Goenka talks about vipassana practice only beginning when you can feel the subtle sensations on the body and then not react understanding their impermanence. This seems to be quite different than Ingram's point of view of it not mattering what you are able to observe as long as you note the 3 characteristics. How important is it to feel subtle sensations? Im interested in peoples point of view of the two schools of thought and if they can be reconciled. Are they really that different?

Hi, welcome to the DhO

I don't think there's really a difference. It all points in the same direction. Daniel talks about the pre-vipassana stages (1-3) in MCTB and Goenka's assertion about sensations and reaction may well correspond directly to that, though he doesn't subscribe to the same map theory.

It doesn't matter though. It's all the same.

I'd say you can get just as enlightened from gross sensations as from subtle ones. In the beginning, it's more about finding a rhythm. Once you get to the 11th ñāṇa, the difference won't matter anymore.