Book Review Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel Ingram MD

[Frederick]

This guy claims to be enlightened (the book author not the reviewer):

http://slatestarcodex.com/2017/09/18/book-review-mastering-the-core-teachings-of-the-buddha/#comment-549161

"Enter Daniel Ingram MD, an emergency physician who claims to have achieved enlightenment just after graduating medical school. His book is called Mastering The Core Teachings Of The Buddha, but he could also have called it Buddhism For ER Docs.

"Jhanas are unusual mental states you can get into with enough concentration. Some of them are super blissful. Others are super tranquil. They’re not particularly meaningful in and of themselves, but they can give you heroin-level euphoria without having to worry about sticking needles in your veins. MCTB says, understatedly, that they can be a good encouragement to continue your meditation practice. It gives a taxonomy of eight jhanas, and suggests that a few months of training in samatha meditation can get you to the point where you can reach at least the first."

I just ordered this book. I'm open to thoughts on this, of course.

[Jhanek]

I have once came across his materials. The problem with this dude is that he changed the definitions. So with his understanding and his new definitions let him be an arahant.

How to know he has nothing to do with the enlightenment? He denies Buddha teaching and claims that Sangha in Buddha description is just a tale. 

Beside that - he is a very good meditator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDuLCDEjV_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0cXqFYlm2I

[Jhanananda]

Shortly after this forum started Daniel Ingram joined it to troll for followers.  I invited me to his forum, where I participated in the dialog.  I found it rather disturbing that his followers talk about "doing all 8 jhanas successively, every day."  It seemed like a rather over-the-top claim, so I did some inquiry with his followers there.  I simply asked how many of them could still their mind.  None of them admitted to being able to do that.  If they cannot still their mind, then they have not arrived at the 2nd jhana.

Also, they are closely aligned with Brasington, for whom jhana is just a mental exercise.  So, I have had to conclude that to them jhana is just a mental projection, not a self-arising experience in deep meditation.

[Jauho1979]

Not to mention that he follows the Burmese tradition (i.e. Mahasi Sayadaw) which itself is based on the Visudhi Magga. And nowhere in his book and list of resources did he once mention the Buddha's suttas.

[Jhanananda]

Good arguments, Jauho1979.  Conclusions?  Daniel Ingram does not seem to be a reliable source of the dhamma.