Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book (Second Edition Revised and Expanded)
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Daniel M. Ingram
- ISBN：1911597108
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Summary
The very idea that Buddhist teachings can be mastered will arouse controversy within Buddhist circles。 Even so， Daniel Ingram insists that enlightenment is an attainable goal， once our fanciful notions of it are stripped away， and we have learned to use meditation as a method for examining reality rather than an opportunity to wallow in self-absorbed mind-noise。
This book sets out concisely the difference between concentration-based and insight meditation。 This is a revised and much expanded edition。 （Replaces ISBN 9781904658405）
This book sets out concisely the difference between concentration-based and insight meditation。 This is a revised and much expanded edition。 （Replaces ISBN 9781904658405）
Reviews
Athanasius
，
Nonsense written by a delusional charlatan。If you're interested in Theravada Buddhism then read books by Bhikkhu Bodhi， Ajahn Analayo， Ajahn Thannissaro， Ajahn Sujato， Ajahn Brahm， Ayya Khema， and Bhante Gunaratna。If I could give this book zero stars I would。 Nonsense written by a delusional charlatan。If you're interested in Theravada Buddhism then read books by Bhikkhu Bodhi， Ajahn Analayo， Ajahn Thannissaro， Ajahn Sujato， Ajahn Brahm， Ayya Khema， and Bhante Gunaratna。If I could give this book zero stars I would。 。。。more
Wojciech Niznik
，
This book is a waste of time and could be written as a booklet instead， saving us a lot of time since the author's technique and approach is really simple and there was no need to put there a lot of stuff you could find on the Internet if you wanted。 Apart from that， some chapters of the book may be quite discouraging to many people who are just starting to practice meditation。The author's understanding of his favourite model of meditation （Non-dual） is erroneous and his approach to meditation e This book is a waste of time and could be written as a booklet instead， saving us a lot of time since the author's technique and approach is really simple and there was no need to put there a lot of stuff you could find on the Internet if you wanted。 Apart from that， some chapters of the book may be quite discouraging to many people who are just starting to practice meditation。The author's understanding of his favourite model of meditation （Non-dual） is erroneous and his approach to meditation even contradicts that model which comes from the author's misunderstanding of the Buddha's teaching about perceiving reality。The funny thing is， he says all the accomplished practitioners he had met followed the progressive （“map”） path and those who he knows who followed Zen （Chan） after some sudden shift had some more work to do， therefore， he didn’t consider them as accomplished， where he said before （in the book） that it’s difficult to gauge your own progress let alone somebody’s and in that case， it’s not even about practitioners following “his school”。I got an impression the book was written mainly because the author likes reading what he wrote。 The book will be very enigmatic to freshmen。 I don't recommend it wholeheartedly。 Like one of us who also rated the book one star， I recommend The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa which is a very systematic and interesting approach and something which every freshman should start with。 Of course， advanced practitioners could find some value in Culadasa's book too。 I didn't mean to register an account on Goodreads but I just couldn't help it。 Sorry :） 。。。more
Kevin
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Some very useful perspectives on how to practice Buddhism。 At least in the first two parts。 The third， and final part was amazingly tedious to read。 While the author's writing style was a nice break from the typical， more stuffy spiritual writing styles， it only worked well in the first two parts。 The content of the third part didn't help matters。 It was about as irrevelant as could be。 Many times bordering on just silliness。 It wasn't just *not* valuable to have in this book， it really detracts Some very useful perspectives on how to practice Buddhism。 At least in the first two parts。 The third， and final part was amazingly tedious to read。 While the author's writing style was a nice break from the typical， more stuffy spiritual writing styles， it only worked well in the first two parts。 The content of the third part didn't help matters。 It was about as irrevelant as could be。 Many times bordering on just silliness。 It wasn't just *not* valuable to have in this book， it really detracts from the entire thing。 The book is worth reading， but only if one considers it finished at the end of part two。 。。。more
Mitch Bonaccorso
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（unf） emphasis on concentration meditationinvestigating critiques on Ingram's flash concentration （unf） emphasis on concentration meditationinvestigating critiques on Ingram's flash concentration 。。。more
Aaron
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Kinda egotistical writing but good attempt at modernizing dharma and free on the author's website。 Kinda egotistical writing but good attempt at modernizing dharma and free on the author's website。 。。。more
Waseem
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Maybe this book is way over my head and am just not ready for it - but for such a lengthy book I felt left confused and not sure what was that good about the book that was useful to me。For a book entitled “Mastering the core teachings of the Bhudda”， this book seemed to go back and forward from all sorts of “supposed teachings of Bhudda”， which are really other various schools of thought when it comes to meditation- far from Bhudda’s “core teachings” - of which no one really knows truly， hence t Maybe this book is way over my head and am just not ready for it - but for such a lengthy book I felt left confused and not sure what was that good about the book that was useful to me。For a book entitled “Mastering the core teachings of the Bhudda”， this book seemed to go back and forward from all sorts of “supposed teachings of Bhudda”， which are really other various schools of thought when it comes to meditation- far from Bhudda’s “core teachings” - of which no one really knows truly， hence the various sects and conflicting religious thoughts/views on the matter。。。This was painful to complete， but I never abandon a book after a decision to read it - but am sorry - not for me - perhaps for others that are looking for different things from meditation that perhaps are not for me anyway， or even the core teachings of the Bhudda in the first place！。。。。。。Because this seemed more a lot of commentary about the authors own views， rants and experiences of many different Meditation practices which are most definitely far from being labelled as “core teachings” of the Bhudda which I was hoping to learn more about from such a lengthy book that just left me no closer to that goal。To Our Continued Success！Seemy http://www。WaseemMirza。net 。。。more
Rick Cooper
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Great2 years ago I retired and started to read passionately about meditation and started meditation 1 hour daily。 This book has helped me substantially as now I can put a name （ Dark Night） to this intense energy passing through me。 It is so challenging and uncomfortable。 I sent an email to a monastery for feedback and they said there is no negatives to the meditation， just happiness， and it was probably because I was doing absorption meditation and just change back to Metta。 As my sit is wonder Great2 years ago I retired and started to read passionately about meditation and started meditation 1 hour daily。 This book has helped me substantially as now I can put a name （ Dark Night） to this intense energy passing through me。 It is so challenging and uncomfortable。 I sent an email to a monastery for feedback and they said there is no negatives to the meditation， just happiness， and it was probably because I was doing absorption meditation and just change back to Metta。 As my sit is wonderful but my post sit is a bitch and I was tempted to start an anti depressant。 I have decided to stay the course。 Answers will come。 。。。more
Cobramor
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Not saying that I don't suffer from the same illness， but there are times when the author seems to be caught up in ego issues。 Also， definitely too technical to work for me， but that problem is mine。 Not saying that I don't suffer from the same illness， but there are times when the author seems to be caught up in ego issues。 Also， definitely too technical to work for me， but that problem is mine。 。。。more
Kaizad Johnston
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Save yourself some mental gymnastics， unless you like such things。
Nish
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A seminal book on meditation as a practical skill - and 'meditation' here refers to the specific skill of Insight meditation。 This isn't about 'clear your head and relax for 10 minutes a day'。 This is about clear and precise investigation into the nature of reality that you live in。 If MCTB is to be believed， it turns out that many of the questions that philosophers have reasoned about （'is there a self？ what is the self？'） can be answered through first-hand experiential investigation， provided A seminal book on meditation as a practical skill - and 'meditation' here refers to the specific skill of Insight meditation。 This isn't about 'clear your head and relax for 10 minutes a day'。 This is about clear and precise investigation into the nature of reality that you live in。 If MCTB is to be believed， it turns out that many of the questions that philosophers have reasoned about （'is there a self？ what is the self？'） can be answered through first-hand experiential investigation， provided that you've cultivated the right set of skills。This isn't a casual feel-good book to read on the beach while the words wash over you and you're left with a nondescript pleasant feeling。 This is a practical guide on how to invest hundreds of hours in order to exercise a muscle most people don't know exists， and use it to access incredible experiences。 Come prepared！ 。。。more
Malum
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If a book tells you it has a secret that no one else has， or that it will teach you how to "master" a spiritual practice， run far away。 I ignored those warning signs and picked this up anyway。 This is the first （and hopefully only） book that I am reviewing without actually finishing （because I only have so many brain cells left and this book was eating about half of those up）， but I feel like I really need to warn people who are seriously looking for good Buddhist books to steer clear。So， one th If a book tells you it has a secret that no one else has， or that it will teach you how to "master" a spiritual practice， run far away。 I ignored those warning signs and picked this up anyway。 This is the first （and hopefully only） book that I am reviewing without actually finishing （because I only have so many brain cells left and this book was eating about half of those up）， but I feel like I really need to warn people who are seriously looking for good Buddhist books to steer clear。So， one thing you will get from this book is how AWESOME the author is。 He is just so enlightened and powerful， and totally knows a bunch of stuff no one else would dare teach you。 Well， he tells you enough times， so it must be true， right？ As an aside， I tried to research this guy some more and all I could find was a very long bio that he himself wrote that tells you even more about how awesome and enlightened he is。 I'm pretty sure enlightened isn't synonymous for "asshole with massive superiority complex"。I was willing to forgive all of this and continue on with the book。 It wasn't long， however， before the whole thing devolved into batshit insane discussions about psychic powers， angels， and "Buddhist magick" （and yes， he spells it with a k）。 I had to check and make sure this tripe wasn't published by Llewellyn， because it's just the kind of dreck they push out to confused teens and bored housewives。 If you are seriously wanting to read a book about Buddhism， pick up almost anything else on the subject。 If you want to cosplay as Wizrobe the Wizard at your next D&D game or you want a toilet paper alternative， then go ahead and check this dumpster fire out。 。。。more
Leah Spence
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Full review in the works:） Will update my feed here when done。In the meantime， check out my Art Matrix Reading List here （with this book and more） and some related blogs:https://artofbeingauthentic。com/readi。。。 Full review in the works:） Will update my feed here when done。In the meantime， check out my Art Matrix Reading List here （with this book and more） and some related blogs:https://artofbeingauthentic。com/readi。。。 。。。more
Zachary Flessert
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It is hardly readable and the conceit that oozes from it is too much to handle。 I suppose there is something to be said from a number of people gaining a lot from this book。 I feel some guilt writing such a negative review when I know （some of） the author's intentions are positive and good but I really think people should avoid this book。There is nothing 'unusually hardcore' about this。 Dharma itself already is unusually hardcore。 What is unusual about this book is that the author applies a labe It is hardly readable and the conceit that oozes from it is too much to handle。 I suppose there is something to be said from a number of people gaining a lot from this book。 I feel some guilt writing such a negative review when I know （some of） the author's intentions are positive and good but I really think people should avoid this book。There is nothing 'unusually hardcore' about this。 Dharma itself already is unusually hardcore。 What is unusual about this book is that the author applies a label of Arahant to himself yet writes a book in such a conceited， arrogant， and egocentric way。I suspect this book is largely responsible for how the online pragmatic dharma community has developed its culture and it is unfortunate。 The worshipping and overuse of maps has lead to an insane amount of scripting which manifests in constant discussion of dukkha nanas and the 'dark night'。 Practicing dharma is a practice of letting go。 I am not sure this book will facilitate that and I suspect it will actually lead most readers to pick more up。 If you want something hardcore， Buddhist practice itself is already and there are much better resources to get into it。 If you want a detailed guide to deepen insight practices， read Seeing That Frees。 For a secular approach and critique of the religion of Buddhism， read Stephen Batchelor。 For a meditation manual to jumpstart a practice read The Mind Illuminated。 Leave this book unread in your downloads folder。 。。。more
Chetan
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This is one of the best companion books a vipassana yogi can own， it is Daniel M。 Ingram's path and maps to Nibbana。 Starting with the Mahasi Sayadaw method of noting， before becoming more or less sati patthana meditation。 Mr。 Ingram recounts in his own words all his experiences。 Going into detail with what most yogi's find the most challenging。 The dhammanupassana part of meditation。 The observation of anicca in dhamma， the contents of Citta。This is can be a very useful tool to all practitioner This is one of the best companion books a vipassana yogi can own， it is Daniel M。 Ingram's path and maps to Nibbana。 Starting with the Mahasi Sayadaw method of noting， before becoming more or less sati patthana meditation。 Mr。 Ingram recounts in his own words all his experiences。 Going into detail with what most yogi's find the most challenging。 The dhammanupassana part of meditation。 The observation of anicca in dhamma， the contents of Citta。This is can be a very useful tool to all practitioners of the Dhamma if used properly。 It's not perfect but no book written on the subject is。 。。。more
Marcin Czarkowski
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Wybitny przewodnik po medytacji， zarówno od strony teoretycznej jak i praktycznej。 Znacznie łatwiejszy w odbiorze niż pełne naleciałości kulturowych książki wschodnich autorów。 Po przeczytaniu książki wprowadziłem kilka zmian do mojej codziennej praktyki， jestem ciekaw czy przyniosą długoterminowe efekty。
Harper
，
It deliversThe writing is wild and circuitous at times， and every aspect that bothered me was washed away entirely by just how much direct， useful information is in this book。 This book delivers on what it sets out to do。 I was able to deepen my meditation immediately from wavering states I wasn’t sure of to more distinct and deep states just by learning how they often progress and recognizing those experiences and how I had gotten those before。 （I am primarily skilled in concentration） It was a It deliversThe writing is wild and circuitous at times， and every aspect that bothered me was washed away entirely by just how much direct， useful information is in this book。 This book delivers on what it sets out to do。 I was able to deepen my meditation immediately from wavering states I wasn’t sure of to more distinct and deep states just by learning how they often progress and recognizing those experiences and how I had gotten those before。 （I am primarily skilled in concentration） It was also a beautiful exploration of insight technique that has allowed me to finally grasp what to be doing when I try that side of the coin。 。。。more
Brandon
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With the benefit of a bit of perspective， I thought I should update my review on this book。 I was in the midst of an intense and personally unprecedented contemplative experience when I wrote the initial review and MCTB played a singular role in helping me find a way forward。 I do have to acknowledge that my experience with the book was very much effected by my state of mind at the time and effected how I perceived it。 With a bit of hindsight， I believe it's important to note that his book is no With the benefit of a bit of perspective， I thought I should update my review on this book。 I was in the midst of an intense and personally unprecedented contemplative experience when I wrote the initial review and MCTB played a singular role in helping me find a way forward。 I do have to acknowledge that my experience with the book was very much effected by my state of mind at the time and effected how I perceived it。 With a bit of hindsight， I believe it's important to note that his book is not for everyone， but it appears to be the perfect thing for others， like myself， that stumble on to life shattering alterations of perception of reality。 Not only does it provide a template to make sense of the experiences， but it also provides a map for what to expect as your practice continues to develop。What it is not， is a good beginning meditation manual。 It's so full of detail unrelated to how to start that even for someone that has had a bit of experience， I found it challenging to dig through。 It's dense， descriptive and exhaustive， and normally only sought out by those who have passed through very particular experiences。That being said， it does what every beginning meditation book should do -- it details the vast array of experiences that can be potentially experienced by anyone deciding to engage in meditation。 Most books sell an incremental increase in peace， stability and happiness， but MCTB makes clear that there are challenges that can be destabilizing， scary and upsetting， and upsides that can be radically transformative。 In short， it provides a disclaimer， but also provides some fascinating maps for the vast contemplative landscape that awaits。Its tone is very particular to the author and by his own admission there is an intensity to it that is best balanced with other more chill guidance。 Fortunately， finding MCTB tends to lead readers to the broader "pragmatic dharma" world where there is nuance aplenty to add additional context to Ingram's tome。I've included my full text of my previous review below:If you've ever had an experience， whether you want to describe it as spiritual or otherwise， that blew your doors off and left you without any practical tools to understand it， MCTB is for you。 If you intend to start meditating， even at a casual level， this book is also for you。If you've had amazing experiences mediating， but have since sunk into repeating cycles of darkness and despair -- this book is definitely for youThe most insanely exhaustive， detailed and transparent book you will ever read on the landscape that is contemplative practice。 Ingram cuts through the dogma and taboos to present a clear and unadorned description of the potential experiences and inevitable challenges that await a serious spiritual practitioner。The full text is also available at mctb。org 。。。more
Donatas Smailys
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In certain areas of this book， it feels like the "darker" side of the author is explaining how he found（\is looking for） peace with it。This book is more philosophical than practical。Parts of it are very detailed。 Too much for my personal taste as I believe: minimalism and simplifying is more powerful and peaceful。 Some bragging narrative about others is contradicting the theories explained。 Nevertheless: interesting read。 Some useful food for thought。 In certain areas of this book， it feels like the "darker" side of the author is explaining how he found（\is looking for） peace with it。This book is more philosophical than practical。Parts of it are very detailed。 Too much for my personal taste as I believe: minimalism and simplifying is more powerful and peaceful。 Some bragging narrative about others is contradicting the theories explained。 Nevertheless: interesting read。 Some useful food for thought。 。。。more
Paul Bard
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So it’s a work book and experience guide， not a linear book。 Pragmatic Buddhism is scientific， empirical， and rigorously testable， and they assert that the advanced states the Buddha taught can be attained with hard work in just one life time。 Very fucking cool book。Most valuable for the Map of Insight and the wealth of practical experience of the author。
Joost
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A resource without equal。 Fantastic work based on so many progressive insights and meticulous reporting; combined with deep reflections on what is out there in terms of guidance。
Volo
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Ingram's combative stance unsurprisingly attracts criticism。 A 2020 article by scholar Bhikkhu Anãlayo seems like a good warning that what Ingram does and what enlightenment is within the Theravāda school might be different。 https://link。springer。com/content/pdf。。。> A case study of the descriptions of the progress of Buddhist insight meditation provided by Daniel Ingram shows how a forceful form of mindfulness combined with high-speed mental noting can result in the construction of meditative ex Ingram's combative stance unsurprisingly attracts criticism。 A 2020 article by scholar Bhikkhu Anãlayo seems like a good warning that what Ingram does and what enlightenment is within the Theravāda school might be different。 https://link。springer。com/content/pdf。。。> A case study of the descriptions of the progress of Buddhist insight meditation provided by Daniel Ingram shows how a forceful form of mindfulness combined with high-speed mental noting can result in the construction of meditative experiences to accord with expectations created by maps of the progress of insight， culminating in claims to having reached levels of awakening。 。。。more
Timmy Davis
，
I've only read the first edition， though it fascinated me completely。 Brought Buddhism and Buddhist practice down to earth as a practical toolkit。 For the first time I realised that one could live well by training one's mind。However， as an idealistic and naive young male this book also inspired me to become far too gung-ho in my practice and have an over-focus on mahasi noting as the author's preferred technique though a technique which was too coarse and tension-inducing for myself。The best par I've only read the first edition， though it fascinated me completely。 Brought Buddhism and Buddhist practice down to earth as a practical toolkit。 For the first time I realised that one could live well by training one's mind。However， as an idealistic and naive young male this book also inspired me to become far too gung-ho in my practice and have an over-focus on mahasi noting as the author's preferred technique though a technique which was too coarse and tension-inducing for myself。The best part of the book is the author's willingness to speak openly and clearly about what he believes 'awakening' really is and why it is so achievable and （here's the real gold） *imperfect*。He does a good job at separating the wheat from the chaff when writing about the big E （Enlightenment） and getting rid of completely unrealistic and damaging ideals of practice as a panacea for all of life's problems。 Additionally just because one has good samadhi （unification of mind） doesn't mean one will necessarily develop good moral conduct nor insight （each are separate axes of development）。The second edition is far longer but seems to lay forth far more wisdom about the nuances and pitfalls of many， if not all， spiritual paths and he once again strongly argues against the idea that emotional perfection is possible and instead believes in focusing on hard and honest truths about practice， its benefits and its limits。This author inspired a whole wave， amongst other teachers， to speak openly， *honestly*， and clearly about practice and everything around it。Pragmatic dharma may not be perfect but it is in the right trajectory。 Highly recommended， even if the author is vastly imperfect like the rest of us and does have a very unsaintly personality， his acceptance of human shadows and ability to speak clearly about the bad sides of the human mind make him as close to saintly as we should want to get to。Additionally I've been told he focuses far more on calm-abiding/tranquility （samatha） based practices as well as morality in his most recent edition。 Looking forward to the added focus it definitely deserves。The focus in the path should always be testing a range of nondogmatic teachings， attitudes， and practices for oneself to see where one's abilities lie and where one finds enjoyment and improvement easiest。 Never try to force yourself into a mould of practice that a teacher espouses 'should' be 'the way'。 Practice is and will always be highly personal。 Ingram can at times provide the foundation for this healthy perspective， but at times can inspire some to focus too much on a specific attitude that may only fit young gung-ho men。Other teachers I highly appreciate include Rob Burbea and Shinzen Young。 。。。more
Travis McKinstry
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I didn’t think it was possible， but this edition is in fact better than the first。 Want to ‘awaken’？ Read this book and follow it word for word。 You won’t be disappointed。
David Nash
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Very thorough。 I think it should be two separate books。 Some （okay， most） of the stuff was way over my head。 Enjoyed the autobiographical stuff the most。。 That should be expanded and put into its own book。 Would also like more information on what the day to day experience of being an arshant is like。
A
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Coming soon
David
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Not sure if one of the most important spiritual texts of our time or the ravings of a nut。 Worth reading but may not even be comprehensible for casual practitioners （like myself。） It definitely changed my mind and gave me some entirely new definitions about a number of things。。。 but， arhat he might be， I'm not sure Dr。 Ingram is much of a teacher- or at least the right teacher for me。 Although he uses simple language and lays out his principles clearly with charts and illustrations。。。 reading it Not sure if one of the most important spiritual texts of our time or the ravings of a nut。 Worth reading but may not even be comprehensible for casual practitioners （like myself。） It definitely changed my mind and gave me some entirely new definitions about a number of things。。。 but， arhat he might be， I'm not sure Dr。 Ingram is much of a teacher- or at least the right teacher for me。 Although he uses simple language and lays out his principles clearly with charts and illustrations。。。 reading it was like having someone describe depression to someone who's never been sad。 Missing in particular -and this is a lot of what gave me a 'bad feeling' about the book- was any mention of meaning。 Usually when we talk about profound experiences， we talk about the meaning these things have for us or how the affect our understanding of that meaning。。。 and yet that there was almost none of that in this massive book describing perhaps the most profound experience imaginable。 Maybe Dr。 Ingram just doesn't think in those terms， or maybe that's an affect of becoming an arhat？ I was left wondering why anyone would want to seek this kind of enlightenment， aside from as a hobby or compulsie obsession。。。Anyway， all that aside， I suspect I will be returning to this book someday。 In the meantime it has given me an understanding of just how small my own meditation practice is and what could happen for me if I stepped it up。 So in that regard it has been a worthwhile read。tl;dr- For Buddhist meditation practitioners， I would not recommend reading this until you're meditating at least an hour a day and have done so for a year。 That's an arbitrary time period on my part， and I can't guarantee that it'll make more sense even if you're doing that， but that's what I suspect。 。。。more
Max Harland
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Definitely a must read for anyone wanting to explore meditation further than a 10-minute/day headspace session （not that there is anything wrong with that）。 Even though it gets at a bit too technical at times （some sections in the book took me a while to get through）， there’s a ton of great practical advice in this book to improve your meditation practice。 Overall a very down-to-earth meditation book。
Clive F
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Wow。 What to say about this book？ Bottom line， is it provides an extraordinarily detailed and thorough account of how the classical teachings of Buddhist meditation can provide the tools necessary to move progress to full enlightenment （plus， it explains what enlightenment actually means）。 And we're not talking about having to go and live in a monastery in Tibet for the rest of your life to do it。 Daniel Ingram， the author， seems to have done all this while living a full and busy life， including Wow。 What to say about this book？ Bottom line， is it provides an extraordinarily detailed and thorough account of how the classical teachings of Buddhist meditation can provide the tools necessary to move progress to full enlightenment （plus， it explains what enlightenment actually means）。 And we're not talking about having to go and live in a monastery in Tibet for the rest of your life to do it。 Daniel Ingram， the author， seems to have done all this while living a full and busy life， including going through and graduating from medical school。 It's a mind-blowing book， really。 On the one hand， it describes a number of very woo-woo and seemingly mystical things - from seeing your visual field tessellated with multicoloured patterns to understanding the enormous， deep， connection between all living beings。 He says at one point For example， you think there are no magickal （sic） effects possible and suddenly you are seeing chakras and seem to know odd things about people that you couldn't possibly know On the other hand， it's about as practical and down to earth as can be， dismissing any notion of handwaving and woo-woo models of meditative practice， with lines like: I am no fan of most of these models of awakening。 In fact， I consider their creation and perpetuation to be basically evil in the good old "you should burn in hell for perpetuating them" kind of way。 and later in the same section: A far more practical approach is to accept that we are human， try to be decent in a normal， down-to-earth sort of way rather than in a grandiose， self-conscious， spiritual way 。。。 allowing us to be the human beings we are with more balance and less reactivity in the face of that humanity。 And for me， it's this seeming contradiction that is one of the book's most compelling features。 He talks about all this weird stuff， but he does it in such a hands-on and down to earth way， based clearly on thousands of hours of personal experience， that I emerged more or less convinced of the core argument。 Which is that these seemingly exotic states are indeed attainable to normal humans -but that you will have to put in the hours。 You do get a brief introduction to the standard practices of concentration （samatha） meditation， with its focus on the breath， on returning to the breath when you notice you've been distracted， and on using this to attain high states of concentration。 This is at the core of apps you might have used like Headspace and Calm。 This practice can bring a great deal of serenity and even bliss to you in short bursts， and Ingram talks you through the various technical levels of this， known to the Buddhists as the jhanas。 He also explains why you really should be doing this practice: because it gives you the concentration necessary to do vipassana， or insight， meditation。 Vipassana meditation is where you focus really really hard on ordinary experience - on the tiny fleeting details of ordinary experience， that we never normally notice。 Inside these "vibrations" lie the next levels of understanding。 This starts with appreciating that your perception of phenomena is different from the actual phenomena。 For example， you hear the blare of a car horn， or the tweeting of a bird， and your mind just knows it's a car horn or a bird。 But actually， in order to do this， you have to hear the sound first， before the mental construct of "car" or "bird" comes to mind。 With sufficient attention， you can peel these two things apart。Eventually， you can begin to truly see what Buddhists call the "three characteristics" of everything: that they are impermanent （they come and go）， that they are unsatisfactory （ultimately they don't fulfill you） and that they don't cohere into a unified self， in the way that most of us think of being a unified self through time。 All this takes time， practice， and is often very hard to describe in words。 Ingram focuses a lot on models of how all this comes together， and the stages one would pass through along the path。 I'm not nearly a skillful enough meditator to comment from personal experience on the helpfulness or even the truth of this， but Ingram is very convincing， and he emphasises repeatedly that you don't need to take any of this on trust， you can just try it yourself。He is also strong on warning you of the possible dangers that may lie ahead: one of the stages he calls "The Dark Night of The Soul"， which he describes spanning stages of "Dissolution， Fear， Misery， Disgust， Desire for Deliverance， and Re-observation"。 He continues to give pragmatic and helpful advice even here: Allow me to give you two hard-won pieces of advice that I have found make all the difference in the face of these stages。 First， make the time to do basic insight practices。。。 The second piece of advice is to have a "no-bleedthrough" policy。。。it might be expressed by two simple mantras， "Do no harm" and "Keep your shit together"。 This is obviously great advice for life in general and it applies doubly here。 Beyond this stage， things return to a more even keel， through Equanimity and on ultimately to Fruition， at which point you will attain "stream entry"， which begins your journey again at a higher， if vastly， level。 All of this is explained in detail， not only with practical instructions but also with references to probably 100 other books you might go and read for more detail about any particular section。 I found this especially helpful， myself， and a number of these other books will be showing up in my Goodreads feed in due course！Ultimately there is the question of why anyone would want to go to this much effort （a question my non-meditating wife asks me repeatedly）。 There is the Everest-style "because it's there" answer， and then my usual answer of "because it gives you deep insight into the way the world actually is"。 Ingram includes a lot of emphasis on the first of the three Buddhist teachings， those on morality， and he brings this into his final insights。 This is about how all of our actions are shaped by our thoughts， and thus the world around us is shaped by our thoughts: all "internal" intentions， thoughts and mental states mattered， were causal， were spell-casting， were powerful， and molded some part of the causal world。 Thus， every single moment of "internal" experience must have ethics applied to it， because it matters， as it is an integral part of this whole space of manifestation。 This seemingly obvious insight didn't sink in all at once but took years to develop。 Or， as the opening lines of the most commonly read of all Buddhist texts， the Dhammapada， puts it: All actions are led by the mind。 Mind is their master。 Mind is their maker。 Act or speak with a defiled state of mind， and suffering will follow。 So that's why you should meditate， and why you might want to read this book of nearly 600 pages， where I probably took on average an hour to read and digest any ten pages。 It all matters， and if we want to live our life pretending it doesn't， and leaving our thoughts， feelings and general mental state to run all over the place on its own， then we are just hiding from the （profound， obvious， but rarely realised， disturbing） truth。 。。。more
Jason Comely
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Daniel Ingram offers invaluable instructions on noting and dealing with negative emotions that arise during meditation。 While not quite as solid as The Mind Illuminated by John Yates， MCTB is a must-have for people serious about improving their practice。
Markus
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