Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

Unpacking the Buddha’s notions of self and nonself, transience and suffering, Joseph Goldstein leads listeners into the heart of liberation.
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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein illuminates:
Why the Buddha paid so much attention to the concept of self
How a felt sense of self traps us in desire and attachment
Seeing the term ‘self’ as a designation rather than something that exists in and of itself
Slight adjustments to our language during practice: ‘the body breathes’ rather than ‘my breath’
Using the template of The Five Aggregates to describe experience
Genuine experiences of momentary peace as a peak into Nirvana
Taking an interest into the landscapes of our own minds
Transience and the way that things are always becoming otherwise
The ungovernability of the mind, the body, and all aspects of reality
How selflessness can lead to both Dukkha and freedom
This episode was recorded at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and originally published on Dharmaseed
"As long as we are caught up, identified, and entangled in the view of self, then we spend our lives defending it, gratifying it, grandiosing it, judging it; we have all these responses that come out of this felt sense of the self." –Joseph Goldstein
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Distinguishing aspiration from striving with ego, Joseph Goldstein gives listeners permission to have a sense of purpose along their spiritual path.
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This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discusses:
Having a sense of purpose within the impersonal nature of all things
Aspiration: understanding why we are practicing
What the Buddha said about purpose and aspiration on The Eightfold Path
Seeing the world objectively without reference to the self
Being a great faith follower versus a dharma follower
Resting in our practice and letting go of unhealthy striving
Insight Meditation Society and its commitment to diversity
Maintaining the right attitude and openness to all experiences
This episode was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society Forest Refuge and originally published on Dharmaseed
"The Buddha definitely laid out a goal. The Eightfold Path leads someplace—it's not just meandering around, not going any place. The Eightfold path is leading to awakening, to enlightenment. We can have that aspiration which sets the direction for our practice, we can say that is a sense of purpose, but we're seeing it not so much in terms of an egoful striving, but a realization of our values and what leads to the accomplishment of our values." – Joseph Goldstein
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Joseph Goldstein discusses equanimity and how to remove the self from the knowing, effectively freeing ourselves from identification with awareness.
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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein mindfully explores:
Thoughts as passing phenomena that do not truly belong to anyone
Seeing all experiences as the simultaneous arising of both knowing and object
Letting go of our identification with knowing and awareness
Shifting from active voice to passive voice as a mindfulness practice
The near enemies of the mental qualities listed in the Brahmaviharas
Equanimity and holding all things equally, seeing things for what they are
The difference between impartiality and indifference, openness versus carelessness
Navigating the complexity of our lives through the balance of compassion and equanimity
Maintaining an interest in exploring rather than relying on our preconceptions about people and situations
This episode was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society Forest Refuge and originally published on Dharmaseed
“When you look for the mind there’s nothing to find and the not finding is the finding. It’s to see that there is nothing to find and when there is nothing to find, there is nothing to identify with.” –Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein responds to questions on spiritual craving, mental focus, and what it truly means to become aware of awareness.
This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein mindfully explains:
Bringing your daily life into your spiritual practice
Mindfulness of seeing: focusing on the seeing itself rather than on what we are looking at
Resting in open, non-reactive spaciousness
The cognizing power of emptiness and realizing that there is nothing to know
Keeping the mind steady and how concentration deepens insight
Understanding both relative and ultimate reality
Defining dukkha as the inevitability of unwanted experiences
How to not waste suffering: taking an interest in the shadows of our own minds
Having agency over our own minds during difficult experiences
Mindfulness of anger and other negative emotions
This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed
“How do I become aware of awareness? Where is it? How can I put my finger on it? When we realize that there’s nothing to find, and yet the knowing is happening, then we relax back into the mystery of consciousness, and you’re very aware of the capacity of the mind to know.” –Joseph Goldstein
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Defining the nature of Bodhicitta, Joseph Goldstein explains that enlightenment is inevitable when compassion and emptiness coexist.
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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein thoughtfully articulates:
Bodhicitta: the heart-mind of awakening and working for the benefit of all beings
Living in the world while still remembering the truth of non-self and impermanence
The beauty of selflessness embodied through Dipa Ma’s life and teachings
Regularly reflecting on impermanence as both a reality check and a spiritual practice
The nature of the mind as intrinsically empty and naturally radiant
Coming out of our mind-drama and entering into the empty luminosity of the present moment
Compassionate responsiveness to the needs of others
Forgiveness as one of the most profound ways to respond with open-hearted compassion
This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed
“This responsiveness is compassion, not as a meditative stance, but rather it is the responsiveness of an open heart, of an open mind. It can show itself, this compassionate responsiveness, in so many different ways. It can manifest very beautifully as forgiveness.” –Joseph Goldstein
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