systematic observation of bodily sensation in order to experience impermanence directly, and to stop reacting to what arises. Hridaya teaches Self-Inquiry, in order to recognise what does not change. In our practice, awareness is invited to rest in itself, and we share many practices that support this by calming the mind and opening the Heart.

Is a Hridaya retreat easier than a Vipassana retreat?

Not easier, but held differently. There is no requirement to sit motionless for an hour, you may move if you need to, and there are several practices rather than one. You are allowed to keep your personal practice, and we practise Hatha Yoga daily. The silence, the length and the depth are comparable, and the days are just as complete.

Can I do a Hridaya retreat if I have already done Vipassana?

Yes, and many people do. Previous experience of sitting in silence is a real advantage. The practices taught on the Goenka courses cultivate concentration and focus, which is genuinely supportive in a Hridaya retreat.

Do you teach the body scan?

No. The body scan belongs to the Vipassana method and it is theirs to teach. Our practices are the awareness of the Heart centre, the awareness of the pauses in the breath, Self-Inquiry, and a number of supporting methods including some from the Sufi and tantric traditions.

Is Hridaya Buddhist?

No. Hridaya draws mainly on the yogic tradition, as well as Advaita Vedanta and the teaching of Ramana Maharshi and other Indian masters, Kashmir Shaivism, Christian mysticism and Sufism. Like the Goenka courses, it is non-sectarian and asks you to adopt no belief.

Are your retreats free, like Vipassana courses?

No. The Goenka courses run on conscious contribution, which is a remarkable model and part of why that tradition has reached so many people. We are a small school: we rent the retreat centre and we have living costs to meet, so our retreats carry a price. It is a low one compared with most retreats of this kind, and we run low-income discounts on every retreat we offer, with a simple application form. If cost is what is standing between you and a retreat, write to us.

Do you have to keep silence the whole time?

Yes, from the first morning sitting to the final morning, meals included. You can always write a note to the retreat leaders, and there is a daily question and answer session. Our post on noble silence, or mauna explains what the silence is actually for.

How long is a Hridaya silent retreat?

Three, five or ten days. The ten-day is the original programme and it is designed as a complete whole. Most people coming for the first time choose three days. There is an honest guide to choosing between them.

With Love, the Cave of the Heart Team