Ep. 181 – The Way of the Tao

09/20/23 • 57 min

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein reflects on the meaning of emptiness on the spiritual path and examines ways in which we can work toward enlightenment.

This dharma talk was recorded on April 16, 1989, and was originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this talk, Joseph touches on:

The meaning of emptiness
The such-ness of things
The 10,000 joys, the 10,000 sorrows, and opening ourselves up to the whole range of experience
The Taoist dichotomy between non-action and inaction
Taking interest in the phenomenon of thoughts, emotions, experiences, and situations
Being simple and easy in our practice

“If we’re simple and easy in our practice, our lives become simple and easy. Can you be simple and easy in your practice, just with what is?” – Joseph Goldstein

About Joseph Goldstein:

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.

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In this episode, Joseph Goldstein reflects on the meaning of emptiness on the spiritual path and examines ways in which we can work toward enlightenment.

This dharma talk was recorded on April 16, 1989, and was originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this talk, Joseph touches on:

The meaning of emptiness
The such-ness of things
The 10,000 joys, the 10,000 sorrows, and opening ourselves up to the whole range of experience
The Taoist dichotomy between non-action and inaction
Taking interest in the phenomenon of thoughts, emotions, experiences, and situations
Being simple and easy in our practice

“If we’re simple and easy in our practice, our lives become simple and easy. Can you be simple and easy in your practice, just with what is?” – Joseph Goldstein

About Joseph Goldstein:

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Previous Episode

Ep. 180 – Relative and Ultimate Bodhicitta Part 2

Joseph Goldstein continues his discussion of bodhicitta – the awakened heart.

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In this lecture, Joseph:

Reminds us that obstructions and defilements of thought are not intrinsic to the mind
Provides us with a methodology for freeing ourselves from entanglement and attachment
Compares the clinging mind to ice and the luminous mind to water
Recognizes the causal relationship between mindfulness and compassion
Teaches us that how we feel and respond to situations is up to us
Maintains that cultivating compassion is a process that comes with daily practice

“The development of love and compassion is a wide, round curve that can be negotiated only slowly. Not a sharp corner that can be turned all at once. It comes with daily practice.”

This dharma talk from June 12, 2015, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

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Next Episode

Ep. 182 – Equanimity: "There in the Middleness"

Joseph Goldstein examines the mental factor of equanimity through the lens of the Eight Vicissitudes and the brahmavihārā.

This dharma talk from April 17, 2012, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed.

In this lecture, Joseph:

Defines equanimity as neutrality of mind and the quality of evenness
Draws a distinction between indifference of mind and spacious impartiality
Examines the eight vicissitudes (gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disrepute, pleasure and pain)
Considers the spiritual implications of living in servitude to the inevitably changing conditions of our lives
Places equanimity in the context of lovingkindness, compassion, and joy, i.e. the other divine abodes, or brahmavihārā
Reminds us that no situation is outside of our practice

“When we have equanimity, when both attachment and aversion are absent, then everything in our experiences becomes clear and undisguised.”

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