Intensity vs Frequency regarding Fire Kasina

Jake Frankfurt Middenhall, modified 5 Years ago at 2/25/19 5:21 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 2/25/19 5:21 PM

Intensity vs Frequency regarding Fire Kasina

Posts: 110 Join Date: 9/12/18 Recent Posts
Hi everybody. My question is: It is better to meditate 2 hour daily or meditate 4 hour day on and off.

What kind of approach is better to build concentration?

My other questions is if someone already has stable 4th jhana in Fire kasina outside retreat.



Thx. Best whishes.
neko, modified 5 Years ago at 2/27/19 6:06 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 2/27/19 6:05 AM

RE: Intensity vs Frequency regarding Fire Kasina

Posts: 762 Join Date: 11/26/14 Recent Posts
Keep momentum every day, or get closer to retreat-level concentration but only occasionally? I don't think that there is a universal answer to this question. Consistency is nice to have, and so is building a steady habit - however, the depth and momentum you build with longer sits is also a very precious thing to benefit from.

For the Fire Kasina specifically, given that it requires a rather delicate level of concentration, I believe that many participants would benefit more from a four-hour sit than from two two-hour sits, but with these things YMMV.

Perhaps more importantly: The FK à la Daniel seems to work much better during the evening and night than it does during the day, so timing might be a more important consideration than time.

Possible compromise. The premise seems to be you that can allocate 2 hours a day on average, but are flexible as to when to do that. So if we are looking at a total of about 14 hours a week, you might try something like:
  • Monday: 1 hour,
  • Tuesday: 1 hour,
  • Wednesday: 1 hour,
  • Thursday: 1 hour,
  • Friday: 2 hours,
  • Saturday: 4 hours,
  • Sunday: 4 hours.
This schedule might give you the best of both worlds: Depth and momentum during the weekend, and keeping baseline levels of concentration throughout the week. A more extreme version of this might be 1 hour a day 6 days a week + an 8 hour mini-retreat once a week, if work, family, and social life permit.

Do let us know what you try and how it works for you!

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