Reflecting on a lifetime of practice, Joseph Goldstein explores how an intimate investigation of suffering can open the doorway to liberation.

In this week's episode, Joseph and David explore:

• Joseph’s spiritual lineage and tying the concept of bodhicitta to his motivation for practice
• The inseparability of compassion and emptiness
• Holding an intense interest in whatever we are experiencing
• A tip from Joseph: ‘Don’t waste your suffering’
• The mental energy it takes to investigate our suffering
• Teaching from the heart of Buddhist suttas
• ‘Tuning in’ to the gratitude channel and thanking the universe for the blessings of our lives
• Utilizing Ram Dass’s concept of ‘how can I help?’ as the north star of life

“When my mind is distressed in some way or other, it piques my interest. I want to understand what the cause of the suffering is. That’s a little different than enduring it until we get to a happier place; it’s using the suffering as fuel and as the impotence to investigate.” 

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. Check out Joseph’s podcast on Be Here Now Network or one of his numerous books.