Ep. 259 – Selflessness, Dukkha, and Freedom

Unpacking the Buddha’s notions of self and nonself, transience and suffering, Joseph Goldstein leads listeners into the heart of liberation. 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 illuminates:Why the Buddha paid so much attention to the concept of selfHow a felt sense of self traps us in desire and attachmentSeeing the term ‘self’ as a designation rather than something that exists in and of itselfSlight adjustments to our language during practice: ‘the body breathes’ rather than ‘my breath’Using the template of The Five Aggregates to describe experienceGenuine experiences of momentary peace as a peak into NirvanaTaking an interest into the landscapes of our own mindsTransience and the way that things are always becoming otherwiseThe ungovernability of the mind, the body, and all aspects of realityHow selflessness can lead to both Dukkha and freedomThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 PathSeeing the world objectively without reference to the selfBeing a great faith follower versus a dharma followerResting 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 experiencesThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 anyoneSeeing all experiences as the simultaneous arising of both knowing and objectLetting go of our identification with knowing and awarenessShifting from active voice to passive voice as a mindfulness practiceThe near enemies of the mental qualities listed in the BrahmaviharasEquanimity and holding all things equally, seeing things for what they areThe difference between impartiality and indifference, openness versus carelessnessNavigating the complexity of our lives through the balance of compassion and equanimityMaintaining an interest in exploring rather than relying on our preconceptions about people and situationsThis 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 practiceMindfulness of seeing: focusing on the seeing itself rather than on what we are looking atResting in open, non-reactive spaciousnessThe cognizing power of emptiness and realizing that there is nothing to knowKeeping the mind steady and how concentration deepens insight Understanding both relative and ultimate reality Defining dukkha as the inevitability of unwanted experiencesHow to not waste suffering: taking an interest in the shadows of our own minds Having agency over our own minds during difficult experiencesMindfulness 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Defining the nature of Bodhicitta, Joseph Goldstein explains that enlightenment is inevitable when compassion and emptiness coexist.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 thoughtfully articulates:Bodhicitta: the heart-mind of awakening and working for the benefit of all beingsLiving in the world while still remembering the truth of non-self and impermanenceThe beauty of selflessness embodied through Dipa Ma’s life and teachingsRegularly reflecting on impermanence as both a reality check and a spiritual practiceThe 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 othersForgiveness as one of the most profound ways to respond with open-hearted compassionThis 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Responding to a variety of dharma questions on meditation, effort, and impermanence, Joseph Goldstein explores the mystery of consciousness.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 selfThis week on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein responds to questions on:The benefits of doing walking meditation versus traditional seated meditationCutting through our conceptual overlay and simply having raw experiencesPassive voice construction: removing the self as subject when narrating the world around usChanging “let it go” to “let it be” when we are struggling to let goBeing in the flow of changing experiences, the natural arising and passing away of all thingsThe fine line of wholesome energy/effort versus striving and strugglingRealizing the emptiness of thoughts and the suffering they bring to usThe first experience of nirvana, ‘the zero’, and uprooting the view of selfThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Illuminating different ways to free the mind, Joseph Goldstein integrates relative and ultimate truth, revealing the emptiness of thoughts.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 selfThis time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein discussesIntegrating the elements of both relative and ultimate truth in our livesThe natural compassion that emerges when we let go of self-identificationWhy our perception of reality isn’t always reliable or accurateOur attachment to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant Considering if the mind can remain unafflicted while the body is sufferingShifting awareness from what we want to how the wanting mind feelsOur capability to train the mind in a way that leads to greater freedomLetting thoughts arise without interference or judgment Developing nonreactivity through seeing how quickly thoughts arise and passRealizing that the past and future are only constructs of the mindThis 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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.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 selfIn this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:Letting go of obsessive thoughts through insight and investigationHow the seven factors of enlightenment work together to support awakeningKnowing when to let go and when to investigate experiences for deeper wisdomStaying open to emotions while avoiding unskillful reactivitySocial activism on the Buddhist path and engaging with the world in a skillful wayFinding inner balance in the midst of turmoil, conflict, and sufferingMaintaining 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 thingsHow 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 worldGoing into the depths of non-self and allowing our life to be a representation of compassionate actionThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In part 1 of this Q&A session, Joseph Goldstein gives Buddhist-flavored insight on accepting impermanence, developing our practice, and loving selflessly.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 selfIn this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:The path from accepting impermanence to happinessLetting go of clinging and becoming attuned to the truth of changeThe stages we go through in Vipassana meditation practice Understanding meditation experiences—why difficult moments don’t mean a “bad” practiceHow 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 selflessnessThe challenge of engaging with the world without getting lost in itSeeing the clear possibility of loving without attachment and with pure generosity of the heartThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Renowned meditation teacher, Joseph Goldstein, shares timeless insights on the mind, suffering, and the heart of why we meditate.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 selfIn this episode, Joseph Goldstein offers his perspective on:The many reasons why we meditateHow 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 mindsStrengthening mental stability and inner resilience through practiceCultivating present-moment awareness instead of being swept away by emotionsConsidering what qualities of heart and mind are being cultivated in all that we doA powerful reminder: Don’t waste your suffering—transform pain into wisdomDeepening insight into the impermanent nature of all experiencesThe difference between attachment and commitment The Buddhist concept of nonself and freeing our minds from identificationThis 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 GoldsteinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.