MASTERING
THE
CORE T EACHINGS
OF THE
BUDDHA
An Unusually Hardcore
Dharma Book
by
The Interdependent Universe
but conventionally attributed to
The Arahat
Daniel M. Ingram, MD MSPH
Third Edition
Copyright © April, 2007, By Daniel M. Ingram
[email protected]
www.interactivebuddha.com
This book is dedicated to the memory of the late Bill Hamilton.
His relentless dedication to the cultivation and promotion of wisdom despite all the consequences made him a truly great teacher.
CONTENTS
Contents......................................................................................................i Foreword and Warning..............................................................iv Part I: The Fundamentals.........................................................................1
1. Introduction to Part I..............................................................2
2. Morality, The First and Last Training....................................4
3. Concentration, The Second Training.....................................9
4. Wisdom, The Third Training................................................12
5. The Three Characteristics.......................................................16
Impermanence................................................................................................16
Suffering..........................................................................................................26
No-self.............................................................................................................28
The Five Spiritual Faculties .......................................................34
Faith and Wisdom..........................................................................................34
Energy and Concentration..............................................................................35
Mindfulness.....................................................................................................36
6. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment ....................................38
Mindfulness.....................................................................................................38
Investigation of the Truth...............................................................................40
Energy.............................................................................................................44
Rapture............................................................................................................44
Tranquility.......................................................................................................46
Concentration.................................................................................................47
Equanimity......................................................................................................47
7. The Three Trainings Revisited...............................................52
8. The Four Noble Truths .........................................................60
Truth Number One: Suffering.......................................................................60
Truth Number Two: “Desire”........................................................................62
Truth Number Three: The End of Suffering.................................................65
Truth Number Four: The Path......................................................................66
9. Practical Meditation Considerations.......................................67
When, where and for how long?....................................................................67
Daily life and Retreats.....................................................................................68
Postures...........................................................................................................73
Objects for Insight Practices...........................................................................75
Resolve............................................................................................................78
Teachers..........................................................................................................79
10. Summary................................................................................84
11. Conclusion to Part I..............................................................85
i
Part II: Light and Shadows......................................................................87
12. Introduction to Parts II & III................................................88
13. Buddhism vs. The Buddha *................................................92
14. Content and Ultimate Reality *.............................................97
15. What Went Wrong? *..........................................................102
16. A Clear Goal .........................................................................111
17. Harnessing the Energy of the “Defilements” .......................119
18. Right Thought and the Aegean Stables ................................124
19. From Content to Insight........................................................127
Part III: Mastery....................................................................................132
20. Concentration vs. Insight.......................................................133
21. The Concentration States (Samatha Jhanas) .......................139
The First Jhana...............................................................................................139
The Second Jhana...........................................................................................141
The Third Jhana.............................................................................................142
The Fourth Jhana............................................................................................143
The “Psychic Powers”.....................................................................................144
22. No-self vs. True Self .............................................................153
23. The Formless Realms ..........................................................159
Boundless Space, The Fifth Jhana..................................................................159
Boundless Consciousness, The Sixth Jhana...................................................160
Nothingness, The Seventh Jhana....................................................................161
Neither Perception Nor Yet Non-perception,
The Eighth Jhana............................................................................................163
24. The Progress of Insight ........................................................166
1. Mind and Body...........................................................................................171
2. Cause and Effect.........................................................................................172
3. The Three Characteristics..........................................................................173
4. The Arising and Passing Away....................................................................175
5. Dissolution, Entrance to the Dark Night....................................................181
6. Fear.............................................................................................................191
7. Misery..........................................................................................................191
8. Disgust.........................................................................................................192
9. Desire for Deliverance................................................................................192
10. Re-observation..........................................................................................193
11. Equanimity................................................................................................203
12. Conformity................................................................................................211
13. Change of Lineage....................................................................................211
14. Path...........................................................................................................211
15. Fruition......................................................................................................211
16. Review.......................................................................................................213
25. The Vipassana Jhanas...........................................................217
Bill Hamilton’s Model....................................................................................219
Fractals............................................................................................................225
U Pandita’s Model..........................................................................................227
Inklings of One More Model.........................................................................228
ii
26. How the Maps Help .............................................................229
27. The Three Doors..................................................................240
28. “Was That Emptiness?” .......................................................245
29. Beyond First Path (“What Next?”) ......................................252
30. Models of the Stages of Enlightenment *.............................261
The Non-Duality Model.................................................................................268
The Sudden Schools of Awakening...............................................................269
The Fundamental Perception Models............................................................270
The Specific Perception Models....................................................................271
The Emotional Models...................................................................................272
The Theravada Four Path Model...................................................................274
A Revised Four Path Model...........................................................................279
A Simple Model..............................................................................................283
The Action Models.........................................................................................285
The Power Models.........................................................................................288
The Tibetan Ten Bhumi Model....................................................................290
The Tibetan Five Path Model........................................................................291
The Energetic Models....................................................................................292
The Specific Knowledge Models....................................................................293
The Psychological Models..............................................................................294
The Thought Models......................................................................................297
The God Models............................................................................................301
The Physical Models......................................................................................302
The Radiance Models.....................................................................................303
The Karma Models........................................................................................306
The Perpetual Bliss Models...........................................................................307
The Three Kayas............................................................................................308
The Immortality models.................................................................................314
The Transcendence Models...........................................................................315
The Extinction Models...................................................................................316
The Love Models...........................................................................................317
The Unity Models...........................................................................................318
The Social Models..........................................................................................318
The Three Yanas............................................................................................320
Ditching our “Stuff” vs. Ditching the Split......................................................322
The “Nothing to Do” and “You are Already There” Schools.......................324
Final Points.....................................................................................................328
31. So What’s “Full Enlightenment”? *.....................................329
32. Integration*............................................................................333
33. It is Possible! .........................................................................337
34. More on the “Mushroom Factor”*.......................................339
35. So Who The Heck Is Daniel M. Ingram?...........................346
36. Conclusion And Best Wishes...............................................352
Appendix: The Cessation of Perception and Feeling (Nirodha
Samapatti)....................................................................................353
Index...........................................................................................357
iii
Foreword and Warning
FOREWORD AND WARNING
When I was about 15 years old I accidentally ran into some of the classic early meditation experiences described in the ancient texts and my reluctant spiritual quest began. I did not realize what had happened, nor did I realize that I had crossed something like a point of no return, something I would later call the Arising and Passing Away. I knew that I had had a very strange dream with bright lights, that my entire body and world had seemed to explode like fireworks, and that afterwards I somehow had to find something, but I had no idea what that was. I philosophized frantically for years until I finally began to realize that no amount of thinking was going to solve my deeper spiritual issues and complete the cycle of practice that had already started.
I had a very good friend that was in the band that employed me as a sound tech and roadie. He was in a similar place, caught like me in something we would later call the Dark Night and other names. He also realized that logic and cognitive restructuring were not going to help us in the end. We looked carefully at what other philosophers had done when they came to the same point, and noted that some of our favorites had turned to mystical practices. We reasoned that some sort of non-dual wisdom that came from direct experience was the only way to go, but acquiring that sort of wisdom seemed a daunting task if not impossible.
