Ep167: Maps to Enlightenment - Michael Taft 2
Michael Taft is a meditation teacher, best-selling author, and host of the ‘Deconstructing Yourself’ podcast.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
In this episode, Michael reveals why he dislikes maps of meditation, and why he believes the Progress of Insight, a widely taught meditation map in Theravada Buddhism, causes more problems than it solves.
Michael also discusses his points of agreement and disagreement with the Buddhist four path model, how he defines and teaches stream entry, the common traps on the way to enlightenment, how to cut through spiritual ego, and why Michael questions if becoming an arhat is actually good for anybody.
Michael goes on to explain his own meditation map, based on the teachings of Shinzen Young, and shares his takes on emptiness, jhana, fire kasina, and how life changes after awakening.
Topics include:
00:00 - Intro
00:57 - Cons of meditation maps
06:06 - Why the Progress of Insight map causes more problems than it solves
09:50 - Disagreement with Daniel Ingram
10:37 - Controversy of claiming Arhatship
14:15 - Teaching towards stream entry
15:06 - Defining stream entry
18:16 - Do meditators really want stream entry?
20:17 - Where Michael diverges from the 4-path model
22:42 - different approaches to spiritual practice
23:24 - What changes after enlightenment?
29:01 - Stress tolerance of enlightenment
30:09 - Michael’s perceptive
31:16 - Dangers on the way to stream entry
36:29 - Post-stream entry pitfalls
37:54 - Spiritual ego trips
38:35 - How Michael slices through spiritual ego
39:39 - Michael’s own map of vipassana
45:35 - The failure mode of high concentration
48:05 - Differences between low concentration and insight into emptiness
51:05 - The problem with cessation
52:47 - Emptiness of self and other
54:37 - Pointing to the self
56:02 - When Michael’s students achieve stream entry
57:02 - Welcome to the club
57:41 - Sutra vs Mahamudra
58:53 - Running the map backwards
01:01:21 - Emptiness and form
01:05:07 - The big temptation of emptiness and bliss
01:08:35 - Why leave emptiness?
01:13:10 - Vipassana vs vipasyana
01:15:41 - Quick fire round
01:16:13 - Wet of dry vipassana?
01:16:39 - Hard or soft jhana?
01:17:22 - Breath or fire kasina?
01:18:21 - BIT or SHF?
01:19:09 - Shinzen Young’s evolution
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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James