Salih Tugsal

@Sevi Well I feel welcomed! What an experience it must have been for him to not only see the sprituality within Islam but to also spend a night with one of the most influencial Turkish artists of all time. One has to step back and question to really comprehend the spritual depth which Islam posseses. Since it is also a way if life, it is easy to just dismiss it as an all out dogma. Looking forward to seeing you around

@SeviMy grandfather is from Tokat. He was the head Imam of his village and they immigrated to Istanbul when my dad was 7. My father then went to Hafiz school and went on to get his BA MA and PhD. I am glad that the Vipassana post helped you, definitely give it a go. After the retreat you may want to dig even deeper into your Sufi roots which was the case for me! @Leo Gura thanks for reading!

The Sufi approch to Islam that Leo refers to is how people practice Islam in my country, Turkey. The majority do not indulge in meditation practices, but the interpretation of the Quran is of the Sufi way. We view the Quran as a book that was written in a rather poetic way, open to interpretations in many ways. Say that in the Quran it says (not an actual quote) "I have my hands on all matters". A wahabbi (Arabian understanding of the Quran) indivdual could take the case literally and actually argue that God has an actual hand whereas a Sufi will interperet it as God's presence in all place of being. Certain things like God's monothesitic nature and Muhammed's prophecy are not up for interpretation though. Another example is the interpretation on the pragmatic laws of Islam also known as the Sharia law. Where a Wahabi will keep the exact punishment stated in the Quran for a said crime, let it be cutting of the hand as a punishment to theft. Turks and Sufis(?) alter the punishment to fit the modern times. This was mostly how the laws were set even in the Ottoman times. Another big difference I see is that Turks or Sufis seem to understand that the Quran was delivered in a 23 year period. It is pretty much a bunch of verses that were 'sent' to Muhammed upon the events that happened to him and the people around him. So every verse must be taken in historical context for a healtht practice in modern times. The Westerner should know that the Wahabbis are the minoraties in Islam. I practically grew up in the U.S so I had my prejudices towards Islam. Until I moved to my home country that is... only to find out that well, these are actually pretty cool people! This is what I saw between the Arab Muslims in America and the Turks in Istanbul. My father's family goes way back being Turkish Sufis but I am just a Vipassana practitioner and a Dhamma follower. Hope this gives one a better perspective on the different takes on Islam. Have a good day!

Hey Dhruv, Did you end up going to the retreat? As a 19 year old, I was blessed with the opportunity to take part in this retreat just last month. Vipassana was a life-changing experience for me and I would strongly recommend that you try it. Prior to Vipassana, I was a self-centered, unhappy, judgemental person. Post-retreat, there was nothing left but pure bliss and love for all. Don't worry thinking you won't be able to handle it out of inexperience. I had never meditated prior to my retreat and that wasn't an issue at all. The reason is, for the first 4 days of the retreat you will practice a technique called Anapana. You are told to watch but not to alter your breath. At first you will only be able to keep your attention for as short as 3 seconds but after 4 days days the duriation will jump to 15-20 mins no joke. I have cried out of joy because after the second day I was no longer overthinking and jumping from one thought to another. The thoughts were still there but less intense and less frequently appearing. Now that you have the skills needed to keep concentration, you will move on to vipassana this is the real deal. Days 4 and 5 will be mostly learning the technique until day 6 when you start getting real emotional. I remember crying out of sympathy for mistreating my ex-girlfriend and until that point, my ego kept telling me I was the moral superior in the relationship. You start realising, not by thinking, but by experiencing some bare truths of existance. Like how everything is changing and how all is one. Coming to this realization makes one feel like their own leg was broken all throughout their life yet they walked with it without knowing about it. Every day in pain. Every step in pain... Up until the pain dissapears. All suffering gone, what remains is love for all beings, big-small, enemy-friend, old-young you name it. Some other benefits were I was able to think more objectively. I was brave. My social anxiety was gone. I was able to connect with anyone old or young, stranger or friend, male or female. I became more aware in all areas of life. I felt free and was able to surrender myself to the wave of life instead of fighting it. I felt aware of nature's laws and the flow. And so many other benefits that will take hours to list. My advice for the retreat would be: *Follow the rules exaclty, do not add or subtract anything. DO NOT EVER COUNT MANTRAS. *If you have any questions at all, ask your teacher. Being confident in the teaching will make it so much easier for you to meditate. Your teacher is there to help, which he does 100% out of pure love. *If you absolutely need time to take a nap, do so in one of the non-group sitting sessions. Do not feel pressured to come to every seassion to the point where it is torture. Every seassion counts however, and you will only get out what you put in. *Organize your daily schedule beforehand so that you have enough time to shower and catch up on sleep if needed. *Practice Dhamma fully when in the retreat. It is impossible to experience the full benefits of the course if you think you are above Dhamma. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not go out of course boundries (even if by one inch to sit on a rock or something). Those rules are all there for very good reasons, some of which you'll understand right away and some you'll grasp later. Be aware: *You will become hyper-sensitive in all bodily senses and also on the mind. Reasons of crying can be from but not be limited to: overwhelm, guilt, freedom, joy, thankfulness. *If you doubt the technique, you will want to leave. This is when you consult with the teacher about your problem, you will feel much much better. *You will most likely have abdominal pain due to sudden physical and dietic changes. They will provide remedies, take them and you will feel fine. After you come from the retreat, your old problems and other people's eartly problems will all seem silly to you but still do respect them and try not to shove Vipassana down people's throats. This was something that I was guilty of since it was such a life-changing experience for me. Instead, let your actions do the preaching. I have not kept up the practice so I kind of went back to my old ways. But I'm getting back on track and my baseline is higher than what it was pre-Vipassana so I'm quickly catching up. Once you go on a retreat, you know there's always hope in life. One learns to live not by fear but with a balanced mind. If you have any questions or concerns I am happy to help! Love all serve all!