Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

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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