Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

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 GoldsteinIn this episode, Joseph explores:The happiness born from sense pleasures, not only in this realm but in the higher realmsHow purity of conduct, through both generosity and understanding virtue, can bring sense pleasuresThe happiness that comes from concentrationThe happiness that comes from insight and wisdomThe 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinIn this episode:Joseph talks about the concept of equanimity, explaining why it’s important not to confuse equanimity with its near enemy, indifferenceJoseph explores the wisdom aspect of equanimityJoseph 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinIn this episode, Joseph shares his insight into:The Sanskrit term, Iddhi, which refers to the particular power of something, bringing to completion a particular situationThe difference between psychic Iddhis and Iddhis of understanding and insightThe 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 practiceThe 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinIn this episode, Joseph talks about:How the tides of conceiving continuously arise in our mind and condition our experienceThe different concepts that we solidify and make real, including our bodies, time, and the mental construct of the selfWhy the concept of the self is so deeply held and why we’re so attached to itThe four realities that can be experienced directly, including that of Nibbana, which is also known as the unconditionedThe 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinIn 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 heartHow metta can become the ground for wisdom to growThe difference between metta and desire, and why those two feelings are often confused for one anotherDifferent 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinIn this episode, Joseph explores:Relative Bodhicitta, absolute Bodhicitta, and how these two levels are expressions of each other, not polaritiesThe 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 willThe nature of the mind, which is empty like space, has an innate wakefulness, and it is inherently pureHow the activity of emptiness is compassion This dharma talk from July 9, 2003, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 freedomThe different ways we can gain liberating insights into the truth of impermanence, including reflecting on death and relationshipsHow, 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 GoldsteinThis dharma talk from March 25, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinIn this episode, Joseph talks about:Understanding the meaning of the quality of samadhi, which is also known as concentrationHow the development of samadhi is the cultivation of embodied presenceHow ethical conduct is the foundation of samadhiDifferent ways to cultivate and deepen the quality of samadhi, including through direct awareness of a single object and through an open, choiceless awarenessThe many methods he has used in his own practice to develop samadhi, including slowing down and being mindful of your body movementWays 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 beingsThis dharma talk from October 6, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinIn this episode, Joseph talks about:How wisdom and compassion work togetherWhat compassion is and the wisdom that gives rise to itThe four insights that can help us keep our hearts open in the midst of the great suffering in the worldHow compassion grows and deepens within usThe different ways compassionate action manifests in the worldThe Bodhisattva Vows and the act of dedicating one’s life and practice to the benefit of all beingsThis dharma talk from July 23, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinIn 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 SuttaThe deeper meaning of some of the Pali words used in that discourse and why the Buddha frequently repeats some phrasesThe importance of developing and sustaining the quality of ardor in our practiceHow reflecting on the preciousness of human birth and understanding impermanence can help cultivate ardorHow Metta practice works together with Vipassana practiceHow we begin to see that practice is not just for ourselves, but for the benefit of the whole worldThis dharma talk from September 27, 2004, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 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 GoldsteinIn 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 pathSharon 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 WestThis 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 DassIn this episode:Joseph and Ram Dass reminisce about the early days of their friendship and how their relationship has evolved over the yearsThey respond to a question about whether there’s a relationship between love and Tao, exploring the concepts of self (and no self), emptiness, and soulRam Dass asks Joseph about the concept of dharma and they discuss the way of natureThe conversation veers into karma, free will, and whether or not everything is predeterminedThey touch the mysterious forces at work in the universe and the power of imaginationJoseph and Ram Dass respond to a question about developing compassion amidst intense polarizationRam Dass ends with a brief guided meditationSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Exploring the dharma of liberation, Joseph invite us beyond delusion and into the true nature of mind as innate wakefulness.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourNEW 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 GoldsteinThis dharma talk from February 16, 2000, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinNEW 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/ramdassIn 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 wisdomThe craving for sense pleasuresDesires that manifest in our meditation practice in the forms of the expecting mind, the comparing mind, and trying to hold on to a past experienceThe desire for existence, and the craving for non-existenceHow we can better understand the powerful conditioning of desire in all of its forms and free ourselves from identification with itThis dharma talk from January 3, 2005, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinIn 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 fromThe four unwholesome actions of the body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconductThe four unwholesome elements of speech: lying, harsh speech, gossiping, and frivolous and useless talkingThe three unwholesome activities of the mind: covetousness, ill will, and wrong viewHow the great power of awareness is the way to work with all of these actions and activities as they ariseSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinThis dharma talk from February 11, 2003, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joseph Goldstein explores the quality of Metta, or lovingkindness, and offers advice on preparing the ground from which Metta can grow and flourish. This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinThis podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis dharma talk from November 1982 was given at the Insight Meditation Meditation Retreat Center and was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinThis podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 2004 recording was originally published on Dharma Seed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joseph Goldstein reviews the basic instructions in the service of understanding the simplicity of practice, and then answers questions about death, clinging, and evolution.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis recording was originally published on Dharma SeedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. Support podcasts like this through the Be Here Now Network 6th-Anniversary Fundraiser Drive - win tickets to the Ram Dass Legacy retreat in Maui, shop limited edition BHNNxBrunofsky merch and more: beherenownetwork.com/fundraiserThis recording was originally published on Dharma SeedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourLearn more about how you can support Be Here Now Network podcasts like the Inisght Hour Podcast through our 6th-Anniversary Fundraiser Drive - win tickets to the Ram Dass Legacy retreat in Maui, shop limited edition BHNNxBrunofsky merch and more: beherenownetwork.com/fundraiserThis recording was originally published on Dharma SeedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joseph is back with a brand new Dharma talk series piecing together essential teachings of the Buddha into an accessible map of wisdom.This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourIn 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joseph Goldstein explores four reflections from the Buddhist tradition that are profound tools of practice for turning the mind toward the Dharma. This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourToday'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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 AwarenessSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourIn 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourContinuing 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 AwarenessSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this recording from the Insight Meditation Society, Joseph Goldstein focuses on the third foundation of mindfulness: the mindfulness of mind.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourCatch the first part of this series: Essential Buddhism Part 1: Developing Our Field of AwarenessSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“It is only in that silence of mind that the development of wisdom can happen.” – Joseph Goldstein See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis 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 SalzbergSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joseph Goldstein shares his wisdom on purifying our practice through openness to suffering and being compassionate. This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthour“It is amazing the impact we can have. We shouldn't underestimate the power of these small acts of generosity and compassion”. -- Joseph GoldsteinThis dharma talk from Joseph was originally published on Dharma Seed See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sharing mindful insight on recognizing effort, desire, and impermanence in our practice, Joseph illuminates the nature of self as a flowing river.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourIn 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Highlighting the deeply penetrating aspects of Metta, Joseph Goldstein explores how love, kindness, Right Thought, desire, gratitude and friendship can revolutionize our lives.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis dharma talk was originally published on Dharma Seed See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 SeedThis podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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. This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis dharma talk was given at the Insight Meditation Society in 1983 and originally published on Dharma SeedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.This podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/insighthourThis Joseph Goldstein dharma talk was originally published on Dharma SeedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.