Mastering the core teachings of the Buddha
an unusually hardcore Dharma book
by Daniel M. Ingram · first published 2008
75% recommend21% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Secular, no-fluff guide to vipasanna insight meditation, with detailed maps of the stages of progress. Suits analytical, engineering-minded readers who want a practical path; free online.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
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…coming from your body? Good fodder for vipassana. - The Trappist monks has the same practiced with a different set of cultural bias. Something to investigate. - You can look up Daniel Ingram's book, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. It's a little advanced, but the coolest thing about his book is that the framework he talks about is flexible enough that you can see the underlying practice regardless of cultural biases. - When…
on “Vipassana Trip Report by Rap Genius Founder” ↗One book I’d heavily recommend on meditation is Daniel Ingram’s amazing Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. He really cuts through the fluff and gets to the core of how meditation taken to mastery changes how things are perceived. It’s an absolute tome but so worth it.
on “The effect of meditation on brain structure (2012)” ↗Reminds me a lot of "the dark night of the soul" as described in "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha" by Daniel Ingram (the book is online at https://www.mctb.org/mctb2/). Scott Alexander did a great book review if you want the summary: https://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/18/book-review-mastering-...…
on “Lost in Thought: Psychological Risks of Meditation” ↗I liked Daniel Ingram's Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, online at http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml .
on “Tuning out: How brains benefit from meditation” ↗Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha. It's a guide to Vipasanna meditation, the central practice of Burmese buddhism. Two reasons why HN readers might find it interesting: a) The author claims to have gained enlightenment - yes, enlightenment…
on “What one book could give me a new, useful superpower?” ↗The "pragmatic dharma" crowd does a pretty good job of this. Daniel Ingram's book, "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha" represents a nice collection (http://integrateddaniel.info/book/) There is also a good pragmatic map of awakening at http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/2007/03/thusnesss-six... I am also creating…
on “Massive Dosing - the LSD Thumbprint” ↗Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram. Ingram is one of the most advanced meditation practitioners in the west, and this book is a painstaking mapping of the development of attention. I’ve read nothing like it.
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…enlightened in the spiritual sense you're talking about, and that this means that their view of enlightenment should definitely be turned into a quasi-cult, with them at the lead. Daniel Ingram (author of Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha - a surprisingly pragmatic take, all things considered!) has repeatedly expressed his frustration with this.
on “You're enlightened – now what?” ↗…jhana. The consistently "apophatic" character is hopefully clear enough from the very fact that it is understood as a transition stage between different degrees of insight.) Daniel Ingram's book on Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha does a very nice job of "decoding" the Buddhist tradition in very modern and understandable terms, and I'm not aware of people involved in the actual tradition who have raised any deep, substantive objections…
on “Not everyone should meditate” ↗…eventually lead to Enlightenment which is the Cessation of Suffering. The capitalisation is to denote Buddhist dogma for a great explanation of these concepts and the stages one goes through please refere to: Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram MD, available for free here. http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml Traditionally, in Buddhism anyway, one builds up the ability to stay with an object with clarity for a period…
on “MRI shows meditation changes brain structure in 8 weeks” ↗…eventually lead to Enlightenment which is the Cessation of Suffering. The capitalisation is to denote Buddhist dogma for a great explanation of these concepts and the stages one goes through please refere to: Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram MD, available for free here. http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml Traditionally, in Buddhism anyway, one builds up the ability to stay with an object with clarity for a period…
on “MRI shows meditation changes brain structure in 8 weeks” ↗…were a lot of things I thought I knew about meditation and it was ... not exactly like that. Anne Wise's book, High Performance Mind gets into some of the technical details. I like Daniel Ingram's book, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha but a lot of people don't. It's not exactly a beginner's book, but it's something to keep in mind if you ever start getting some weird experiences that you have difficulty framing. I say vipassana to…
on “Psilocybin shows success in medical trials” ↗Huh, thanks. Much of the language and frame I use comes from Daniel Ingram's "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha". You can check that out if you want more. If you've got some meditative experience, that has some good stuff. If you're coming in from entheogens, that is a great book to read after a couple breakthrough…
on “Anxiety: Nothing to Do but Embrace the Dread” ↗I really like Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha[1]. He spends a lot of time describing different "maps", which are models of progression. (He talks about many other things too. It's more than just a meditation guide.) [1]: http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusua...
on “A Simple Guide to Meditation” ↗If you wish to understand the negative experiences in your own practice better, I recommend "Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha". The author is super-geeky about this stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusu...
on “There’s a dark side to meditation that no one talks about” ↗