Three New Videos Recently Posted

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Daniel M Ingram, modified 4 Years ago at 12/13/19 1:13 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 12/13/19 1:13 PM

Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
I have been home in Alabama for a bit, so had time to make and post three videos on Vimeo recently. They are all relatively short and to the point. Most are in reponse to recent conversations where points made there likely would be helpful to someone else as well.

The first is on Diagnosing Stream Entry.

The second is on Diagnosing Cessation, aka Fruition.

The third is about endurance on the path of insight, and is called Persistence Hunting, Running Down a Deer.

Hopefully, some will find these useful.

In case anyone is wondering why I am not on YouTube (which is vastly more popular) and instead on Vimeo, I like that Vimeo has no advertisements for anyone watching the videos so their dharma message is uninterrupted by that sort of commercialism.

Best wishes and practice well,

Daniel
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Bardo, modified 4 Years ago at 12/13/19 4:36 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 12/13/19 4:17 PM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 263 Join Date: 9/14/19 Recent Posts
Thank you, Daniel. Very helpful those were!

I consider myself adept in scepticism, choosing instead to hang the wellington boots of inisght-experience upside-down and outside with the wild weather. I can never really know what it is my mind is trying to throw at me but perhaps try to see beyond it in some way. There are moments where mind will throw what seems like an utter gem, fooling me. I'm always questioning, enquiring, examining even when I'm sat on the toilet squeezing out a huge steamer, my mind is picking apart reality, dharma and recalling insights for further investigation.  

In the true nature of humanship, we are but guided by are own foibles, lurching hither and yon with a mind that likes to lick things. This makes us truly on our own with this. Yes, there are guiding people like yourself, but your work to is composed of your own individual experience some of which happens to converge at particular points with the practice of others. There are clearly universal factors at play but the path itself is wildly different for us all.

What was I expecting? A brochure defining the precise steps needed to reach some easier place? Rubbish!

I'm reminded of a good old Zen phrase here...

"Better to not begin. Once begin, better to finish!"
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Steve James, modified 4 Years ago at 12/13/19 8:39 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 12/13/19 8:39 PM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 104 Join Date: 2/15/19 Recent Posts
Thanks! 

Particularly enjoyed the Persistance Hunting video - loved the walk and talk vibe!  (+ forest)
Ben Sulsky, modified 4 Years ago at 12/16/19 4:08 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 12/16/19 4:08 PM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 170 Join Date: 11/5/19 Recent Posts
Found these very helpful, thank you Daniel!

I found the Cessation video most helpful
Metta4, modified 4 Years ago at 12/16/19 7:45 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 12/16/19 7:45 PM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 5 Join Date: 6/4/19 Recent Posts
Hi Daniel - I stumbled accross these new videos the other day. I was going to rewatch your Vipassana video (which is great) and saw these and loved them too! The snow and woods in the videos made me feel like you were here with us in Vermont and not in Alabama! I think these videos are fantastic and I hope you keep doing them!  JY
Hannah, modified 3 Years ago at 5/5/20 10:29 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 5/5/20 10:29 AM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Post: 1 Join Date: 5/5/20 Recent Posts
Thank you for the videos.
I am possibly in the third catagory you mentioned in the diagnosing SE video. (was told was SE but am probably not)

My teacher at an insight retreat told me, guaranteed me actually, that I would be SE by the end of the course and later after the course told me he had made that guarantee because something I had reported to him that morning had made him believe I already was a stream winner when he made that guarantee.  (he made the guarantee to convince me to stay up and not sleep for 3 nights at the end of the course)

but it is 4 months later now, (I keep daily life awareness as much as possible but I am rarely practicing formally nowadays, and when I do I only do 10walk/10sit or at most up to 15 and so my concentration is waaaay down)

and though I still find great differences in mind-state, and general benefits , I have done some things in the past month I believe constitute broken silla. (including removing invading little snails from my lotus pond and throwing them on dirt where they probably died, and also squished a few)  But I thought SE cannot break silla.  

As for diagnosing by experience, my memory is not so clear so not sure.
I am pretty sure I went through all the insights up to 11.4.8 NPNYNP.... (though there was a lot of repitition during the sits.  Repitition of the 3 characteristics so many times until A&P, and then after getting through the dukkah nanas, super clear repitition  from insight 5 up many times, (reobservation?) and probably also 11.3 (Dark night of Equinimity) and a fall and going back up at some point too.   There was  a state that might have been 11.4.8 NPNYNP  on the last night..... (I blacked out and lost time at least 2 times - 2-3 hours one of the times, and "came to" in a really weird physical position.  My teacher thinks I might have had a "black out" experience earlier too but I am not sure, he said it based on my reporting and some physical symptoms I had that morning.
 
I had not seen your flow map before this course, so was not looking for and don't remember specifically a 3-doors experience as you describeed it.
So many psychedellic and fantastical things happened, and .... well I was awake and meditating for 3 nights at the end so, memory is not so clear.
Either way, though I trust the teacher and cannot imagine he lied, I am rightfully sceptical.  emoticon

so it is perplexing that he said something like that.  haha.

So I appreciated the video mentioning that situation and how we should be sceptical..... emoticon

I might write up my experiences in more detail later to see if anyone has any ideas why the teacher would have said something like that to me... but for now just wanted to say thank you for the videos and this amazing site!
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Dustin, modified 3 Years ago at 5/5/20 8:39 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 5/5/20 8:39 PM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 113 Join Date: 12/28/17 Recent Posts
Hannah:
Thank you for the videos.
I am possibly in the third catagory you mentioned in the diagnosing SE video. (was told was SE but am probably not)

My teacher at an insight retreat told me, guaranteed me actually, that I would be SE by the end of the course and later after the course told me he had made that guarantee because something I had reported to him that morning had made him believe I already was a stream winner when he made that guarantee.  (he made the guarantee to convince me to stay up and not sleep for 3 nights at the end of the course)

but it is 4 months later now, (I keep daily life awareness as much as possible but I am rarely practicing formally nowadays, and when I do I only do 10walk/10sit or at most up to 15 and so my concentration is waaaay down)

and though I still find great differences in mind-state, and general benefits , I have done some things in the past month I believe constitute broken silla. (including removing invading little snails from my lotus pond and throwing them on dirt where they probably died, and also squished a few)  But I thought SE cannot break silla.  
Hey Hannah, from what I understand is that a stream winner all the way up to 4th path can break all kinds of rules. Silla being one of them. There is getting attainments 1,2,3,4 and there is working on morality. Morality helps a lot but you don't have to be totally clear on morality and living a solidly honest and pure life to get attainments. From what I understand and know in my own life is you can be a total fool, ass, resentful idiot and have stream entry and kill bugs. I killed one last night. Wish I wouldn't have but was freaked out. Also I was told a few times by a teacher that I had stream entry and then later second path. I believe at the time I had A&p and she called it stream entry. The deal is some teacher want people to get attainments so much that they call it wrong. Getting and calling attainments is one of the hardest things to do. I still have doubt I have any path because I was taught by a friend on the path to doubt all so called attainments and just practice. He says are you enlightened or not. If not there's plenty of work to do. Anyway that's my 2 cents. 
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Daniel M Ingram, modified 3 Years ago at 5/5/20 8:47 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 5/5/20 8:47 PM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
I agree: keeping the Three Trainings as functionally separated as possible in both effort and criteria is helpful for most.

Seriously think about looking at the other criteria you can find here and see what you think, realizing that this is definitely not always straightforward to sort out, and long time horizons help a lot. Keep practicing all Three Trainings, don't be too hard on yourself if you are not perfect in any of them, and keep exploring.

Best wishes,

Daniel
Tim Farrington, modified 3 Years ago at 5/6/20 2:13 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 5/6/20 2:11 AM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 2464 Join Date: 6/13/11 Recent Posts
Daniel M. Ingram:
I have been home in Alabama for a bit, so had time to make and post three videos on Vimeo recently. They are all relatively short and to the point. Most are in reponse to recent conversations where points made there likely would be helpful to someone else as well.

The first is on Diagnosing Stream Entry.

The second is on Diagnosing Cessation, aka Fruition.

The third is about endurance on the path of insight, and is called Persistence Hunting, Running Down a Deer.

Hopefully, some will find these useful.



The shades and shaved head in Diagnosing Stream Entry are truly bad-ass, sort of sternly ascetic scholar of ancient texts meets biker meets everyone on their way toward looking exactly like the same damn buddha face.

It becomes you. Or you become it.

Pretty soon you can't go out in public because of all the people who recognize you from your statues.
In case anyone is wondering why I am not on YouTube (which is vastly more popular) and instead on Vimeo, I like that Vimeo has no advertisements for anyone watching the videos so their dharma message is uninterrupted by that sort of commercialism.

Best wishes and practice well,

Daniel
one of your most endearing qualities. I leave you all my earthly belongings and the entirety of my estate, to assist you in this work, and pay for sunglasses and Harleys and such. Starting now. (Have your people call my people to work out the paperwork details.)

with all gratitude, and love,

tim
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Papa Che Dusko, modified 3 Years ago at 5/6/20 7:46 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 5/6/20 7:43 AM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 2680 Join Date: 3/1/20 Recent Posts
Ok. Thanks for the vids. 

Now I'm skeptical ! 

Was in EQ for a while and certainly in the stage that has boredom to it. Just effortlessly sitting with it all. 

Off the cushion, played with my little son.  I was pretending to be his horse dragging his wooden cart and him sitting in it. While walking and dragging this cart there was sudden  "what was that???" as if somethings gone missing. Have no rememberencr of "it" or sense of any time. I don't even remember "falling through" the doors of any kind nor did I have the thought of that being SE. 

There was scanning of the body and there was Nothing special in form of feeling, all felt very normal. Except that curious and genuine "what was that?"  

Listened to my boy and he talked to me normally so I assumed I was not "lost" for long. Something clearly did gone missing. No doubt about it. 
I was also in about the same area of the forest so this "gone missing" couldn't be long. 
All this pondering came after the "what was that?" 

Started having a strong feeling as if "I came back to myself" as if I was lost in some journey and there was no way to find home anymore and I gave up on the idea of ever finding my home again and then suddenly I was back home. I could relax now. 

Practice after that felt as if it was "new". I would feel the early stages unfolding and this freaked me out a bit as I was stuck in first DN for almost a decade and I was not ready to plunge into a new wave.
This is where I started thinking about this as SE.

I stopped with the practice and was more interested in finding a job (was jobless for about 8 years at that point) and just being around normal everyday people that have nothing to do with Dharma. I didn't mind either way but I preferred to mingle amongst just people. 

Even got the Joke that this will never be anything other than This but lost it. After about 6-7 months I started feeling suffering solidifying more and this SE stuff felt more and more like a memory. 

Then I restarted the practice here on DhO with the sense of being of service. My log is easy to find. 

As I haven't had those cessation's happen more than once and I certainly did not "see" the doors I can not be certain of it being SE. 

Matters little at this point as practice is rolling away again. 

EDIT; that "what was that?" Experience happened end of June last year then stopped with practice , lived life and recently restarted practice (log on DhO). 
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Rich Lee, modified 3 Years ago at 5/6/20 8:39 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 5/6/20 8:39 AM

RE: Three New Videos Recently Posted

Posts: 43 Join Date: 7/15/15 Recent Posts
Those are great. Thanks Daniel.

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