[mbrock]

Yeah, meditation is a magnet for grand claims. I ignore that stuff too, except to the extent that I find Buddhist philosophy interesting.

The vipassana retreats are built on Buddhism (though the founder prefers to reformulate it in more secular terms) so it's not surprising that they're aimed towards some notion of nirvana.

At the very least, simple breathing exercises can be super obviously relaxing and mind-clearing. Lots of people do them for just ten breaths. Five minutes is quite a lot from that perspective, so I really think we shouldn't dismiss that kind of duration.

[KingMob]

Minor note: Goenka uses the term "vipassana" in a way that makes people think they're synonymous, but many other teachers and schools teach vipassana.

[mbrock]

Agreed. I think it's a pretty definitely Buddhist term though, no? Referring to the fundamental insight into the nature of suffering?