Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

Joseph Goldstein has an intellectual discussion on bare knowledge without association and how to maintain continuity of mindfulness.

The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. This episode is the fifth part of an in-depth 48-part weekly lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta. If you are just now jumping into the Satipatthana Sutta series, listen to Insight Hour Ep. 203 to follow along and get the full experience!

This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein lectures on: 

• The direct path for the purification of beings
• The liberating effect of present-moment awareness
• Freedom from desire and discontent regarding the world
• Observing phenomena without attaching meaning or reacting
• The two proximate causes for mindfulness
• How knowing is not altered by what is being known
• The nature of the knowing mind conforming to the condition of the body
• Building momentum and continuity of mindfulness
• Vipassana and observing the six sense stores
• Becoming aware of the process of change
• Perception as the function of recognition
• How concepts condition our experience

Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“Bare knowledge here means observing phenomena, observing experience objectively without getting lost in associations, without getting lost in our reactions. It’s the simple and direct knowing of what’s present without making up stories about our experience.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein offers insight on deepening our understanding of impermanence by growing our awareness of the constant change that surrounds us.

The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. This episode is the fourth part of an in-depth 48-part weekly lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta.  If you are just now jumping into the Satipatthana Sutta series, listen to Insight Hour Ep. 203 to follow along and get the full experience!

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein explores: 

• Seeing the momentariness of phenomena
• The liberating effect of presence moment awareness
• The power of wholesome activities and the karmic effect of giving
• Unreliability within that which is impermanent
• Being dispassionate and not caught up in the grit of desire
• The stories and drama we engage with in our lives
• Witnessing changes in the world around us
• Refining our perception of change
• The mirror of the dhamma
• Having unbroken confidence in the path of awakening
• Consciousness in the process of dying

Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“Somehow, we are so conditioned to count on things staying a certain way, of staying stable. Or, if they’re going to change, that they should only change for the better, the way we’d like things to be. But, that’s not how it is, there is no evidence to support that. All we have to do is open up and look around and pay attention in the most obvious of ways. This is not a subtle meditative attainment; it is all around us.” – Joseph Goldstein

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This time on the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph Goldstein explores the importance of contemplation, awareness and concentration in Buddhist practice.

This episode is the third part of an in-depth 48-part weekly lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta, one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. If you are just now jumping into the Satipatthana Sutta series, listen to Insight Hour Ep. 203 to follow along and get the full experience!

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode, Joseph Goldstein examines: 

• Samadhi, or, the composure and unification of the mind
• Enjoying embodied presence and allowing all tensions to release
• The great healing process that can come from Samadhi
• How Samadhi enables us to receive the joy of the present moment
• How the development of concentration comes from practicing Sila (ethical conduct)
• The path of practice as the path of happiness
• Focusing on an object versus choiceless awareness
• 6-part walking meditation for the development of concentration
• Internal and external contemplation
• Being aware of other people without judgment
• Attuning to how our actions may affect others

Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“It’s as if when we create the space of awareness, the space of mindful presence, the mind settles by itself into a place of concentration because we are simply being present for that which arises.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Continuing his exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta, Joseph discusses mindfulness as the vehicle for all spiritual undertakings.

This episode is the second part of an in-depth 48-part weekly lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta, one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. If you are just jumping into the series, listen to Insight Hour Ep. 203 to follow along and get the full experience!

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discusses: 

• The mental qualities that are necessary for the path of awakening
• How mindfulness makes any spiritual undertaking possible
• How small efforts we take in our daily practice can greatly impact the larger picture
• The noble task of purifying the mind and heart
• Reflecting on the Buddha, dharma, and sangha
• The difference between self-judgement and contemplating our sila (right conduct)
• How the whole of the dharma is revealed through receptive listening
• Mindfulness as a guardian of the sense stores
• Avoiding the proliferation of wanting and discontent
• How mindfulness balances faith and wisdom, effort and concentration
• Mindfulness as a tool to notice the habit patterns we are conditioned into
• The nature of the mind as peaceful

Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE

This recording was originally published by Dharmaseed

“It’s that sense of just the whole of the dharma being revealed in this place of listening, of receptive awareness, of open awareness, when we aren’t trying to control things or make things happen but we’re letting things be revealed. This quality of sati, of mindfulness, of listening, has tremendous power... It’s mindfulness which makes any spiritual undertaking possible.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Kicking off a multi-part course on the teachings of the Satipatthana Sutta, Joseph offers insight into how we can apply the wisdom of this ancient Buddhist discourse on mindfulness to our daily lives and practice.

This episode is the first part of an in-depth 48-part weekly lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta, one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

In this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein delves into: 

• Meditation as the simplest way of looking at the mind and body
• Vipassana’s roots in the Satipatthana Sutta
• Breaking down the translation of Satipatthana
• The four foundations or abidings in mindfulness
• Focusing on the attitude of being aware
• The variety of meanings for Dukkha
• Craving as the cause of suffering
• Strengthening the quality of ardency for our practice
• How transience can spur feelings of passion and care
• Reflecting on the weight of our actions
• Wisdom and clear comprehension
• Why our practice is not just for ourselves alone

Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE

This recording was originally published by Dharmaseed

“The last reflection that helps establish us in ardent practice is realizing that the only things that can be said to truly belong to us are the actions that we perform and their subsequent fruits.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Responding to student questions, Joseph Goldstein invigorates listeners to have faith and confidence in dharma practice.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein answers questions on: 

• Mental noting throughout meditation
• Working with a greedy mind
• Dukkha and craving as the fundamental cause of suffering
• Small moments of renunciation
• The deepening of concentration over time and why practice is non-linear
• Keeping confidence in the dharma
• Doubt as the most problematic feeling within practice
• Dealing with shame, depression, unworthiness, and other painful mind-states
• Balancing self-knowing and deepening insight into non-self
• Fear of impermanence and attachment to things staying the same

This special group mentorship program recording was originally published on Dharmaseed

“We really just need to continue doing the practice and have that trust that the dharma will lead us onward, which it does. I’ve seen it in myself and I’ve seen it in thousands of yogis. I have a lot of confidence in that.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Explaining the subtleties of practice and the energy between mind and body, Joseph Goldstein offers both insight and humor to his students.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein :

• The variety of practice ways to strengthen concentration
• Animals and questions on karma in the natural world
• Free our minds from fear when nearing the end of our lives
• Watching the mystery of life unfolding
• The wholesome and unwholesome actions that determine our rebirth
• Habitual karma and having a place of refuge from repeated practice
• Humility and the understanding of selflessness
• Cultivating relationships of equanimity
• The ongoing discovery of the mind-body energy system
• Sexual desire and the refinement of our sensations
• Why neutrality is better than pleasure
• The unhelpful ways that we relate to pain
• How practice helps with boredom and restlessness
• Keeping an effort to pay close attention
• Using our precious lives very well

This 1990 recording was originally published by Dharmaseed

“Each of these practices not only addresses a particular conditioning of the mind, they all very much strengthen the power of concentration. It’s just to see how through many different doors we can enter the realm of understanding, taming the mind, coming to a place of stillness where we can really see the essential nature and come to freedom. There are many ways depending on temperament.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Highlighting the impermanence of experience, Joseph Goldstein leads a practice in noticing mental and physical sensations.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein offers a guided practice on: 

• Working with thought and emotion
• Full body awareness without effort or struggling
• Noticing the breath and other sensations
• Being aware of thoughts just as they are arising
• Opening up to the fullness of experience
• The power of naming emotions
• Sensing the impermanent nature of all things
• Moving from the conceptual into direct experience
• The seduction of our thoughts

This 2018 recording from an Insight Meditation Retreat was originally published by Dharmaseed

“We don’t have to do anything to make things change. The very nature of whatever is arising, whether it’s in the body or the mind, the very nature is that whatever arises will also pass away.” – Joseph Goldstein

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In a dharma talk on working with thoughts and emotions, Joseph Goldstein explains the impersonal and empty nature of the mind.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein teaches us about: 

• Observing how mind states and thoughts mutually condition each other
• The way that thoughts carry us away into different emotional states
• Looking at the direct nature and meaning of thought
• Noticing the difference between being lost and being awake
• Viewing our thoughts just as they arise
• Not overthinking and focusing on the simplicity of a practice
• The six things that are ever arising or passing: our senses
• Maintaining open awareness and experiencing the flow

“Well, what is a thought? It’s quite remarkable because when we look at that level, not on the level of the story or the content, but thought as a phenomenon, we see that it is barely more than nothing. It is so phenomenal. These thoughts arise, and the content can be so compelling, but as a phenomenon, as the nature of thought, it’s just this little energy blip in the mind. If we’re not getting hooked by the content, it has no power at all.” – Joseph Goldstein

This 2019 dharma talk from Insight Meditation Society was originally published by Dharmaseed

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Joseph Goldstein meets us at the constellation of self, the duality of self, and the need for mindfulness.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/insighthour and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein gets into: 

• Duality and how it relates to our meditation practice
• The fundamental split of object and subject
• Limitations from perceiving ourselves as separate
• Persona and the identification we have with the world
• The progression from fullness/oneness to constriction
• Having compassion for the shadow side
• How fear desire, and attachment, make us more attached to our sense of self
• Being imprisoned and conditioned by dualistic perception
• The integration of mind and body and love for all experience as the connector
• From the ego center to the zero center
• Being totally honest with what is happening
• Mindfulness as the tool to stop identification
• The power of renunciation and restraint

This 2005 dharma talk was originally published by Dharmaseed

“As long as we are identified with that sense of self in the mind, that identification creates fear, attachment, separation, comparing. If there’s an “I”, if there’s a self, then we have to defend it, we have to protect it, we have to gratify it, and our whole lives revolve around this particular identification.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein discusses how working with fear is absolutely essential in our practice of understanding, opening, and accepting.

This 1983 dharma talk was originally published on Dharmaseed.

This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein teaches us about: 

• Releasing tension through awareness
• The body as an energy system
• Opening up to the Buddha nature
• Working with fear and emotional pain
• Resistance and unwillingness to be uncomfortable
• Becoming open to pain and discomfort
• Insecurity and the fear of being judged
• How the fear of feeling certain emotions keeps us bound to negative habits
• How openness allows our hearts to be touched
• Death and fear of the unknown
• Being okay with being afraid
• Having space for fear without demands
• Lovingkindness as the antidote for fear

“What we’re doing in our practice is learning how to work with those experiences which often cause trouble, which often cause resistance, which we’re afraid of.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Offering instruction for metta practice, Joseph Goldstein explains the many flavors of loving-kindness that we can try.

This 2018 talk was originally published on Dharmaseed.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein explicates: 

• The unconditional quality of metta
• Helping each other see our individual loveliness
• Using mantra to evoke the feeling of loving-kindness
• Metta as a tool for deep concentration
• Experimenting with the different ways metta can be applied in meditation
• The three aspects of practicing of loving-kindness
• A 12-minute guided metta practice to settle into the feeling of well-wishing

“There are two main purposes for doing metta meditation. One is metta, or loving-kindness, which can be used as a vehicle for developing concentration. So, not only for the metta quality itself, but it is a technique or a method for developing strong concentration, even to the point of absolution.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Guiding us in three short, guided meditations, Joseph Goldstein helps us break down our identification with the body and the self.

This talk from the Insight Meditation Society was originally published on Dharmaseed.

 In this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein guides us in: 

• Accessing deeper meditative states outside of a retreat
• Turbo-charging our practice through shorter meditations we can do in our daily lives
• Finding the mental areas where our mistaken sense of self is created
• Listening to sounds and considering the ‘knowing’ rather than being a “knower”
• Breaking through the identification we have with the body
• Directly experiencing bodily sensations and their changing nature
• Watching our thoughts and being aware in their moment of arising
• Enlivening our understanding of the Buddha’s teaching through a combination of practices

“This exercise allows us to see the selfless nature of thought and gives us the ability to choose which are helpful, which are not. Which do I act on, which do I let go of.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Focusing on equanimity and compassion, Joseph Goldstein teaches about staying open and responsive to collective and individual suffering.

This talk from the Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on Dharmaseed.

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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein divulges : 

• How to stay open and responsive while experiencing both individual and global challenges
• Compassion and equanimity as tools to work with difficulties
• The definition of equanimity and seeing all things as a whole
• Equanimity as the basis of wise discernment and skillful responsiveness
• Re-framing difficult experiences as an opportunity to practice openness
• An invitation to look within rather than blaming outside forces
• Examining what emotions are underneath our reactions
• Letting go of the illusion of being in control
• Accepting our feelings instead of allowing them to limit us
• Freeing ourselves through the awareness of impermanence
• How compassion arises out of our willingness to come close to suffering
• Sorrow as the near enemy of compassion
• Having humility on our path to explore equanimity and compassion

“Equanimity gives us the foundation, the ability to approach the suffering without reactivity. And compassion, precisely arises out of the willingness to come close to suffering.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein describes the steps along the Buddha’s path to awakening, helping us see the significance of the Buddha in our own lives.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour

This dharma talk from The Insight Meditation Society was originally published on Dharmaseed.

In this episode, Joseph Goldstein lectures on:

• The sacred journey of the Buddha’s life
• The Buddha as a universal archetype for awakening
• Connecting the Buddha’s journey with our own journey
• Materialism and the wheel of becoming
• Discovering the real value in our lives
• Reflecting on the inevitability of death
• The uncertainty of the time of death
• What actually matters when we reach our end
• Our own calls to destiny
• Giving up a conventional way of viewing things
• Our own power over the way we are
• Confronting the forces of Mara
• Relative and absolute bodhicitta

“In order to awaken to the hidden possibilities of life, we need to renounce, we need to be willing to give up our ordinary or conventional way of viewing things. Things are often not what they seem to be. If we stay just on the surface, we are often living in ignorance and illusion.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Explaining the ways our minds can be seduced, Joseph Goldstein teaches us how to let go into non-clinging.

This 2007 talk was originally published on Dharmaseed.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour

In this episode, Joseph Goldstein teaches listeners about:

• Letting go into the wisdom mind of non-clinging
• Awakening to the nature of the mind
• Working with the hindrances of mind
• Noticing how the mind can be seduced
• Skeptical doubt and being frozen in indecision
• The ways that doubt can masquerade itself as wisdom
• Telling ourselves that it is okay not to know
• Resting in experience rather than being caught in thought loops
• Investigating our aversions and their hold on the mind
• Seeing everything with perfect wisdom
• Transforming our attitudes about our aversions
• Being inclusive to our difficult experiences

“Struggle is a great feedback because it signifies non-acceptance of something. Because if we were accepting, we wouldn’t be struggling. Whenever we’re in that sense of striving, of struggle, of tension, take that as a feedback, not as a problem. That’s telling us something. That’s saying something is going on in the body, in the mind, in the emotions, in the thoughts, in our external experience, something is going on that we’re not open to, that we’re trying to exclude, and that’s why we’re struggling.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Taking a journey through the Buddha’s history, Joseph Goldstein reveals how we can relate the Bodhisattva’s experiences to our own lives.

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In this Episode, Joseph teaches on:

• The history of Siddhartha Guatama
• Archetypes and myths within the Buddha’s journey
• Connecting individual experiences into universal principals
• Joseph Campbell’s description of the Buddha’s life stages
• Calls to destiny and the illusion of having a self
• The profound truth of impermanence and change
• Anxiety and unease from trying to posses things
• Facing realities such as death and disease
• One of Joseph’s first major insights into his mind
• Renunciation and getting out of the seduction of appearances
• Meditation and recognizing vastness
• Examining what is a hindrance and what is skillful
• The great struggle and developing a courageous heart
• The Bodhisattva’s three watches of the night
• The great awakening and working for the good of others

“In this archetypal level, the Buddha’s life reveals to us aspirations in our own. It helps us find a deeper meaning, a deeper purpose, a fuller context for our own life choices. On this archetypal level, it connects the Buddha’s journey with our own.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein joins Rohan Gunatillake to share the meditative story of how he first learned to integrate his spirituality into everyday life.

This episode was originally aired on Meditative Story, a podcast that combines the emotional pull of first-person storytelling with the immediate, science-backed benefits of mindfulness practice – all surrounded by breathtaking and cinematic music. You can find Meditative Story on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more!

 Joseph Goldstein shares a personal story about:

• One of the most transformative moments in Joseph’s life
• The beginning of Joseph’s enlightenment journey
• Integrating the spiritual gifts Joseph learned from the East into his everyday life in the West
• Learning to embrace the uncomfortable feeling of not-knowing
• How Joseph first connected with Ram Dass
• Joseph’s first job teaching a meditation class
• Saying yes and allowing opportunities to present themselves
• A guided mindfulness practice

“It’s as if my life exists as two separate strands. One is the strand of my practice, which feels clear and stable. The other is how that practice will manifest and how I can ever hope to apply it to the world. Spiritually, I am flying high. But I have no idea where to land.” – Joseph Goldstein

About Joseph Goldstein:

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

About Rohan Gunatillake:

Rohan Gunatillake is a writer, entrepreneur, and host of the podcast Meditative Story. By artfully crafting meditations to compliment each guest’s story, Rohan blends mindfulness with narrative to create a unique listening experience, encouraging listeners to use someone else’s transformative moment as the basis for their own. He’s also the founder of the best-selling app Buddhify, and author of Modern Mindfulness: How to Be More Relaxed, Focused, and Kind While Living in a Fast, Digital, Always-On World.

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Discussing the differences between knowing, awareness and wisdom, Joseph Goldstein helps deepen our insights into the nature of body and mind.

This 2007 talk was originally published on Dharmaseed.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour

This time on Insight Hour, Joseph lectures on:

• The Satipatthana Sutta
• The four foundations of mindfulness
• Overcoming suffering and attaining freedom
• How wisdom combines awareness and investigation
• Struggling as the manifestation of non-acceptance
• Grounding in awareness of different sense objects
• Attuning to the patterns and conditioning in our minds
• The attitudes and judgements we have about experiences
• The ability to learn about our minds in any situation

“Wisdom arises out of awareness and it combines the qualities of investigation, of what the Buddha called right understanding/right attitude. With mindfulness as the platform, that is the foundation. Without mindfulness none of this happens.“ – Joseph Goldstein

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Going through questions submitted by meditators on retreat, Jill Shepard asks Joseph about discernment and other Buddhist practices.

This episode was recorded as part of a three-month retreat at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published by Dharmaseed

In this episode, Joseph answers questions on:

• What it means to waste your suffering
• Turning attention inward and looking at the cause of suffering
• Attachment, resistance, and false perception
• Self and anatta (not-self)
• The wholesome and unwholesome roots of all skillful actions
• Looking honestly at our intentions and motivations
• Honoring the presence of our emotions versus being caught by them
• The message we can receive from anger
• Discernment and bringing mindfulness into love
• Liberation through non-clinging
• Working with doubt and the inner voice that fools and seduces us
• Surrendering to the Dharma
• How practice prepares us for growing old

“It’s really important to be honest about the range of our own motivations because if we’re not honest about it, we’re not going to see it. If we don’t see it, we may very well be acting on the unwholesome motivations.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Describing how perceptions and constructs shape our experiences, Joseph Goldstein teaches on the concept of self.

This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour

In this episode, Joseph describes:

• The liberating jewel of the Buddha’s teachings
• The Self as the fabrication of our minds
• The relief of selflessness
• Abandoning unwholesome qualities
• Using Buddhist psychology to understand how The Self is created
• Recognizing, naming, and remembering
• Perception in the service of mindfulness
• Seeing the frame instead of the picture
• How concepts can limit our understanding
• Division and the concept of space
• Past, present, future, and the concept of time
• The constriction within self-image
• Projection and self-assessment
• Age, culture, race, and other created constructs
• When concepts can be useful

“Our perceptions are concepts about what we are experiencing. This overlay on experience very often conditions how we feel about that experience. And, one of the startling things about all this, is that often our perceptions are inaccurate and yet they are conditioning the experience we are having.”– Joseph Goldstein

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In a world that often feels like it's teetering on the edge, it's not surprising that so many of us grapple with feelings of instability and overwhelm. 

On Tuesday, December 19th, join acclaimed Buddhist meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Ethan Nichtern for a free online conversation on staying grounded, available, and engaged, even when the world is on fire.

Sharon and Ethan will also discuss the upcoming Dharma Moon Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and offer their insights on how studying Buddhism can help us show up more fully for ourselves and others during these challenging times.

Visit dharmamoon.com/event for more info and to reserve your free spot!

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In this question-and-answer session, Joseph Goldstein explores skillful means for non-clinging, how to work with the comparing mind, the intricacies of walking meditation, and much more.

This dharma talk, recorded on October 20, 2023, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this episode of Insight Hour:

• Joseph offers a series of tips on walking meditation
• He responds to questions about working with the comparing mind and working with the mind that is desperate to fix everything
• Joseph talks about how it is possible for a layperson to awaken and why enlightenment is all about lightening up
• He explores the importance of not being attached to our beliefs or our disbeliefs and keeping an open mind
• Finally, Joseph offers his perspective on how the Dharma has helped him in difficult times and why the Buddhist teachings are all about skillful means for non-clinging

“So when I began to hear these different teachings, rather than frame it – ‘Which is true?’ or ‘Which is right?’ – just to take the teachings as skillful means. So then the question is, skillful means for what? And here is where all the traditions of Buddhism are unified, and that is a skillful means for non-clinging. That’s the essence of the free mind in all the Buddhist traditions.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein delves into the concepts of loving-kindness, compassion, and the fear of discomfort. He highlights the transformative power of loving-kindness, mindfulness, and compassion in overcoming fears and limitations, ultimately fostering genuine happiness.

This dharma talk, recorded on February 18, 1997, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this lecture, Joseph:

• Affirms that at the depths of our hearts and minds there is a basic reservoir of goodwill
• Defines mettā, or loving-kindness, as the basic generosity of the heart
• Takes note of the “upward spiral” of happiness that mindfulness and loving-kindness promotes
• Reminds us to stay open to suffering and
• Ruminates upon the empty nature of fear itself

“If you keep shining your compassion and understanding on it, your fear will soon crack and you will be able to look into its depths and see its roots.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein expounds upon the relationship between thought and emotion as it relates to both our spiritual practice and our daily lives.

This dharma talk, recorded on June 4, 2013, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this lecture, Joseph:

• Dissects the nuanced meaning of the Pali word sati, often translated as "mindfulness"
• Highlights the importance of applying mindfulness to both skillful and unskillful thoughts
• Helps us understand the very nature of thought
• Outlines the inherent connection between thoughts and emotional responses
• Proposes that we stay open to afflictive emotions without identifying with them

"When we engage with thoughts and emotions from a place of interest and a place of investigation, a place of inquiry, we can see them all arise and pass away in this open sky of the mind." - Joseph Goldstein

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Already downloaded by over 15k people, visit dharmamoon.com/ebook to get YOUR free copy of The Art of Teaching Mindfulness!

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Joseph Goldstein investigates the links between suffering, compassion, and the concept of the self.

This dharma talk, recorded on July 2, 1994, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this talk, Joseph:

• Breaks down the three kinds of suffering according to the Buddha
• Advises us to remain open to suffering, reminding us that avoiding or resisting pain and unpleasant mind states only serves to feed them
• Posits that compassion grows from letting suffering in
• Proposes that we drop into the flow of existence
• Asserts that the root cause of suffering is our deeply conditioned senses of self 

“When we’re associated with what we don’t want, it’s suffering. And when we are separated from what we do want, it’s suffering. And this is the push-pull happening throughout our lives.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein dissects the Buddha’s most simple but fundamental lessons: to avoid what is unwholesome, to perform good actions, and to purify the mind.

This dharma talk, recorded on September 26, 1991, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this talk, Joseph:

• Acknowledges that even the most simple lessons are not easy
• Breaks down the three unwholesome actions of the body, the four unwholesome actions of speech, and the three unwholesome actions of mind
• Touches on the Hindu concept of punya, or doing meritorious actions to plant the seeds of happiness
• Maintains that there is a wisdom in fearing danger
• Provides us with examples of wholesome actions that we can perform

“Avoid what is unwholesome, perform good actions, purify the mind. This is the teachings of all the Buddhas.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein dissects the concept of meditation from the what, to the why, to the how.

This dharma talk was recorded on July 8, 2007, at the Insight Meditation Society and was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this talk, Joseph:

• Demystifies meditation
• Asks, “Why do we meditate?” and “How do we meditate?”
• Emphasizes the importance of settling down the mind to achieve real clarity and stillness
• Reminds us that meditation is not only about blissful feelings
• Identifies the relationship between our bodies and our minds
• Advocates for the acceptance and awareness of our own thoughts

“Meditation is not about whether it’s pleasant or unpleasant. It’s about how aware we are, how mindful we are.” - Joesph Goldstein

Discover the transformative practice of teaching mindfulness in a new FREE 30-page ebook by Senior Buddhist teacher and Emmy award-winning musician, David Nichtern. 

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Already downloaded by over 15k people, visit dharmamoon.com/ebook to get YOUR free copy of The Art of Teaching Mindfulness!

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Joseph Goldstein examines the mental factor of equanimity through the lens of the Eight Vicissitudes and the brahmavihārā.

This dharma talk from April 17, 2012, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this lecture, Joseph:

• Defines equanimity as neutrality of mind and the quality of evenness
• Draws a distinction between indifference of mind and spacious impartiality
• Examines the eight vicissitudes (gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disrepute, pleasure and pain)
• Considers the spiritual implications of living in servitude to the inevitably changing conditions of our lives
• Places equanimity in the context of lovingkindness, compassion, and joy, i.e. the other divine abodes, or brahmavihārā
• Reminds us that no situation is outside of our practice

“When we have equanimity, when both attachment and aversion are absent, then everything in our experiences becomes clear and undisguised.”

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein reflects on the meaning of emptiness on the spiritual path and examines ways in which we can work toward enlightenment.

This dharma talk was recorded on April 16, 1989, and was originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this talk, Joseph touches on:

• The meaning of emptiness
• The such-ness of things
• The 10,000 joys, the 10,000 sorrows, and opening ourselves up to the whole range of experience
• The Taoist dichotomy between non-action and inaction
• Taking interest in the phenomenon of thoughts, emotions, experiences, and situations
• Being simple and easy in our practice

“If we’re simple and easy in our practice, our lives become simple and easy. Can you be simple and easy in your practice, just with what is?” – Joseph Goldstein

About Joseph Goldstein:

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

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Joseph Goldstein continues his discussion of bodhicitta – the awakened heart.

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In this lecture, Joseph:

• Reminds us that obstructions and defilements of thought are not intrinsic to the mind
• Provides us with a methodology for freeing ourselves from entanglement and attachment
• Compares the clinging mind to ice and the luminous mind to water
• Recognizes the causal relationship between mindfulness and compassion 
• Teaches us that how we feel and respond to situations is up to us
• Maintains that cultivating compassion is a process that comes with daily practice

“The development of love and compassion is a wide, round curve that can be negotiated only slowly. Not a sharp corner that can be turned all at once. It comes with daily practice.”

This dharma talk from June 12, 2015, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein discusses enlightenment through the lens of the aspirational mental quality of bodhicitta – the awakened heart.

This dharma talk from June 8, 2015, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed

In this lecture, Joseph:

• Teaches us that there are two understandings of bodhicitta: relative bodhicitta, which is compassion, and ultimate bodhicitta, which is selflessness
• Highlights the spiritual importance of cultivating both compassion and selflessness
• Ruminates on the challenges of living in our conventional, ordinarily understood reality
• Reminds us that the ungovernability of life is the nexus between dukkha and freedom
• Describes the union of emptiness and clarity
• Recognizes the need for a gradual cultivation of awareness

“The mind’s nature is vivid as a flawless piece of crystal. Intrinsically empty, naturally radiant and ceaselessly responsive.”

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Joseph Goldstein explores the nexus between thought patterns, sense pleasures, renunciation, addiction, and the wisdom of "No".

This dharma talk from October 24, 2012, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this lecture, Joseph:

• Encourages us to examine the content and nature of our own thoughts
• Maintains that our actions are conditioned by how we think about ourselves and how we think about the world
• Advocates for cultivating wholesome thoughts and letting go of unwholesome ones.
• Considers the rewards of renunciation
• Emphasizes the importance of saying “no” on the spiritual path

“So often in spiritual practice and in our path and in spiritual scenes, we emphasize the yes. It’s the yes of acceptance, the yes of openness, the yes of receptivity, the yes of fullness of experience. So this is all an essential part of our practice. This yes is often the antidote to self judgment, self criticism, to contraction, to limitation. It’s like we’re learning to open, we’re saying yes to experience yes to the world.

But there is also a wisdom in ‘no,’ recognizing that some things are not skillful, are not helpful, they’re not leading to happiness or to our well being. And in these times, we can practice saying, ‘no thanks,’ I’ll pass on this one.” – Joseph Goldstein

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This time on the Insight Hour podcast, Joseph Goldstein helps us understand equanimity as a fundamental state of mind and the role it plays on the spiritual path.

This dharma talk from July 22, 2023, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this lecture, Joseph explores:

• The literal meaning of the word “equanimity” in Pali and the difficulty of translation
• The Great 8 Vicissitudes, or the endlessly changing conditions of gain and loss that affect each of us
• Using equanimity to foster steadiness in the face of changing conditions
• Maintaining a sense of humor and lightness on the spiritual path
• The difference between reactivity of mind and responsiveness of mind
• The transmittable quality of equanimity

“Equanimity means understanding the difference between reactivity of mind and responsiveness. So this is a really important distinction because these two words reflect very different mindsets. Reactivity creates agitation. Responsiveness really is the basis for a balanced and compassionate engagement.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein leans on his decades of study and practice of the Dharma to answer a diverse range of spiritual and existential questions from his students and online retreat attendees.

This dharma talk from May 14, 2023, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed. 

In this Q&A style talk, Joseph answers an assortment of questions concerning:

• The stages of enlightenment
• Being mindful of positive and wholesome mind states
• Realizing selflessness
• Concepts, the nature of consciousness, and reality
• Practicing mindfulness in modernity
• Karma and reincarnation

"We think our lives are so complicated and so confused in the modern world, in the ancient world and - at any point in time, there are only these six things happening. It's a sight, its a sound, it's a taste, it's a sensation, it's something going on in our minds. So, I like to think of all life, and the unfolding of our lives, as a six piece chamber orchestra. It's just playing the music." - Joseph Goldstein

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In this episode of the Insight Hour podcast, Joseph Goldstein delves into the nature of thought and provides valuable insights on cultivating mindfulness.

This dharma talk from May 13, 2023, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this talk, Joseph:

• Encourages us to notice when we become aware of our own thinking
• Highlights the importance of recognizing the themes of our thoughts
• Emphasizes that the past and the future are conceptual models
• Examines the very nature of thought itself

“When we’re unaware of thoughts, unmindful, they have so much power in our lives, they;re really directing our lives. And yet when we are mindful of them, as I say, it is a little more than nothing.”

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Joseph Goldstein discusses the challenges of practicing liberation, awakening, and enlightenment in the context of a lay person’s life.

“The Buddha said, ‘I have shown you the path to liberation. Now, liberation depends on you.’ This is really true. If you don’t take your life into your own hands, not even the Buddhas can make a difference. It’s up to you.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this talk, Joseph Goldstein offers insights into:

• Finding a balance between monastic renunciation and worldly pleasures
• Impermanence and the inherent instability of existence
• The Four Noble Truths as they relate to the concept of Duḥkha
• The understanding of selflessness
• Taking your path into your own hands

This dharma talk from May 12, 2023, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores how karma and Samsara shape our lives and shares wisdom on integrating Dharma practice into our lives.

Today's dharma talk from May 16, 2023, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed

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In this talk, Joesph shares his wisdom on:

• Applying Buddhist practice and wisdom to our daily lives
• Better understanding the interworkings of the mind and how our lives unfold
• How Karma and Samsara feed into one another
• The importance that our motivations play in Karma and Samsara

“The challenge in our practice is integrating this understanding of karma with our growing insight into emptiness, selflessness, and the selfless insubstantial nature of phenomena. Can we hold both?” – Joseph Goldstein

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Taking a journey into the vastness of the mind, Joseph Goldstein explores the creative power of consciousness.

In this episode, Joseph Goldstein elucidates:

• Consciousness as the creator of our inner and outer worlds.
• The suffering that can come from an uncultivated mind
• Mental illness, obsessions, addictions and thought-loops
• Being a prisoner of our own untrained mind
• Impermanence, empowerment, and the potential of the inner Buddha
• The Mahamudra and taming the mind
• Staying mindful during defilement

“The Buddha talked of how this mind, this force or power of consciousness, can be our worst enemy or the most benevolent friend.” – Joseph Goldstein

About Joseph Goldstein:

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

“What’s most helpful to remember, in this part of the process where we become so aware of these defilements of the mind, is that they are visitors. They are not the nature of the mind itself. And because they are visitors we don’t have to judge ourselves, and we don’t have to judge them.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores the five Iddhis, or fulfillments of understanding, spoken of by the Buddha, and offers four different paths which can lead one to the completion of the fulfillments.

“The Buddha spoke of five Iddhis, or five fulfillments of understanding. The first of them is the Iddhi of special knowledge, which means the knowledge or the understanding of things which go beyond the conventional realm of concepts.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph examines the following:

• The term Iddhi, which is best translated as fulfillment of understanding
• The five Iddhis that the Buddha placed the most emphasis on: understanding all the constituent elements of what we call self; opening to the truth of suffering; abandoning the causes of suffering; realizing the end of suffering; developing a path to the end
• The four different paths which can lead one to the completion of the five Iddhis

“These are the fulfillments that the Buddha talked about, the true miracle for us, the true development of understanding. In many of the texts, one of the ways in which somebody who got enlightened would celebrate the event, one of the common refrains, which has always been very inspiring to me, they would often say, ‘Done is what had to be done.’ Wouldn’t that be nice? Done is what had to be done. Finished. Come to completion. Come to fulfillment. We have actually done what needs to be done. What needs to be done is the realization or the development of these five Iddhis.” – Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from November 26, 1988 was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the nature of Samsara, or endless wandering, and the three interdependent cycles of defilements, actions, and results that keep the wheel of Samsara rolling.

“These three Kleshas in the mind – ignorance, craving, and grasping – they keep us moving around and around in this cycle of Samsara. There’s no balance in our lives, there’s no rest in our lives, as long as this cycle of Klesha is revolving.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• The nature of Samsara and the profound questions it raises for us
• The first interdependent cycle that keeps the wheel of Samsara rolling, the cycle of defilements, or Kleshas 
• The three root defilements that keep the cycle of defilements turning – ignorance, craving, and grasping
• The second interdependent cycle, the cycle of actions and karma
• The third interdependent cycle, the cycle of results
• How mindfulness can help us escape the wheel of Samsara

This dharma talk from October 23, 1988, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein guides us through the steps of integrating the science of meditation with the art of meditation as a way of awakening within us the heart of wisdom.

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“Through this integration, the art and the science, we really awaken in us this heart of wisdom. And the heart of wisdom means seeing the true nature of phenomena. Seeing the true nature very deeply and very profoundly. It means going from the level of concept, from the level of our ideas and opinions about things, to the nature of the reality of it.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• How our practice is about awakening the heart of wisdom within us by integrating the science of meditation with the art of meditation
• The steps to integrate the science and art of meditation, including opening ourselves to all aspects of experience and refining the quality of our relationship to experience
• How we can drop from the level of concept to the level of what’s really happening, the true nature of experience
• How we can further develop concentration and mindfulness

This dharma talk from September 24, 1988, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the different ways that we can strengthen and sharpen the five spiritual faculties that exercise a governing role in the mind when they are highly developed.

“So out of the continuity of attention, the defilements have less strength. Because of this, the mind becomes more peaceful. We get a taste of a genuine inner peace, a sense of calm, a sense of tranquility. From this taste of peace within us – not peace dependent on any external situation, but actually arising within our own hearts – because of this taste of peace, the spiritual faculty of confidence arises, strong faith arises, based on our own experience of it.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• The five spiritual faculties – confidence, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom – and how they exercise a governing role in the mind when they are highly developed
• The various ways in which we can strengthen and sharpen those spiritual faculties: the understanding that everything which arises passes away; respect for the practice and respect for ourselves; care and meticulousness in our awareness; perseverance and continuity of attention; the suitability of conditions for practice; the sign of samadhi; balancing the factors of enlightenment; and understanding what heroic effort really means

This dharma talk from November 16, 1986, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Extricating us from dualist concepts of self and other, Joseph helps us move from the 'ego-center' to the 'zero-center' through opening to love.

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“There are so many parts of our experience which we don't like, we don't want to be there. We condemn, we judge, we push away—it can be difficult feelings in the body, difficult emotions, feelings of hatred, rage, unworthiness, loneliness, profound alienation. It can be so many things, so many parts of the mind that are the shadow side. The process of healing, the process of integration, is a willingness to open to all of those sides, to see the shadow in all its manifestation.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph dives into:

• How we create the concept of duality/seperation (self and other, inside and outside, persona and shadow, etc.)
• Understanding our practice of Dharma as reintegrating and unifying
• Using mindfulness to shine light on our shadow by making the subconscious conscious
• Moving from the 'ego-center' to the 'zero-center' using the intermediate space of love (a very deep appreciation, respect, and openness for every moment's experience)
• Carlos Castaneda and the relationship between impeccability and emptiness

This episode recorded 11/29/1986 at the Insight Meditation Society was originally published on DharmaSeed

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Joseph Goldstein talks about working with and opening to fear as he pinpoints the three types of deeply conditioned fears that keep us from recognizing our own Buddha nature.

“What happens as proceed along this journey of practice is that we come to our edges, we come up to our boundaries of what is acceptable; what is acceptable in terms of physical sensation, what is acceptable in terms of mind states or feelings or emotions. And those are our boundaries at which fears in the mind begin to reveal themselves. Can we go beyond these boundaries? Can we go beyond the edges? Is there a way of working with fear and understanding it so that it is no longer a limitation for us?” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• How the practice of Dharma is a path of opening, but fear is often something that closes us down
• How fear is a manifestation of aversion
• The three types of deeply conditioned fears that keep us closed down: fear of pain, fear of insecurity, and fear of death
• How we can work directly with the mind state of fear through loving acceptance and discriminating wisdom

“So we learn how to open, we learn to come to our boundaries, our edges, our limitations; we see the fear that may be operating there, and we learn to work with the fear, we include the fear in our practice.” – Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from November 11, 1985, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the relationship of our meditation practice to the establishment of world peace by helping us understand the tendencies of the mind obstructing that peace.

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“There is a very powerful effect; it’s not just for ourselves that we practice, it is for ourselves and it is for everyone else, as well. Because as we free our minds from craving and wrong view and conceit, when we reduce this tendency, this attitude of mind to expand and grab and take and exploit, when we can purify our own minds of these tendencies, we establish peace in ourselves, and it becomes a force of peace in the world.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• The relationship of our meditation practice to the establishment of world peace
• How we can better understand the three tendencies of the mind that are the root causes of the conditions that obstruct peace: craving, wrong view, and conceit
• How the practice of mindfulness can help us uproot those three tendencies of the mind by deepening our insight into impermanence, suffering, and the selflessness of phenomena

This dharma talk from October 18, 1985, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the concept of dependent origination – the law of causality and conditioning – so we can understand the process that keeps us bound to the Wheel of Samsara.

“In every moment of noticing, in every moment of being mindful, when there is no ignorance, when there is no delusion, when we are seeing things actually as they are, in that moment, the mind is purified; we are breaking this chain of dependent origination, we are breaking the link of it.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• The Wheel of Life, also known as the Wheel of Samsara
• Why the law of dependent origination, or the law of causality and conditioning, keeps us bound to the Wheel of Samsara
• Each link along the chain of dependent origination
• How cycles within the 12 links in the law of dependent origination keep the wheel forever spinning
• How Vipassana practice can help us cut into those cycles and break the chain of dependent origination

This dharma talk from October 29, 1985, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores wisdom from the Tao and talks about how we can learn to settle back into each moment and establish ourselves in the rhythm of experience.

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“When we can settle back and allow the change, allow the process of change to unfold without interfering, without pushing the river, then we establish ourselves in the rhythm of experience. And the rhythm carries us, just as in any activity, in music, in sport, in nature; the rhythm carries the experience when it’s not interfered with. And in that, there’s a grace, there’s a harmony, there’s a balance.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• Learning to settle back and become one with each moment of experience
• How the appreciation of rhythm has to do with the full awareness of change and how we can establish ourselves in the rhythm of experience
• The difference between non-action and inaction
• How the simplicity of the Buddha’s teachings leads to great spaciousness
• Some of the wisdom from the Tao Te Ching
• The obstacles in the way of the simple practice of settling back into each moment, including our sense of self

 This dharma talk from December 7, 1986, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein examines what happiness is and how we get it, plus he outlines the very ordered stages of progress that occur on the path of insight and wisdom. 

“There’s another kind of happiness, which is higher even than the happiness of concentration, and that’s the happiness of insight, the happiness of wisdom, when we really come to a deep and profound understanding of who we are, of what this life is about.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• The happiness born from sense pleasures, not only in this realm but in the higher realms
• How purity of conduct, through both generosity and understanding virtue, can bring sense pleasures
• The happiness that comes from concentration
• The happiness that comes from insight and wisdom
• The very ordered way that the progress of insight unfolds: psychological insights, purity of view, vipassana happiness, fear of the process of existence, the urge for deliverance, the stage of equanimity, and finally, opening to the unconditioned, that which is beyond the mind

 This dharma talk from October 14, 1982, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein leads a powerful practice around cultivating equanimity and talks about why it’s important not to confuse equanimity with its near enemy, indifference.

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“Equanimity is the mind state of impartially, not indifference. So it’s like space which contains everything impartially. And one way of coming to this space of impartiality is understanding that things, in this world, are happening lawfully. They’re not happening by accident. And so the equanimity phrase, and the development of equanimity, is closely tied in with wisdom.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode:

• Joseph talks about the concept of equanimity, explaining why it’s important not to confuse equanimity with its near enemy, indifference
• Joseph explores the wisdom aspect of equanimity
• Joseph leads a powerful equanimity practice focused around offering phrases to a neutral person, a benefactor, a good friend, and a difficult person

“All beings are the heirs of their own karma. Our happiness or unhappiness depends on our actions, not upon our wishes.”

 This dharma talk from December 7, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the Buddha’s concept of the Five Iddhis, which are the five elements of the teachings we need to bring to completion in order to truly awaken our hearts and minds.

“This Iddhi of psychic power is inferior to the Iddhi of understanding. When the Buddha was asked what the true miracle was, he said the real miracle is the awakening of people’s minds, it’s not the flying through the air or the diving in the earth, it’s the awakening of the mind, the awakening of the heart.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph shares his insight into:

• The Sanskrit term, Iddhi, which refers to the particular power of something, bringing to completion a particular situation
• The difference between psychic Iddhis and Iddhis of understanding and insight
• The Buddha’s concept of the Five Iddhis, which are five elements of the teachings we need to fulfill to truly awaken our hearts and minds: fulfillment of special knowledge of the Dhamma; coming to a full understanding of the truth of suffering; bringing to completion the abandoning of the causes of suffering; the fulfillment of coming to the end of suffering; and the development of the path of practice
• The Buddha’s concept of the four Iddhipadas, which are characteristics that are the road to success in our practice: zeal, effort, love of the Dhamma, and inquiry.

This dharma talk from October 9, 1989, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein talks about how the tides of conceiving continually condition our lives and explores the ways we can directly experience the reality of Nibanna, the unconditioned.

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“Do we buy in? Do we buy into the content? Do we get lost in this mind-created world of ‘future,’ or can we see it as being as light as a momentary thought, a momentary image? Just like a sound arises. But it takes a great deal of vigilance because these thoughts, these tides of conceiving, are tremendously seductive. You know, we’ve been doing this for years, and perhaps lifetimes. But awareness is very powerful, we can actually free ourselves from this prison.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph talks about:

• How the tides of conceiving continuously arise in our mind and condition our experience
• The different concepts that we solidify and make real, including our bodies, time, and the mental construct of the self
• Why the concept of the self is so deeply held and why we’re so attached to it
• The four realities that can be experienced directly, including that of Nibbana, which is also known as the unconditioned
• The wide range of expressions of the experience of the unconditioned that is available in different Buddhist traditions

This dharma talk from December 5, 1995, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein covers the basics of metta, which he calls the generosity of the heart, and shares ways we can cultivate deeper feelings of loving-kindness in our practice.

“Metta, as most of you are familiar, is a word from the Pali language, the language of the Buddha’s time, and it means loving-kindness or friendliness. And it refers to that basic quality or that basic feeling of generosity of the heart. It’s an expression of the generous heart that is simply wishing well, simply wishing or expressing goodwill to ourselves and others.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph shares his insight on:

• The basics of metta, or loving-kindness, and how it refers to the feeling of the generosity of the heart
• How metta can become the ground for wisdom to grow
• The difference between metta and desire, and why those two feelings are often confused for one another
• Different ways we can nurture our practice and cultivate deeper feelings of metta, including reflecting on forgiveness and gratitude 

This dharma talk from February 6, 1999, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this deep exploration of the union between compassion and emptiness, Joseph Goldstein breaks down the relative and absolute levels of Bodhicitta, the heart-mind of awakening.

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“The ultimate nature of Bodhicitta – the relative level is compassion – the ultimate level of Bodhicitta, is the empty, aware nature of the mind itself. And as one Tibetan teacher said, ‘When compassion and emptiness are both present, enlightenment is unavoidable.’ So this is what we practice. This what we come to realize, to cultivate: the relative Bodhicitta of compassion, the ultimate Bodhicitta of emptiness.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• Relative Bodhicitta, absolute Bodhicitta, and how these two levels are expressions of each other, not polarities
• The different ways in which we can understand emptiness, including dropping into the effortless flow of experience, being reminded by our teachers, seeing the insubstantial nature of the self, and seeing that things are not amenable to our will
• The nature of the mind, which is empty like space, has an innate wakefulness, and it is inherently pure
• How the activity of emptiness is compassion

This dharma talk from July 9, 2003, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein talks about how wisdom arises from an understanding of the true nature of impermanence, and how experiencing the truth of change can be our doorway to freedom.

In this episode, Joseph explores:

• The nature of impermanence and why going from an intellectual understanding of it to a direct experience of it can be our doorway to freedom
• The different ways we can gain liberating insights into the truth of impermanence, including reflecting on death and relationships
• How, when we begin to see the true nature of change, we start to cultivate Bodhicitta 
• The two levels of Bodhicitta – the relative level and the ultimate level – and how Bodhicitta manifests as responsive compassion

“So this is really important because in talking about the impermanent nature of all this and how ultimately unsatisfying it all is, the implication is not that we pull back from experience, as some people might assume. Rather, it’s learning to not hold on. That is the implication, and that is the doorway to freedom.” – Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from March 25, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein helps us understand the quality of samadhi, which he describes as embodied presence, and talks about the different methods we have available for cultivating it. 

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“We settle back into the body, into the awareness of the body, and we allow the tensions and the knots, we allow them to unfold. We create the space, we create the space of awareness in which they will unwind. And this becomes a great healing process.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph talks about:

• Understanding the meaning of the quality of samadhi, which is also known as concentration
• How the development of samadhi is the cultivation of embodied presence
• How ethical conduct is the foundation of samadhi
• Different ways to cultivate and deepen the quality of samadhi, including through direct awareness of a single object and through an open, choiceless awareness
• The many methods he has used in his own practice to develop samadhi, including slowing down and being mindful of your body movement
• Ways we can contemplate the body both internally and externally, which can help us understand how our practice is for the benefit and welfare of all beings

This dharma talk from October 6, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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In this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein explores what compassion is, the wisdom that gives rise to it, and how we can manifest it in the world.

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“When compassion and wisdom are both present in our lives, even to a small extent, there’s really a remarkable transformation, because they bring a creative power to the way we live, the way we act, the way we relate. When wisdom and compassion are both there, they help us go beyond the conventional response.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph talks about:

• How wisdom and compassion work together
• What compassion is and the wisdom that gives rise to it
• The four insights that can help us keep our hearts open in the midst of the great suffering in the world
• How compassion grows and deepens within us
• The different ways compassionate action manifests in the world
• The Bodhisattva Vows and the act of dedicating one’s life and practice to the benefit of all beings

This dharma talk from July 23, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the path to freedom that the Buddha laid out for all of us and talks about the importance of developing and sustaining the quality of ardor in our practice. 

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“What is ardency? I think we all have some sense of it in our very worldly lives. Just think of the feeling of ardor in the great love of your life, or in the first days of the great love of your life. What is that feeling of ardor like? There’s this powerful and sustained energy that is just so full in us. And it’s characterized by tremendous warmth of feeling and passion and enthusiasm and interest. That’s what ardor means. So can we cultivate that kind of ardor in our love of the Dhamma? In our love of the truth? That’s the quality that the Buddha is saying we need that, we need that passionate interest, that passionate energy to explore and discover.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph talks about:

• The path to freedom that lies in Vipassana practices and how these practices are rooted in the Buddha’s discourse, the Satipatṭhāna Sutta
• The deeper meaning of some of the Pali words used in that discourse and why the Buddha frequently repeats some phrases
• The importance of developing and sustaining the quality of ardor in our practice
• How reflecting on the preciousness of human birth and understanding impermanence can help cultivate ardor
• How Metta practice works together with Vipassana practice
• How we begin to see that practice is not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of the whole world

This dharma talk from September 27, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg recall their early lives and initial years of mindfulness practice and share what drew them to meditation in the late sixties and early seventies.

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This podcast is being released in tandem with Sharon Salzberg’s Metta Hour Hour Podcast. Sharon is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She and Joseph are co-founders of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. Sharon is the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness.

“This lasted for two years, and they were the worst two years of my practice, the most difficult. And it took me that long to realize that it wasn’t about getting something, it was about opening to what was there. But I was so attached to that wonderful experience that it was really subverting the deeper understanding of what meditation really is. So it took me such a long time, but finally, after two years of struggle, something released, let go, and I just settled back and opened to whatever was presenting itself.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this conversation, Joseph shares about:

• Growing up in the Catskills and his early encounters with death and loss • Studying philosophy at Columbia University and living in New York City during his college years • Joining the Peace Corps and living in Thailand • His first encounters with Buddhist monks and the resonance of finding the spiritual path • The ups and downs of his initial years of practice and finding his teacher, Munindra • Meeting Sharon at her first retreat with S.N. Goenka • The community that emerged out of the Goenka retreats • The parallels of the evolution of his and Sharon’s path

Sharon shares about:

• The difficulty of her childhood • Her first encounter with Buddhist Philosophy in college and creating a study abroad program to take her to India • Receiving Chögyam Trungpa’s advice on where to learn meditation • Searching for meditation instruction across India as a young woman • The scene at her first retreat led S.N. Goenka • Learning how to navigate her inner life • Meeting Joseph for the first time • Her and Joseph’s different practice needs in their early years • Crafting a spiritual path before there was a model for that life in the West

This episode is part of a continuing series of interviews between Sharon Salzberg & Joseph Goldstein about their lives and contributions to Buddhism. For more like this, subscribe to Sharon's Metta Hour Podcast.

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In this unique offering from the Love Serve Remember Foundation archives, Joseph Goldstein joins Ram Dass for a conversation around love, emptiness, soul, the notion of self, and much more.

NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommmune.com/ramdass

“And let’s not forget joy. In you is joy. In you is compassion. Peace. Emptiness. And love. Those are all in you. In you. Now, manifest them in your behaviors. And your thoughts.” – Ram Dass

In this episode:

• Joseph and Ram Dass reminisce about the early days of their friendship and how their relationship has evolved over the years
• They respond to a question about whether there’s a relationship between love and Tao, exploring the concepts of self (and no self), emptiness, and soul
• Ram Dass asks Joseph about the concept of dharma and they discuss the way of nature
• The conversation veers into karma, free will, and whether or not everything is predetermined
• They touch the mysterious forces at work in the universe and the power of imagination
• Joseph and Ram Dass respond to a question about developing compassion amidst intense polarization
• Ram Dass ends with a brief guided meditation

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Exploring the dharma of liberation, Joseph invite us beyond delusion and into the true nature of mind as innate wakefulness.

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NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommmune.com/ramdass

“Sudden awakening is not a state of mind that is developed—it's the innate wakefulness of mind, it's the nature of mind that is free of delusion. When delusion is not present, there is the experience of awareness, of wakefulness.” – Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from February 16, 2000, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the tendency of desire, how we can understand this driving force of Samsara, and how we can practice being free of it.

“Desire is not an insignificant conditioning in us, and it takes many forms. And it’s really not the form or even the object that’s terribly important or interesting. It’s that force, it’s that energy, it’s that habit pattern of wanting. When we don’t see it, when we’re caught, when we’re identified with that wanting mind, it obscures the natural freedom of mind. It obscures the recognition of the open, empty, selfless nature of awareness.” – Joseph Goldstein

NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommmune.com/ramdass

In this episode, Joseph shares his insight on:

• The clear, unobstructed nature of the mind, and how deeply habituated patterns such as desire can obscure our natural wisdom
• The craving for sense pleasures
• Desires that manifest in our meditation practice in the forms of the expecting mind, the comparing mind, and trying to hold on to a past experience
• The desire for existence, and the craving for non-existence
• How we can better understand the powerful conditioning of desire in all of its forms and free ourselves from identification with it

This dharma talk from January 3, 2005, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on DharmaSeed.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the 10 unwholesome activities and actions of the body, speech, and mind that the Buddha advises us all to refrain from for our own happiness and well-being.

NEW Meditation Series: Pause, Breathe, Be Here Now with Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Joseph Goldstein, John Lockley, Ram Dev, Trudy Goodman, Lama Tsultrim Allione—FREE January 16 to 25. Sit in true peace, love, and tranquility. Join thousands of people around the world for this collective meditation experience: onecommune.com/ramdass 

This dharma talk from October 29, 1995, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“The whole path of practice of understanding is realizing that we actually have choices all along the way. We don’t simply need to be acting out the patterns of our conditioning. And this is the great gift of awareness, it gives us the possibility of choice.” – Joseph Goldstein

In this episode, Joseph explores:

How the Buddha’s motivation was compassion for all beings, and how this led to him explicitly spelling out the 10 unskilled and unwholesome actions to refrain from

The four unwholesome actions of the body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct

The four unwholesome elements of speech: lying, harsh speech, gossiping, and frivolous and useless talking

The three unwholesome activities of the mind: covetousness, ill will, and wrong view

How the great power of awareness is the way to work with all of these actions and activities as they arise

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Joseph Goldstein explores the suffering that comes with wanting, the three types of desire, and why our investigation is to notice the ways the mind gets caught and the ways it can be free.

This dharma talk from October 10, 1999, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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“When we’re lost in the wanting mind, in the mind of desire, it solidifies and strengthens the sense of self, the sense of ‘I,’ and it obscures the natural clarity, the recognition of the natural clarity and lucidity and emptiness of our own minds. So it’s a great obscuring force when we’re not paying attention.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores the Buddha’s life and journey, reflecting on the four stages of this mythological unfolding of awakening and how we can all achieve the enlightenment that is the end of craving.

This dharma talk from May 5, 2004, at the Insight Meditation Society – Forest Refuge, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“On this archetypal level, the Buddha’s life is not simply the strivings and realizations of a particular individual, we can also understand his life as the unfolding of a great mythological journey. Now, mythological here does not mean unreal, it doesn’t mean imaginary. The great power of myth in our lives is that it connects our individual experiences with more universal principles.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein provides an uncommon sense view of selflessness to help us understand the often vexing notion of no-self and talks about how we can be free from the illusion of self.

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“Self is like the Big Dipper. It’s a name, it’s a designation for a constellation of experiences. So when we say there’s no Big Dipper, does anything change in the sky? Everything is as it always was. In exactly the same way, our realization of selflessness does not change anything. Our experience is as it always was and will be. We’re simply seeing it in a truer way, we’re seeing it not limited by the conceptual overlay. We’re seeing it as it is. Then we can use the concept when it’s useful, but we’re not imprisoned by it, and we’re not limited by it, and we don’t contract in our identification with it.” – Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from February 11, 2003, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein takes a deep dive into the law of karma, how it affects us in our practice and daily lives, and how can we apply it in a way that it becomes the condition for our happiness.

This dharma talk from November 11, 2003, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“So we can see these are karmic results of one thing or another coming as impressions in the mind. But when we bring awareness to them, when we bring a certain compassionate understanding, then our practice becomes a great purifying process.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein talks about the nature of fear, how it’s conditioned in the mind, how we can work with it, and embracing the possibility of transforming fear into wisdom and freedom.

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This dharma talk from October 11, 2000, at the Insight Meditation Society Retreat Center, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“At these times, great courage is needed. And courage here is not an absence of fear. Courage does not mean an absence of fear, it means an acceptance of fear.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores the mental factors of doubt, restlessness, and sloth, which are three hindrances that can cause a lack of vision and knowledge, and lead us away from Nibbana.  

This dharma talk from November 2002 at the Insight Meditation Society Retreat Center was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“This skeptical doubt, this indecision, this bewilderment, in terms of our meditation practice, is actually quite a dangerous mind state. Because unnoticed, if we’re not mindful of it, it brings our practice to a standstill.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores the quality of Metta, or lovingkindness, and offers advice on preparing the ground from which Metta can grow and flourish. 

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This dharma talk from February 5, 2000, was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“Something very beautiful begins to happen when we click onto the Metta channel, which comes by focusing on the good qualities in people, and that is: we become increasingly open to feelings of gratitude.” – Joseph Goldstein

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In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein describes the art of carrying our practice into the world through training in the areas of Right Effort, concentration, and wisdom.

This dharma talk from February 1994 at the Insight Meditation Society Retreat Center was originally published on Dharma Seed.

"You know, the Dharma's so beautiful because it's like everything feeds into everything else. And we can really begin to be leading our life with this kind of integration. Dharma practice is not a hobby that we do occasionally, it's really how we're living our life." – Joseph Goldstein

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In helping us with understanding desire, Joseph Goldstein explores the three types of desire that the Buddha spoke of and offers several ways of working with desire in our practice.

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This recording was originally published on Dharma Seed

“Usually we think that what we want is the object. But really what we want is the pleasant feeling that we think is going to come with that experience.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores the fabricated concept of self, the secret name of things beneath our perception, the illusion of solidity, and the deeper reality that exists beyond our concept of self.

This dharma talk from October 1999 at the Insight Meditation Society Retreat Center was originally published on Dharma Seed.

“So there’s a secret name under the conventional name. The conventional name is the perception… The secret name is the sight and feel of the thing itself. Each experience speaks itself directly when we can be mindful. When there’s perception without mindfulness, then we simply get caught in this naming process, we get lost in the concept, and we stay on the very surface appearance of the experience. We’re not listening or hearing the secret name, the sight and feel of the thing itself. We’re just staying on our surface recognition, our surface perception.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein talks about the nature of struggle and why working with experiences of pain and difficult states of mind can be a boon for our mindfulness practice.

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This recording was originally published on Dharma Seed

“Instead of struggling with the restlessness, see if it’s possible, in the same way we work with pain, to relax into it, to open, to investigate exactly what the nature of restlessness is. Because, like pain, restlessness is an abstraction for more specific experiences. Can you pinpoint, or can you dissect, this combination of experiences which we call restlessness?” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores how to understand pain, how to relate to it, and how to use it, plus he talks about the quality of trust and learning to trust the moment’s experience.

“Working with pain, opening to pain, to discomfort, begins to open up a whole range of experience in our lives that previously we’ve been closed to.” – Joseph Goldstein

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This dharma talk from November 1982 was given at the Insight Meditation Meditation Retreat Center and was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein teaches us to manifest our intentions of goodwill and loving-kindness through wholesome actions.

"If we plant a seed, the seed is going to bear fruit. Each of our actions will bear fruit. What kind of fruit to we want?" – Joseph Goldstein

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This 2004 recording was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Joseph Goldstein reviews the basic instructions in the service of understanding the simplicity of practice, and then answers questions about death, clinging, and evolution.

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This recording was originally published on Dharma Seed

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In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein explores how the power of restraint can help create the space and softness in ourselves to manifest a deeper level of wisdom, compassion, and love.

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This recording was originally published on Dharma Seed

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Joseph Goldstein continues unfolding his map of wisdom by touching on the magic show of consciousness, the law of karma, dependent origination, and cultivating compassion.

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This recording was originally published on Dharma Seed

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Joseph is back with a brand new Dharma talk series piecing together essential teachings of the Buddha into an accessible map of wisdom.

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In this Dharma talk from the Spirit Rock Meditation Center July Insight Meditation Retreat on 7/17/2022, Joseph Goldstein relays pertinent teachings of the Buddha, exploring how they relate to each other and our lives. Illuminating the always-changing ephemeral nature of the universe, he outlines how we can disengage from suffering, clinging, and attachment so we can free the mind and live a more easeful life.

This dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

"When we pay attention in any of these realms—from the very individual to the global—we will see it's completely obvious that everything changes." – Joseph Goldstein

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The “Essential Buddhism” series continues with this 1974 dharma talk focused on the Four Noble Truths and how we must face the truth of suffering to walk the path of freedom.

This dharma talk from the Naropa Institute Summer Sessions in 1974 was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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“The end of the path is freedom. It’s open to all of us. All we have to do is begin the journey, to be facing towards the light. And some people will progress slowly, and some people will progress quickly, and it does not matter as long as we’re going in the direction of enlightenment and freedom and peace, and that very much depends upon our own effort.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein explores four reflections from the Buddhist tradition that are profound tools of practice for turning the mind toward the Dharma. 

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Today's Dharma talk from 2009 was originally published on Dharma Seed

“When we take this to heart and we begin to really look carefully at our motivations – motivations behind our speech, behind our actions, behind what thoughts we give energy to – when we practice in this way it gives us the opportunity to make wiser choices in our lives. When we’re unaware, we’re simply playing out the habit patterns of our conditioning.” – Joseph Goldstein

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The “Essential Buddhism” series returns with a talk from Joseph Goldstein about karma and dependent origination, and a Q&A session that reminds us to look at the moon, not at the finger.

This dharma talk from the Naropa Institute Summer Sessions in 1974 was originally published on Dharma Seed 

Catch the first part of this series: Essential Buddhism Part 1: Developing Our Field of Awareness

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Continuing to explore the themes discussed in our previous episode, Joseph is back with an enlivening discourse on concepts and realities, the root cause of suffering, and how mindfulness connects with free-falling.

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In this dharma talk soured from April 17th, 1983, Jospeh Goldstein offers clarity and insight into the important distinction between our concepts—our ideas and thoughts about things—and the experience itself. Shining the light of reality onto the shadow of concepts, he helps us spelunk the depths of samsara for what is true and real in this ever-changing universe. This talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

"We have been conditioned for so long to live in the world of concept, the world of idea, the world of mentality construct—and our attachment to those ideas or concepts are so strong that we've begun to take the concept to be the reality." – Joseph Goldstein

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The Insight Hour podcast's "Essential Buddhism" series returns with lessons we can learn from the parable of Plato’s Cave and the Buddhist teachings on the Four Ultimate Realities.

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Continuing a series of vintage lectures stemming from the infamous Naropa Institute Summer Sessions, this Dharma Talk from July 23rd, 1974 has Joseph Goldstein using the parable of Plato's Cave to help illuminate the Four Ultimate Realities outlined in Buddhism.

This dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

Catch the first part of this series: Essential Buddhism Part 1: Developing Our Field of Awareness

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In this recording from the Insight Meditation Society, Joseph Goldstein focuses on the third foundation of mindfulness: the mindfulness of mind.

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Continuing a series on the essentials of Buddhism from 1974 at Naropa University, Joseph Goldstein plunges further into the essentials of Buddhism with a lecture on The Eightfold Path.

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Catch the first part of this series: Essential Buddhism Part 1: Developing Our Field of Awareness

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In this talk from 1978 at The Insight Meditation Society, Joseph Goldstein takes us on a comically honest exploration of his spiritual awakening and commitment to practice.

“I was totally fascinated by the whole process. It was the first time that I had, in any systematic way, sat down and tried to look at my mind, tried to concentrate it. It really aroused tremendous interest and fascination in me.” – Joseph Goldstein

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In this talk from 1974 at Naropa University, Joseph Goldstein gets into the essentials of Buddhism. He lectures about dharma, insight meditation, and developing our field of awareness.

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“It is only in that silence of mind that the development of wisdom can happen.” – Joseph Goldstein 

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In this recording from the Insight Meditation Society, Joseph Goldstein reviews the purpose of having a practice and offers us a beginner's guide to The Buddha Nature. Later, Sharon Salzberg joins to discuss developing a practice in the refuge of retreats.

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This dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

"We take refuge in the Buddha as a symbol of being integrated not having a life or living a life that is together in one aspect and falling apart in another, but a life that is a complete expression of understanding and love and compassion." – Sharon Salzberg

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Joseph Goldstein shares his wisdom on purifying our practice through openness to suffering and being compassionate. 

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“It is amazing the impact we can have. We shouldn't underestimate the power of these small acts of generosity and compassion”. -- Joseph Goldstein

This dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

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Sharing mindful insight on recognizing effort, desire, and impermanence in our practice, Joseph illuminates the nature of self as a flowing river.

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In this fresh and bounding Q&A session stemming from the Insight Meditation Society Three-Week Insight Retreat on 11/10/21, Joseph Goldstein explores audience inquiries around the topics of change and wanting, anger and wholesomeness, the arising and passing of phenomena, aging and death, as well as mindfulness and wandering.

This dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

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In a session interweaving Buddhist and Taoist wisdom, Joseph Goldstein reveals how simplicity and spaciousness help us let go of our spiritual self-image and open to the Dharma.

In this vintage Dharma talk stemming from the Insight Meditation Society on May 30th, 1983, Joseph Goldstein explores the spiritual discipline of simplicity through the mindful interplay and application of Taoism and Buddhism.

This dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed 

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Highlighting the deeply penetrating aspects of Metta, Joseph Goldstein explores how love, kindness, Right Thought, desire, gratitude and friendship can revolutionize our lives.

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This dharma talk was originally published on Dharma Seed 

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Joseph Goldstein offers a guided meditation and continued reflection on how we can free ourselves from Papanca – the three proliferating tendencies of mind: craving, conceit, and wrong view.

This dharma talk was originally published on Dharma Seed

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In this Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein guides us through craving, conceit, and wrong view, which are the three proliferating tendencies of the mind also known as Papanca.

This dharma talk was originally published on Dharma Seed 

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Joseph Goldstein explores what pain is, the ways we’ve been conditioned to respond to it, and how we can simply and softly settle back into whatever the present moment offers us. 

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This dharma talk was given at the Insight Meditation Society in 1983 and originally published on Dharma Seed

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Joseph Goldstein takes a closer look at what mindfulness is (and isn’t), giving us tools for going from recognition to mindfulness and exploring what we can learn from being mindful.

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This Joseph Goldstein dharma talk was originally published on Dharma Seed

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Joseph Goldstein explores the concept of bare attention, or choiceless awareness, and how cultivating this state of mind can help us settle back, live in the present moment, and more.

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This 1983 Joseph Goldstein dharma talk on bare attention was originally published on Dharma Seed.

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On episode 111 of the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph Goldstein offers responses to 11 questions on topics such as selflessness, Right Effort, shame, cravings, and obsessive thoughts.

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This week’s Joseph Goldstein dharma talk, 11 Questions and Responses, was originally published on Dharma Seed. 

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In this guided meditation from 1977, Joseph Goldstein plays the Big Mind Game, which is a practice of establishing a very still and deep balance of the mind. 

This Joseph Goldstein selection from April 14, 1977, at a two-week meditation retreat in Julian, California, was originally published on Dharma Seed. 

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From the 2018 Open Your Heart in Paradise Retreat on Maui, Ram Dass and Raghu Markus join Joseph Goldstein for a conversation around generosity and emptiness.

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Sharon Salzberg joins Joseph Goldstein to talk about how Metta (lovingkindness) is an expression of generosity, and to answer questions from the audience at the 2018 Open Your Heart in Paradise Retreat on Maui. 

This is the continuation of a conversation between Joseph and Sharon about generosity as a practice - listen to part one here: Insight Hour Ep. 107

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Subscribe to Sharon’s Salzberg’s Metta Hour Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts!

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From the 2018 Open Your Heart in Paradise Retreat on Maui, old friends Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg join forces to explore generosity as a form of mindfulness practice. 

Don’t miss out on Sharon’s Salzberg’s Metta Hour Podcast on the Be Here Now Network!

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From the Open Your Heart in Paradise Retreat in 2018, Joseph Goldstein covers the methodology of mindfulness, answering three key questions about the nature of mindfulness.

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From the infamous 1974 Naropa summer sessions, Joseph Goldstein answers audience questions on love, wisdom, practice, perspective, metta, impermanence, silence, and cultivating loving thought.

In this vintage July 5th, 1974 dharma talk from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Naropa University, nestled in the mountains in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, a young Joseph Goldstein shares meditation instructions for the Yogas of the Bhagavad Gita course he was invited to teach alongside Ram Dass during the Naropa grand opening summer sessions. Having first met and impressed Ram Dass with his deep practice and wisdom cultivation in Bodh Gaya in the early 1970's, this invitation and opportunity would open the door for Joseph's life path of teaching meditation and mindfulness.

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On this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein explores how it’s helpful to have a comprehensive view of our direction as we set out on the spiritual path.

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Tying together meditation's basics—steady awareness & non-clinging—with the intentionality of careful investigation of thought, body, and emotion, Joseph lines a path toward mindful liberation.

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Exploring the factor of enlightenment known as Viriya—our energetic capacity—Joseph Goldstein shares how we can cultivate courageous effort within our lives and daily practices.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the hallucinations of perception that keep us bound to the wheel of conditioned existence and teaches us how to train our noble supernormal powers.

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Joseph Goldstein continues his exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta, sharing his insights on how the fetters and defilements of the mind arise, are removed, and can be prevented.  

This talk is a continuation of Insight Hour Ep. 99 – Mindfulness of the Six Sense Spheres

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Joseph Goldstein continues his series of talks on the Satipatthana Sutta, this time focusing on mindfulness of the six sense spheres and the fetters that arise dependent on them. 

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On this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein continues his discussion of mindfulness of the dhammas by exploring the mental formation of volition and the aggregate of consciousness.

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In this Dharma talk, Joseph investigates the mindfulness of the dhamma, focusing in on the aggregates of perception and mental formations.

Continuing a series of talks on the Satipatthana Sutra, Joseph explores the fourth foundation of mindfulness: the mindfulness of the dhamma. In this case, dhamma means categories of experience, the understanding of how different elements of the body and mind function. Beginning the session, Joseph explores the Five Aggregates of Clinging, particularly the aggregates of perception and mental formations, and their relation to our sense of self, and inevitable freedom.

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In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein continues his exploration of the five hindrances, this time offering remedies to deal with the mental factors of sloth and torpor.

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In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein uses the teachings of the Satipatthāna Sutta to explore how we can deal with aversive states of mind such as hatred, anger, and ill-will.

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Joseph Goldstein shares Buddhist insight into using mindfulness and meditation to be present with our thoughts and emotions.

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Joseph Goldstein dives deep into the heart of faith, exploring how it connects us and why it needs to be balanced by wisdom. 

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Joseph illuminates how witnessing the arising and passing away of phenomena can break the spell of enchantment and reorient our minds towards freedom.

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Joseph Goldstein shares his insight into two of the Buddha’s five hindrances - the seductive mind states of doubt and aversion.

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Joseph Goldstein shares his insight into different aspects of Right Speech, including the commitment to truthfulness, and refraining from gossip and useless talk.

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Joseph Goldstein answers questions about relative truth versus ultimate truth, how compassion is related to Metta, dealing with hurtful people, and much more.

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If you enjoy the Insight Hour Podcast, we think that you will appreciate this conversation with Joseph Goldstein on the Mindrolling Podcast.

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In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein explores connecting to our capacity for Metta, or loving kindness, and how we can work skillfully with fear as it arises.

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Joseph Goldstein reflects on the connection between art, science, and the meditative journey, and how we can move from the world of concepts to the world of direct experience.

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On this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein offers a collage of reflections and practices to help us tap into the realization of non-self.

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Joseph Goldstein explores how much power our thoughts hold over us and shares methods of applying mindfulness to our stream of thoughts and emotions.

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On this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein examines the many nuances of Right Effort, and how that effort can help us build real momentum in our spiritual practice.

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Joseph Goldstein examines the true nature of craving, how sense pleasures provide a false sense of happiness, and how we can practice the end of desire on a moment-to-moment basis.

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On this episode of Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein explores how understanding the relationship of dukkha and non-self can help open the doorway to greater freedom. 

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In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein reflects on the nature of craving and how our desire for sense pleasures can be one of the biggest roadblocks on the path to liberation.

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Joseph Goldstein illuminates the need to fix our wise attention to the five aggregates, which serves as a path to liberation from attachment to the notion of self.

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This week on the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph offers an overview of how we can practice the Buddha's Eight Fold Path to awakening in our meditation practice and our daily lives. 

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Joseph focuses on the freedom that comes with the Third Noble Truth, the cessation of dukkha, and how different methods of practice can help bring about the end of craving.

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In this dharma talk, Joseph reflects on the nature of desire and explores the Buddha’s three domains of craving: sense pleasures, renewed existence, and non-existence. 

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Joseph explores the unsatisfying nature of conditioned phenomena and how understanding the truth of dukkha is necessary for liberation.

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Joseph begins a series of talks based on the Buddha’s first discourse after enlightenment with a discussion of taking the middle path in life and learning the subtle art of relaxation.

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Joseph explores the final awakening factor, equanimity, which plays a key role both in our lives in the world and on the spiritual path.

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Joseph continues his exploration of the awakening factor of concentration, how it can be cultivated through virtue and morality, and the methods that can help deepen it further.

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In the first part of his talk on the nature of concentration, Joseph Goldstein explores the two different types of concentration and why it’s so important to develop this factor of awakening.

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Joseph Goldstein examines the quality of tranquility, how we can apply it to our practice, and the very central role it plays in the Buddha’s factors of awakening.

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Joseph Goldstein explores the Buddha’s fourth factor of awakening, rapture, which is an intense happiness born from the fruits of investigation, wisdom, and mindfulness.

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Joseph Goldstein explores how to skillfully use energy, which is the Buddha’s third factor of awakening and a fundamental force on the spiritual path.

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Joseph Goldstein wields the sword of wisdom as he contemplates the Buddha’s second factor of awakening, investigation of the Dhammas.

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Joseph Goldstein breaks down four specific aspects of mindfulness, which is the first of the Buddha’s factors of awakening.

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Joseph Goldstein continues his series of teachings inspired by the Satipatthāna Sutta with an exploration of the fourth foundation of mindfulness, which is contemplation of Dhamma and the five hindrances.

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In this continuing exploration of The Satipatthāna Sutta, Joseph Goldstein looks at why The Buddha placed such importance on the mindfulness of what arises in every moment of awareness.

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Continuing his series of teachings around The Satipatthāna Sutta, Joseph Goldstein shares how contemplation of the four elements frees the mind from “I” and “mine” giving use to our understanding of relative and ultimate truths.

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This episode is about Mindfulness in Motion.

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Joseph continues his series of teachings around The Satipatthāna Sutta, in this episode we look at the Buddha’s teachings on cultivating mindfulness of body.

Find show notes and resources here: https://beherenownetwork.com/joseph-goldstein-insight-hour-ep-61-the-satipatthana-sutta-mindfulness-of-body/

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This week on the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph shares teachings from The Satipatthāna Sutta around clinging to experience which unify the practice and goal of meditation.

Find show notes and resources here: https://beherenownetwork.com/insight-hour-ep-60-not-clinging/

Find more dharma talks from Joseph as well as teachers like Spring Washam, Ajahn Chah, Tara Brach and more at dharmaseed.org.

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In this episode of the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph looks at The Satipatthāna Sutta’s teachings on the bare knowledge and continuous mindfulness that arise through contemplation. 

Find show notes and resources here: https://beherenownetwork.com/insight-hour-ep-59-continuous mindfulness/

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This week on the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph looks at The Satipatthāna Sutta’s teachings on the foundation of awakening, the understanding of impermanence.

Find show notes and book recommendations here: https://beherenownetwork.com/insight-hour-ep-58-impermanence/ 

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Joseph continues his exploration of The Satipatthāna Sutta, investigating the roles of concentration and contemplation in the pursuit of inner liberation.

Find show notes and links here: https://beherenownetwork.com/insight-hour-ep-57-concentration/

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Joseph shares The Buddha's call to practice mindfulness and continues his exploration of The Satipatthāna Sutta.

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Joseph begins a series exploring The Satipatṭhāna Sutta, The Buddha’s discourse on the establishing of mindfulness, and the direct path to freedom it contains.

In this episode of the Insight Hour Podcast, we are introduced the four abidings of mindfulness found in The Satipatṭhāna Sutta and launch an investigation into how they provide a direct pathway to liberation.    

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Joseph continues his exploration of the Buddha’s teachings on the interconnection between non-self and dukkha, looking at our identification with awareness itself.

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This time on the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph begins a two-part dialog on the Buddha’s teachings of the interconnection between non-self and dukkha. 

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This week on the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph investigates the methodology of mindfulness that cultivates wisdom and moves us towards happiness.

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This week on the Insight Hour podcast, Joseph looks at the nuances of Metta meditation practice.

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On this episode of the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph examines what real mindfulness practice looks like. 

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On this episode of the Insight Hour, Joseph examines the radical truth of impermanence and the opportunities it presents for our practice.

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This week, Joseph explores the sixth sense of thought in Buddhist teaching and how to gain insight from our thoughts during practice.

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This week, Joseph shares a collection of mindfulness and meditation practices that offers us a way to quiet our mind and see the deeper nature of our experience.

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This week, Joseph begins a conversation about cultivating compassion and equanimity in difficult times.

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On this episode, Joseph examines the crystalline nature of mind which is intrinsically empty, naturally radiant and ceaselessly responsive.

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This episodes helps us deepen insight into impermanence.

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This episode is about awareness without identity.

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Learn about Bodhicitta: The Awakened Heartmind in this episode.

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This week Joseph explores different ways of freeing the mind by understanding the habits of preference, the emptiness of thoughts and the seduction of "I am."

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Joseph Goldstein concludes his series on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. This week: right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

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Joseph Goldstein continues his series on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. This week: right action and livelihood.

On this episode of the Insight Hour Podcast, Joseph explores how right action and livelihood create the moral foundation which makes happiness possible. 

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