#598. 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

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It's always a big deal when we get the maestro Joseph Goldstein 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.

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.

In this episode we talk about:

How to strike a balance between trying too hard and trying too little in meditation
How to handle your doubts about whether you're meditating correctly
What the Buddhists really mean when they say “let it go”
What Joseph means when he says, don't waste your suffering
Why he uses the word ridiculous so much to describe the way our minds work
How the eightfold path encompasses both daily life and formal meditation
The simplest possible definition of mindfulness
How mindfulness can prevent unwholesome or unhealthy states of mind from arising
What to do when unwholesome states have already arisen
Being mindful of seeing, which is an often overlooked
A simple explanation of the tricky Buddhist concept of not self
The Buddhist concept of wisdom
And the importance of having a sense of humor about your own mind

A note that we initially conducted this conversation live via Zoom as part of a benefit in support of an organization called the New York Insight Meditation Center, which is an offshoot of IMS.

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Where to find Joseph Goldstein online:

Website: www.dharma.org/teacher/joseph-goldstein

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Book Mentioned: