Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

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.

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

“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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