Hi All,
There were questions raised as to why Goenka’s meditation will not lead to nibbana. These are my thoughts and are relevant to any meditation technique (not only Goenka’s).
Nibbana is attained in a step by step process starting from the stream entry / sotapanna stage. It is evident from the sutta’s, that the sotapanna stage can only be attained from listening to the sa-dhamma (sa-dhamma shravanaya) and comprehending it. This sa-dhamma needs to be explained by someone who has at least attained the sotapanna stage, a kalyana mitta. Sotapanna stage cannot be attained by meditation.
If there is a method leading to nibbana it has to start with listening and comprehending the sa-dhamma, as one does not have the ability to comprehend the sa-dhamma by himself. So if someone expects to attain the sotapanna stage through meditation, it will not happen.
Hence a programme that relies only on meditation cannot lead one to attain the sotapanna stage.