Ep73: Daniel Ingram - Dangerous and Delusional?

In this interview I am once again joined by Daniel Ingram, meditation teacher and author of ‘Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha’. In this episode Daniel responds to Bikkhu Analayo’s article in the May 2020 edition of the academic journal Mindfulness, in which Analayo argues that Daniel is delusional about his meditation experiences and accomplishments, and that his conclusions, to quote, ‘pertain entirely to the realm of his own imagination; they have no value outside of it.’ Daniel recounts that Analayo revealed to him that the article was requested by a senior mindfulness teacher to specifically damage Daniel’s credibility, to quote Daniel quoting Analayo ‘we are going to make sure that nobody ever believes you again.’ Daniel responds to the article’s historical, doctrinal, clinical, and personal challenges, as well as addressing the issues of definition and delusion regarding his claim to arhatship. Daniel also reflects on the consequences of this article for his work at Cambridge and with the EPRC on the application of Buddhist meditation maps of insight in clinical contexts. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep73-daniel-ingram-dangerous-and-delusional/ Audio version of this podcast also available on iTunes and Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics Include: 0:00 - Intro 1:11 - Daniel explains Analayo’s article’s background and purpose 17:37 - Who is Bikkhu Analayo? 24:21 - Many Buddhisms 26:51 - Article abstract and Steve’s summary 32:19 - The historical critique 41:30 - Is Daniel claiming both the orthodox and the science perspectives? 49:11 - Is Daniel’s enlightenment the same as the historical arhats? 58:30 - Is Mahasi noting vulnerable to construction of experience? 1:03:46 - Has Daniel trained his brain to construct false meditation experiences? 1:10:39 - Does Daniel accept the possibility of dissociation and delusion in Mahasi-style noting? 1:18:38 - Did Daniel’s teachers consider him to be delusional? 1:23:51 - Have any of Daniel's teachers ratified any of his claimed enlightenment attainments? 1:34:03 - Cancel culture in orthodox religion 1:38:40 - Different definitions of arhatship 1:43:08 - Is the term ‘Dark Night of The Soul’ appropriate for the dukkha nanas? 1:47:29 - Purification and insight stages 1:54:00 - Does Daniel conflate deep states of meditation with everyday life experiences? 1:59:00 - Is the stage of the knowledge of fear taught in early Buddhism? 2:09:37 - Why does Daniel claim high equanimity can occur while watching TV? 2:12:55 - Does Daniel underestimate the standards of the first three stages of insight? 2:16:01 - Do Christian mystics and Theravada practitioners traverse the same experiential territory? 2:21:47 - Are the maps of insight really secret? 2:28:54 - Why are the insight stages absent from mainstream psychological literature? 2:33:36 - Does Daniel’s work over-emphasise the possibility of negative meditation experiences? 2:37:45 - What have been the personal and professional consequences of Analayo’s article to Daniel? … Check out my previous interviews with Daniel: - https://www.guruviking.com/ep14-daniel-ingram-guru-viking-interviews/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep40-daniel-ingram-pandemic-edition-guru-viking-podcast/ - https://www.guruviking.com/ep68-daniel-ingram-magick-the-occult-summoning-demons/ To find out more about Daniel, visit: - integrateddaniel.info - firekasina.org - https://theeprc.org/ Articles Referenced: - Anālayo, B. Meditation Maps, Attainment Claims, and the Adversities of Mindfulness. Mindfulness 11, 2102–2112 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01389-4 - Anālayo, B. The Insight Knowledge of Fear and Adverse Effects of Mindfulness Practices. Mindfulness 10, 2172–2185 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-019-01198-4 … For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - http://www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James