You just finished your Vipassanā course. Now what?
If you’re like most old students, you left your 10-day retreat deeply moved — and then struggled to maintain your practice in the chaos of daily life. The silence faded. The stillness cracked. And that twice-a-day sitting commitment? It unraveled fast.
This revised and radically improved edition of Now What? After Your Vipassanā Course Is Over is here to help.
Originally published in 2019, this new version is a complete rewrite — grounded in lived experience and Dhamma wisdom, not just habit hacks. It’s honest. Irreverent. Compassionate. And most of all, practical.
You won’t find technique instructions here.
What you will find is how to stay on the path when you’re no longer in the retreat center — when your practice has collapsed, your motivation has evaporated, and you’re wondering if you’re the only old student who can’t seem to “just sit twice a day.”
This book will help you:
- Rebuild your daily practice with systems that work (even when motivation fails)
- Integrate sīla, samādhi, and paññā into real life — not just retreat life
- Navigate collapse, start again, and stop shaming yourself
- Find support (without needing a traditional sangha)
- Design a practice plan that’s actually sustainable
- Return to the path with humility, clarity, and renewed commitment
This isn’t a manual. It’s a conversation.
Whether you’re starting fresh or starting over, you’ll find tools, stories, and support that meet you where you are — not where you wish you were.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need a way to begin again.
This book will help you find it.
Sam (DjRetsam) Gladu on Goodreads wrote:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I took my first meditation course over twenty years ago. It was enlightening, but it was hard. There were many strict rules to follow, which made me not want to do it after the course was over. It took a few years for me to return to it. I wish I'd have had a book like this to read afterward. I love the emphasis on practicality in creating a system that works for you. While it is geared toward a specific type of meditation, I think it would be a useful read after and meditative course and I recommend it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I read (Now What? After Your Vipassanā Course is Over)in preparation for my interview with Scott Graham on the Rumbling Facts Podcast—the #1 destination to challenge the status quo, dissect the system, think outside the box, and dive into uncomfortable truths that collide with our reality. We explore expert insights through raw, unfiltered conversations. (Find us on Rumble, Spotify & YouTube)
I really enjoyed because it speaks to something so real—how hard it can be to keep up your practice once the retreat ends. I loved how Scott focus' on taking small steps and building systems that make meditation part of everyday life, rather than relying on motivation alone. He emphasis on community and flexibility really stood out to me too. It’s a genuine, practical guide that feels super helpful for anyone looking to keep that momentum going long term.
This book is the missing manual for what happens after the silence. Most people come out of a Vipassana course with clarity, insight, maybe even peace—but quickly realize that real life doesn’t slow down to match that inner stillness. Scott doesn’t romanticize the post-retreat glow.
He gets real about the confusion, overwhelm, and emotional turbulence that often hits once the cushion is gone and the noise returns. What makes this book powerful is how practical and grounded it is. Scott offers a way to integrate the practice into everyday living—not by clinging to silence, but by adapting the inner awareness to a noisy world.
He helps you build tools to respond instead of react, stay present under pressure, and honor the internal transformation without feeling like you need to escape society to keep your peace. It’s a must-read for anyone who’s done Vipassana—or any deep inner work—and found themselves asking: “Now what?” This book answers that with humility, insight, and the kind of wisdom that comes from doing the work.