Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

Joseph Goldstein holds two meanings of Nibbana in equal reverence: unconditioned, unformed awareness and a transcendent state in which the mind is free from all defilements.
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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein reveals:
The Thai forest tradition of Buddhism
Nibbana: Unconditioned awareness or transcendent awareness?
The unconditioned mind and the power of zero
Enlightenment and a mind that is free of defilements
The analogy of ‘seeing the moon’ rather than the finger that points to it
Why the experience of Nibbana is so important
Seeing the intimate connection between wisdom and compassion
The concept of nonself and our lives as constantly changing phenomena
The dance between pleasure and suffering
Check out this episode’s companion essay, Reflections on Nibbana, by Joseph Goldstein
“One meaning of Nibbana is this unconditioned, unborn, unformed reality. The other meaning of Nibbana refers to the mind that has been freed of defilements—the mind that is free of greed, hatred, and delusion. We could describe the state of a fully enlightened being in which these defilements have been uprooted as Nibbana.” –Joseph Goldstein
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Joseph Goldstein reveals how Nibbana differs from blissful meditation states and why true liberation lies beyond every conditioned experience.
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This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discusses:
How Nibbana has made its way into Western culture
Expectation and striving versus having a healthy goal
Having an aspiration and direction for our practice
Using equanimity to differentiate beautiful experiences from true glimpses of Nibbana
The Abhidhamma and understanding the factors of mind which color our consciousness
The experience of Nibbana as the experience of zero, the stilling of all formations
How Nibbana uproots the defilements in stages
Check out this episode’s companion essay, Reflections on Nibbana, by Joseph Goldstein
“Even exalted states of mind or great powers of mind do not imply purification of mind. That is the particular power of Nibbana.” –Joseph Goldstein
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Touching into the selfless nature of experience, Joseph Goldstein explores uprooting the defilements through the clarity that comes from practice.
Today's 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 provides his perspective on:
Engaging with mindfulness
The radical uprooting of self and identification with experience
Seeing a glimpse of the deathless in our practice versus the transcendent moment of the unborn
Slowly seeing clearly over time with dedicated practice
The emptiness within the defilements
Taking all things as an invitation to explore rather than to believe
A brief guided meditation with Joseph
Moving our mental dialogue into a passive voice
This episode is the 3rd and final part of a 3-part series. It was originally published on Dharmaseed and recorded at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, a non-profit organization founded by renowned meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg to integrate Buddhist study and practice. To start at the beginning, check out Ep. 261 – Gradual Cultivation in Buddhist Practice.
“If you put your hand in fire, do you know that it burns? Do you have any doubt about it? In the genuine experience of things being uprooted, there is that quality of certainty. It is very different than what you were saying about ‘Yeah, it looks to me that the defilements are uprooted.’ The experience that results in the uprooting, which is the experience of the unborn. It has that same immediacy and certainty as putting your hand in fire and knowing it burns.” –Joseph Goldstein
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Joseph Goldstein investigates the not-so-obvious delight of seeing our own arrogance (Māna), and the balance of knowing ultimate truth while living with a functional sense of “I.”
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Today's 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 discusses:
Realizing the truth of non-self while still having an underlying feeling of ‘I am”
The Buddhist concept of Māna, which can be translated as "pride", "arrogance", or "conceit"
Our tendency to project the past into the future
Recognizing Māna for what it is and letting the thoughts dissolve
How the residue of ‘I’ and ‘self’ can fall away during practice
Engaging the self just enough to live in the relative world
This episode is the 2nd part of a 3-part series. It was originally published on Dharmaseed and recorded at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, a non-profit organization founded by renowned meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg to integrate Buddhist study and practice. To start at the beginning, check out Ep. 261 – Gradual Cultivation in Buddhist Practice
“These days, I am totally delighted when I see Māna arise in my mind…one of the reasons I am delighted is that I would much rather see it than not see it to recognize 'that’s Māna', instead of not recognizing it and being caught up and identified with that pattern. Just the seeing of it is freeing.” –Joseph Goldstein
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Joseph Goldstein explores gradual cultivation, highlighting that even if we are suddenly awakened, we still must have an ongoing practice to work with hindrances and ingrained habits.
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 discusses:
The areas of life where clinging shows up most
How clinging to sensory pleasures is so embedded in our culture
Lightening up for enlightenment and not taking ourselves so seriously
How a sense of humor can benefit our practice
Unhelpful attachment to view and opinion
The unity of clarity and emptiness (self-existing wakefulness)
The Buddhist meaning of unborn/unformed
Uprooting of the view of self with the understanding that there is still more work to do
Having an ongoing, gradual cultivation of skillful means
This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed and recorded at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, a non-profit organization founded by renowned meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg to integrate Buddhist study and practice.
“Very often, people can have genuine realization and have a really deep understanding, and then get attached to that as if everything is done. So very often these folks can get engaged in skillful behavior, thinking it’s all coming from their deep realization, it’s really coming from all the work that still needs to be done.” –Joseph Goldstein
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.