Ep166: Fire Kasina Mystic - Daniel Ingram
Daniel Ingram is an independent Buddhist writer, author of ‘Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha’, and co-founder of the EPRC.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Daniel recounts his history with the obscure but powerful fire kasina technique, which uses a candle flame to enter into advanced states of meditative concentration. Daniel shares his successes and failures, encounters with occultists and meditation masters, and investigations into ancient texts.
Daniel reveals the many uses of the powerful concentration that can be developed using fire meditation, discusses his own experiences of psychic powers and out of body experiences, and considers the risks of mental illness when dabbling in esoteric realms.
At the time of recording, Daniel had just returned from a three week intensive private fire kasina meditation retreat, and he also gives a detailed practice report from his meditative seclusion, as well as practical advice for those who wish to explore this technique for themselves.
Topics include:
00:00 - Intro
01:10 - Daniel’s history with the fire kasina technique
06:23 - Bhante Gunaratana
07:03 - Honeybunny the ceremonial magician
09:08 - Retreats at Gaia house and first out of body experience
12:15 - Breakthrough retreat
17:36 - Correlating fire kasina experiences with Daniel’s insight levels
19:43 - What age is best for peak meditation attainment?
25:50 - Ceremonial magic path to high concentration
27:25 - Crowley’s Book Four
28:00 - Concentration vs liberation
29:44 - A powerful experience on retreat
32:22 - Various applications of fire kasina
34:42 - Safety warning
36:55 - Experiences of OBE’s and the powers
43:09 - Divine eye and divine ear experiences
46:54 - Psychic powers or a daydream?
50:30 - Dangers of the powers
52:15 - Daniel’s guide for group retreats
01:02:14 - Practice dose advice and ideal retreat duration
01:09:10 - Aftershock and afterglow
01:19:15 - Intention, summoning entities, and retreat goals
01:29:32 - Mania, psychosis, and the clinical view
01:35:07 - Daniel’s report from his recent intensive fire kasina retreat \
01:51:19 - Kripal’s flip and coping mechanisms
Daniel Ingram Episode Playlist
To find out more about Daniel, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James