Adyashanti, Eckhart Tolle, Tony Robbins
and Mooji. Retreats/Courses. Costs
10 Questions.
Information on four retreats/courses in October/November 2016. Please note that these retreats/courses are often full weeks or months in advance.
Adyashanti
THE INFINITE EMBRACE OF AWAKENING
“You are Pure Consciousness, already free, awakened and liberated. I am here to say you can do this.”
A 7-Night Silent Retreat.
October 07, 2016 – October 14, 2016
Omega Centre, Rhinebeck, near New York.
Tuition fee: $575.00 (€510, £430.00)
Plus accommodation and food.
Accommodation for 500 participants.
https://www.eomega.org/workshops/the-infinite-embrace-of-awakening#-workshop-description-block
Eckhart Tolle and Kim Eng (Eckhart Tolle’s Partner)
Costa Rica
DEEPENING OF PRESENCE RETREAT
A Five-Day Retreat
“Realise deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.”
Sunday evening October 23 to Friday noon, October 28, 2016.
Tuition Fee. $1297 (€1150.00, £975.00).
Plus hotel rooms/food to be booked through Eckhart Tolle Foundation.
Accommodation for 500 participants.
https://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=1824411
Tony Robbins
San Jose, California
November 10 -13, 2016
UNLEASH THE POWER WITHIN.
“It’s never the environment; it’s never the events of our lives, but the meaning we attach to the events.”
Prices (including tuition) range from
$795.00 (€705.00, £600) to $2995 (€2260.00, £2250.00) per person.
Non-residential. A three and a half day course.
Around 7000 participants.
https://www.tonyrobbins.com/events/unleash-the-power-within/san-jose-11-10-2016/#pricing
Mooji
Zmar, Portugal
19 – 26 October, 2016
A SILENT RETREAT
“My heart reaches out to one whose pure intention and urge is to find the Self alone.”
Course/Tuition Fee £308 (€365.00, $410)
Plus £525 ($700, €620.00) for a single room down to £203 ($270.00, €240.00), if you bring a tent.
Around 800 participants.
Retreats/Courses and Money. 10 Questions
- Should spiritual seekers express a view about costs of retreats/courses?
- Has “Spiritual Enlightenment” or “Personal Transformation” become a Western product with the “Masters” as top salesman of the product?
- Does the above question reveal a cynical viewpoint of the seeker about spiritual teachings?
- Does the tuition fee of the Master and accommodation charge contribute to cynicism in society?
- Should the Master and organisation be free to set any charge and should accounts be publicly available in the spirit of freedom of information?
- Is Spiritual Enlightenment /Personal Transformation becoming one of the fastest growth industries in the West with $millions income from a few courses/retreats?
- Should we take the view that fees for retreat/courses have no relevance to Spiritual Enlightenment/Personal Transformation?
- Do we welcome the personal success of the Master, their courses, charges, online programmes, books and DVDs as it shows the degree of public interest?
- Should we feel concern for many seekers who cannot afford to attend such courses/retreats, plus travel costs, and what steps could seekers take?
- Can Youtube videos and books of the Master offer as much to seekers as participating in a retreat/course?
The Masters and their organisations would surely welcome your responses, whether supportive, critical, both or neither.
Christopher
PS. There are no limits to questions and seeking answers.
I ended up here because I had found the most amazing set of meditations from Adyashanti on YT and just today it was removed and you have to pay for it. I was super frustrated but after calming down and thinking about it..we all have to eat. I feel that all of the people mentioned provide plenty of free material scattered all over the internet. I think these retreats are more suited for the hardcores.. the ones that can afford it and just want to be in the presence of them. Its not meant for everybody and definitely not for me. But I am not gonna bash them for it. Its not like they’re scamming people and you’re there for a week. But Eckard should be providing food I mean he’s making enough to do so. Plus there’s lots of people who dont charge like Dr.Angelo on ‘Simply Always Awake’ who, to me is the best when it comes to insight and support. Plus he donates all the proceeds he makes from his channel to charities.
Actually, there are scholarships for courses by Eckhart Tolle, if one asks, e.g. for the online version (perhaps also for the offline version, one would need to ask, but I suppose that would not cover the hotels; still, a scholarship for the online version should be a pretty good bargain…) of “School of Awakening” or “Conscious Manifestation”.
Bussiness people in robes?
There are only a handfull of teachers who do not require spirtual dollar payments
Do not waste your time with the carpet baggers. They are only fooling them selfs. And showimg how attached they are
A lot of the money the guru’s have can better be spent on raising The Consiousness to make new TV channels, education for free for people who have NOT the opportunity to dis cover the thruth because they suffer from Survival in the material world.
Because the Politici, the Money banks , the Religons, the Media keep the world in fear, suffer and delusion.
Let the rich guru’s be the new world to save people from this Ignorance Who you really are. Let the rich guru’s come together to go for IT !
A lot of the money the guru’s have can better be spent on raising The Consiousness to make new TV channels, education for free for people who have NOT the opportunity to dis cover the thruth because they suffer from Survival in the material world.
Because the Politici, the Money banks , the Religons, the Media keep the world in fear, suffer and delusion.
Let the rich guru’s be the new world to save them from this Ignorance Who you really are. Let the rich guru’s come together to go for IT !
Your position is part of an unnatural dichotomy that religions created between spirituality and “normal life”. I feel at its core it comes from a distorted relationship to money (a distortion that is deeply embedded in theraveda traditions). The point is whether these people charge out of greed and the egoic need to have more or are charging what they feel is a balanced exchange. Christpher, if you are able to explore to the depth what this touches in you, you can free yourself from this issue.
http://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regid=1144016&subid=0
Maybe this is an answer, at least for Mooji.
You people are direct examples of why masters charge money (except for the obvious reason that the retreats wouldn’t run without money). Basically, it helps to separate the wheat from the chaff. These people all do plenty of talks for free, release books, give interviews etc. But when it comes to a retreat they want the people who are most ready, who are yearning to discover their true Self, not the ones who are going to be half hearted and sceptical. There are plenty of free retreats over the world and most of them are filled with people who are not genuine in their search, they just want to dabble. All your cyncism comes from the mind which is trapped in certain paradigms. Gurdjieff used to ask new disciples for all of their money when they arrived, some gave it, some refused, some did it reluctantly, but the point was to establish where the person was at. Gurdjieff himself was never rich, he used to circulate any money he received around his disciples. Money was another tool for awakening, and a useful one because in our culture people are so attached and identified with it. Someone who has developed a genuine longing for Truth will only be interested in that. Plus, we live in a very different world to the one of the Buddha, our culture is highly attached to money and we often do not value something that we have not paid for.
The rich white wheat from the poor Hispanic chaff. As the income gap continues to widen, the inequalities the pandemic has made this more clear.
Most of these teachers are white and most of their students are high-income white people who can afford the cost plus travel, accommodation and food. The luxury of being able to take time off work. If one can’t afford that, period, they can’t afford it. Who are you to say they don’t want it bad enough?
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Questions are valid.
Very real costs of providing these conferences must be covered, but the real question is intent, and profit margin.
Is it possible for a true spiritual master to lose his/her way – and not even know it?
Sincere question.
There are a variety of teachers to fit every budget. These teachings are not being denied to anyone. Every teacher can’t afford to work for free and live on nothing these days, especially in America where just health care is prohibitively expensive.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” -Mark 11:24
The reason Christ taught this is so people wouldn’t have to rely on other people for charity. It takes practice to master the law of attraction, but it’s a part of spiritual teachings and being self-sufficient and personally responsible.
I would also worry that if the famous teachers went on the honor system letting people pay what they claim they can afford, their would be a lot of people claiming to have little money just to get into a free/cheap lecture or retreat with a famous teacher. I think that would greatly lower the audience quality of the lecture/retreat.
Yes.
I find it abhorrent that spiritual masters/ gurus charge so much money. When I have questioned this in the past I have been told I ought to examine my relationship to money . Yes probably but this does not change the fact that the fees are too high and why they are so high. I much prefer the Buddhist principle of giving freely & donation. I think it would be a brilliant idea for them to be transparent in their accounts and be accountable and transparent. Having been to a mooji retreat a couple of years ago, this is all videoed and live broadcast and I think one can gain just as much from this.
When I participated in the Ängsbacka festival in Sweden, for the first time, close to the millenium – I thought it must be a great money-making-machine, and that the owners must become rich – but they said, at the end of the festival, that they were struggling to save the Ängsbacka “emporium” at the end of each month. They had no credibility in the eyes of the banks… One answer to the questions is, of course, that the teaching is priceless. Some people used to be upset that Osho charged 5 rupies for a discourse in around 1980. He said it kept the wrong people away. I don´t know about these teachers, nowadays – perhaps spirituality is comercial? But values like love, peace, consciousness are priceless – and when you don´t have them you can waste any amount of money. Also, at this Ängsbacka festival, I had a chat with you, Christopher – about politics, war crimes and that perpetrating politicians should be prosecuted. Keep up the good work!
Papji stated if you charge money at all the satsang is tainted. For some one like me who is very interested in such matters it also automatically bars me from entrance due to a lack of funds. Papaji utterly refused to charge. Personally i think they should be free.
Dear Christopher,
I feel so deeply about the question of cost because I was once a housewife raising children & with very little money so I struggled to achieve my dreams of becoming a yoga teacher, going to retreats, etc.
It was only through friends help and “Dana” that I had the chance to go to Insight meditation retreats & yoga and incorporate that in my daily life. After years and years I finally had my freedom to work, money & could pay to go anywhere I wished but it has been always a great pleasure for me to be able to give sufficient “Dana ” to repay all that time I was helped. I truly believe that most if not all the people who are meditation practitioners or on a spiritual path would eventually do the same.
I also know so many people who live on a shoestring but could benefit so much by doing some of those retreats. I always admired you for trusting people and having “Dana” as a means to support your work and benefit so many. I do understand that sometimes a price has to be given but if more people also accepted “Dana” so many more would be achieved around the globe.
Thank you for addressing this.
I have tried Eckhart’s method with no success. Moreover, I found out that in his book a new earth, he ridicules/criticizes factory farming while his wife/girlfriend confirmed he still eats meat…. That is just awful. If you are so awakened why do you need to eat meat.
Personally, I think he just likes to relax and be lazy under the name of consciousness or enlightenment. His methods did not work for me. With any problem he is like, become aware of your mind. I tried it, it zombified me. We all need to contribute with affirmative ACTION as well. Just saying that factory farming is wrong while paying for animal abuse/killing is just nasty. Your actions need to be in line with your teachings. If he did not need all that money why demand thousands of euro’s for the privileged few to enjoy his ‘lectures’. If his goal is to create a platform to reach humans in emotional need, well it is not really working. People still endorse these so called ‘teachers’. They are NOT teachers. They are just lazy and like to be loved with simple good feel words. Talking is one of the easiest things you can do. Acting on the other hand is not.
Why does he live in a big mansion, while claiming he was homeless and lived in ULTIMATE peace during that time?????? He is lying or hallucinating. I don’t believe one word he says anymore. I do believe he is a genuinely sweet individual. But that is about it. His is not a teacher to me.
You can know a man just by looking at what he does. Not what he says.Anyone trying to counter argue anything, by claiming they ‘need’ to do this.
I am sorry they do not. You can gather at any place and ask for donations/permission.
I totally agree with you. I think Eckhart is good at talking, no doubt of it. He says he is always living in peace, but that sounds like arrogance to me. He always say he got enlightenment once and forever, but that’s not how it works. I know about enlightenment myself, i have been practicing zen for almost 40 years. I got satori experience several times in the past. I can asure you, the experience was truly genuine. Still it would be quite arrogant to say that i am totally in peace after that. That’s not the case. Nor it is the case of any other person who has passed through satori experiences. I do not have anything against Eckhart, but when i see the fees he charges for their workshops, i simply have to say HE IS NOT DOING GOOD. That is not acceptable. On the other hand, what he teaches is correct, but only if you have a regular practice. You cannot have enlightenment just dedicating five minutes daily to conscious breathing. That’s totally absurd, Eckhart. LOL.
1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Maybe.
4. Probably.
5. Telling the master what to do implies a higher moral standard, and I don’t presume to be more moral then those people, however If the master want to gain my respect and recude my cynicism, he should consider explaining why is a charging so much and give acount as to what is he doing with this money and also make is living standard open to the public eye. The same is true for spiritual teachers earning their money from donations.
6. Maybe, Are there any statistics/estimations available?
7. I like more the dana based tradition, but I’m not sure if tuition fee are an hindrance to personal transformation or encouraging transformation (probably there are people who will take things mire seriously and make more effort once they paid for something).
8. Despite the risk of contibuting to cynicism I welcome the success of everyone who offers a critical point of view or an alternative to western capitalistic values.
9. Luckily in many places there exists also great teachers who teach in dana (your retreats in israel are good example since the accomodation is also dana based, your retreats in germany a less good example since The places where you teach charge amounts of money for accomodation that makes the retreat very expensive for the non working/minimum wage earning workers and so they don’t come only because its to expensive (I know personaly such people).
10. My guess is that if a teacher/master is really available for personal contact and instructions and he really knows what he is doing a retreat can generally offer more for most people then a video or a book (which for other people can be just as good some other times),
i m a poor person.i will be very happy to participate but i acnt because i ahve no money .why these beautiful teaching are reserved to rich people ? i dont it s life …pooor people are people and we are still rejected….
you may get true teachings for free. Just look for them. Eckhart is not so especial. He is not a genuine master. If he was, he would not go after money.