Episode 3 - Daniel Ingram Interview

An amazing interview with Daniel – really enjoyed this one! I was particularly blown away by his insights into the Goenka tradition – which was my introduction to serious meditation and retreats. Listen to more episodes, and find links for all the resources below at: awake-in.com

Resources referenced:
Path with Heart – Jack Kornfield
Dharma Overground Forum
Fire Kasina
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha (book / site)
Mahasi Sayadaw – Practical Insight Meditation
Visuddhimagga – classic meditation manual

Topics
3:24 – Practice and framing. How one begins on the adventure of meditation. Starting a practice during COVID-19 lockdown?
6:00 – Daniel Ingram’s practice day to day. Morality, concentration, wisdom
10:50 – Fire Kasina technique & history
13:30 – Meditation and scary events. Demons!
19:00 – Magical practices, grimoires, entities in the practice and traditions
20:15 – Loving kindness meditation (metta) origins
22:00 Loving kindness towards entities
23:00 Fire kasina & necessity for theory and roadmap
24:00 Bill’s memories – encountering an entity in teenage years
27:15 Bill reflecting on how this impacted practice
29:50 Is any dose of meditation safe? Considering the Therevadan maps. Chapter 30 MCTB.
38:00 Use of maps and how they’ve helped Ingram, benefits
41:00 Daniel, challenges others to bring forward insight on maps
41:48 Why Therevadan maps are so useful. Possible drawbacks and why some people don’t like the insight maps
44:42 Benefits of maps for meditation.
46:00 Why does the Goenka meditation tradition not use the maps technology that is available? Why do they keep their students in the dark about it?
48:00 Maps and how they script meditation experiences and paths
52:50 Sayadaw ‘Noting’ practice
54:47 Inside story on Goenka’s training and practice with Sayagyi U Ba Khin – along with fellow students Ruth Dennison, and Robert Harry Hoover. All were taught from the Visuddhimagga in very individualised ways. Goenka went on to teach the version he learnt, without the differentiation he’d received. The Visuddhimagga has many techniques for different types of people. When the students went on to try and teach together, they rapidly clashed as they realised they were all teaching different things!
56:48 Goenka did not have ‘dark night’ problems (dhukka nanas) – so never included warnings about them or help to navigate them in his teaching! With him around – and his warm, encouraging presence, his students didn’t run into so many problems.
59:00 This difficulty of making any changes to the Goenka institution
1:00:02 – The Fire Kasina – why did it get lost and why is it not more popular?
1:10:10 Fire Kasina for beginners, and on retreat
1:14:00 Bill & Jasmine’s ambitions for the podcast & current practice
1:24:00 Scripting and the Jhanas
1:29:50 Daniel’s thoughts on having a meditation teacher and how to find the right one.

Видео Episode 3 - Daniel Ingram Interview канала Awake In