Joseph Goldstein On: How Not To Try Too Hard in Meditation, Why You Shouldn't "Waste Your Suffering," and the Value Of Seeing How Ridiculous You Are

About this episode

<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p>---</p> <p>It's always a big deal when we get the maestro <a href= "https://www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joseph Goldstein</a> on the show. He's one of the greatest living meditation teachers—and we cover a lot of ground in this conversation both related to meditation and to life.</p> <p>This is the third installment in a series we've been running this month on the Eightfold Path. If you missed the first two episodes, don't worry. Joseph starts our conversation with a brief description and explanation of this pivotal Buddhist list. The list is basically a recipe for living a good life.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong>  </p> <ul> <li>How to strike a balance between trying too hard and trying too little in meditation</li> <li>How to handle your doubts about whether you're meditating correctly</li> <li>What the Buddhists really mean when they say "let it go" </li> <li>What Joseph means when he says, don't waste your suffering</li> <li>Why he uses the word ridiculous so much to describe the way our minds work</li> <li>How the eightfold path encompasses both daily life and formal meditation</li> <li>The simplest possible definition of mindfulness</li> <li>How mindfulness can prevent unwholesome or unhealthy states of mind from arising </li> <li>What to do when unwholesome states have already arisen</li> <li>Being mindful of seeing, which is an often overlooked</li> <li>A simple explanation of the tricky Buddhist concept of not self </li> <li>The Buddhist concept of wisdom </li> <li>And the importance of having a sense of humor about your own mind </li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p>A note that we initially conducted this conversation live via Zoom as part of a benefit in support of an organization called the <a href="https://www.nyimc.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">New York Insight Meditation Center,</a> which is an offshoot of IMS.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-598" rel="noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-598</a></p> <p><br /></p>