Joseph Goldstein discusses equanimity and how to remove the self from the knowing, effectively freeing ourselves from identification with awareness.

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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Responding to a variety of dharma questions on meditation, effort, and impermanence, Joseph Goldstein explores the mystery of consciousness.

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This week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein responds to questions on:

• The benefits of doing walking meditation versus traditional seated meditation
• Cutting through our conceptual overlay and simply having raw experiences
• Passive voice construction: removing the self as subject when narrating the world around us
• Changing “let it go” to “let it be” when we are struggling to let go
• Being in the flow of changing experiences, the natural arising and passing away of all things
• The fine line of wholesome energy/effort versus striving and struggling
• Realizing the emptiness of thoughts and the suffering they bring to us
• The first experience of nirvana, ‘the zero’, and uprooting the view of self

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“This is the mystery of consciousness. There’s nothing there tangible to find; no color, no form, it can’t be found. Yet, the knowing is happening. It’s this union of emptiness and knowing.” –Joseph Goldstein

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Illuminating different ways to free the mind, Joseph Goldstein integrates relative and ultimate truth, revealing the emptiness of thoughts.

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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discusses

• Integrating the elements of both relative and ultimate truth in our lives
• The natural compassion that emerges when we let go of self-identification
• Why our perception of reality isn’t always reliable or accurate
• Our attachment to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant
• Considering if the mind can remain unafflicted while the body is suffering
• Shifting awareness from what we want to how the wanting mind feels
• Our capability to train the mind in a way that leads to greater freedom
• Letting thoughts arise without interference or judgment
• Developing nonreactivity through seeing how quickly thoughts arise and pass
• Realizing that the past and future are only constructs of the mind

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“Our only experience of the past and future is as a thought in the mind. This is tremendously liberating to see because most of us carry the concepts of the past and future as a huge burden in our lives. All the worries, anxieties, hopes, fears—all of those are arising because we’re not seeing that they’re just concepts.” –Joseph Goldstein

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In part 2 of this Q&A session, Joseph Goldstein explores how to reach equanimity through investigating our mental states, recognizing when to let go, and approaching suffering skillfully.

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:

• Letting go of obsessive thoughts through insight and investigation
• How the seven factors of enlightenment work together to support awakening
• Knowing when to let go and when to investigate experiences for deeper wisdom
• Staying open to emotions while avoiding unskillful reactivity
• Social activism on the Buddhist path and engaging with the world in a skillful way
• Finding inner balance in the midst of turmoil, conflict, and suffering
• Maintaining a deep historical perspective on the rise and fall of all civilizations
• Remembering how small our concerns are in the face of the stars and the vastness of all things
• How equanimity enables us to be peaceful, to connect with suffering, and to offer compassion
• Considering if we can approach daily life with a motivation to help others and the world
• Going into the depths of non-self and allowing our life to be a representation of compassionate action

This talk was recorded at Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center and distributed by Dharma Seed

“In the midst of everything that’s going on, to come back to some greater place of equanimity, one way is just a deep historical perspective on things. This stuff has been going on forever. It’s not new to this time. It’s just part of the long historical unfolding and is inevitable. It’s not an aberration, this has been happening, always.” – Joseph Goldstein

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In part 1 of this Q&A session, Joseph Goldstein gives Buddhist-flavored insight on accepting impermanence, developing our practice, and loving selflessly.

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:

• The path from accepting impermanence to happiness
• Letting go of clinging and becoming attuned to the truth of change
• The stages we go through in Vipassana meditation practice
• Understanding meditation experiences—why difficult moments don’t mean a “bad” practice
• How developing a regular practice helps us approach life more equanimously
• Feeling the whole mind-body process within practice and how this helps us let go of our sense of self
• Walking meditation as an effective tool for immediate selflessness
• The challenge of engaging with the world without getting lost in it
• Seeing the clear possibility of loving without attachment and with pure generosity of the heart

This talk was recorded at Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center and distributed by Dharma Seed

“On a conceptual level, being afraid of impermanence is like being afraid of gravity. It’s the way things are. The more we can see that and open to it, we get over that conditioned fear and we’re just in the experience and the acceptance of the flow. It’s actually quite easeful.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Renowned meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, shares timeless insights on the mind, suffering, and the heart of why we meditate.

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:

• The many reasons why we meditate
• How we all filter our experiences through our own particular conditioning and background
• Unpacking the Dhammapada’s teaching: “Mind is the forerunner of all actions”
• Using meditation to understand the patterns and nature of our own minds
• Strengthening mental stability and inner resilience through practice
• Cultivating present-moment awareness instead of being swept away by emotions
• Considering what qualities of heart and mind are being cultivated in all that we do
• A powerful reminder: Don’t waste your suffering—transform pain into wisdom
• Deepening insight into the impermanent nature of all experiences
• The difference between attachment and commitment
• The Buddhist concept of nonself and freeing our minds from identification

This recording from Spirit Rock’s April 2025 Insight Meditation retreat was originally published on Dharmaseed.

“We meditate to come out of confusion, to come out of all our habitual reactions into a space of greater wisdom, of greater clarity. We begin to see much more clearly what actually is going on in our experience rather than being lost in it. We begin to see what it is that’s shaping our lives.” – Joseph Goldstein

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