Joseph Goldstein has been a leading light for the practice of Insight and Loving Kindness meditation since his days in India and Burma where he studied with eminent masters of the tradition. In his podcast, The Insight Hour, Joseph delivers these essential mindfulness teachings in a practical and down to earth way that illuminates the practice through his own personal experience and wonderful story telling.

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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Ep. 265 –  Reflections on Nibbana

Joseph Goldstein reveals how Nibbana differs from blissful meditation states and why true liberation lies beyond every conditioned experience.
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:

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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Ep. 264 – Exploring Nibbana

Touching into the selfless nature of experience, Joseph Goldstein explores uprooting the defilements through the clarity that comes from practice.
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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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Ep. 263 – The Certainty of Direct Experience: Q&A + Guided Practice

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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Ep. 262 – Letting Thoughts Dissolve

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 
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Ep. 261 – Gradual Cultivation in Buddhist Practice 

Continuing his exploration of selflessness, Joseph Goldstein helps listeners live in the balance of both relative and ultimate truth.
This episode is a continuation of a talk that started in episode 259, "Selflessness, Dukkha, and Freedom."
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 time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discusses:

The impersonal nature of experiencing peace
Seeing with consciousness rather than with the subjective mind
Reframing the language of experience with a passive voice
Being fully present in the moment without identification
Understanding death and dying  as the natural flow of impermanence
Having an easeful mind even when the body is afflicted
Understanding both relative and ultimate truth
The wonderful and joyful practice of generosity 

This episode was recorded at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and originally published on Dharmaseed
“We work to understand the dynamics of our conventional reality and all the challenges of it, even as we understand the essential selfless nature of it all. This is really the heart of a mature spiritual practice, the union of these two, not the separation." –Joseph Goldstein 
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Ep. 260 – The Union of Relative and Ultimate Truth

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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 Ep. 259 – Selflessness, Dukkha, and Freedom

Distinguishing aspiration from striving with ego, Joseph Goldstein gives listeners permission to have a sense of purpose along their spiritual path.
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:

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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Ep. 258 – The Goal Without the Grasp: Aspiration in Buddhist Practice

Joseph Goldstein discusses equanimity and how to remove the self from the knowing, effectively freeing ourselves from identification with awareness.
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 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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Ep. 257 – Releasing the Knower: Equanimity and Awareness

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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