Vipassana, "diluted" Buddhism and my teachers

One day many years ago, after I had been studying Eastern religions for many years, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and some other possible permutations, I had a friend at the time tell me that he had gone on a Vipassana retreat. He had done a week or ten day silent meditation retreat in what I assumed was a type of Buddhism similar to the Soto Zen I had studied. Oh no, he said, maniacally, this type of Buddhism was the only real, true Buddhism, what the Buddha really taught. This type of dogma always made me skeptical and he said it with such certainty that I was especially dubious.

That was about ten years ago and I have met many practitioners of Vipassana, or Insight meditation, over the years, and have attended a class and studied books such as "What the Buddha Taught" based on a recommendation from my Soto Zen Teacher, Tim McCarthy. I have not heard many claims over the years regarding purity or superiority like my crazy friend, obviously a "young" student of the practice. I have noticed what might be arrogance or a lack of beginners mind in some, and in myself, over the years, but I see that as part of the process and nothing lethal. I am a big fan of Zen myself and love the Blue Cliff Record and other teachings, as well as the words of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, who founded the San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara, and who worked with Kobin Chino Otokawa, Roshi who taught my teacher.

Recently the issue of Insight Meditation and other forms of Buddhism came up at my girlfriends' house and the discussion apparently got pretty heated. I was not there, thankfully, but heard enough to think of a way to poke fun at statement like "other forms of Buddhism are watered-down Vipassana". I don't know who told my friend Alan that, if anyone, but if that's true isn't Vipassana a diluted form or branch of Hinduism? I don't think so obviously but it's fun to imagine the reactions.

I prefer to think of these religions and philosophies evolving over time as they travel through different cultures. Maybe not better, or worse, but different. I don't know if it is necessary to complicate it much more than that. Or not at all. Suzuki Roshi talked about how we are just Buddhists, and Kobun says some interesting things here.