Joseph Goldstein holds two meanings of Nibbana in equal reverence: unconditioned, unformed awareness and a transcendent state in which the mind is free from all defilements.

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This time on Insight Hour, Joseph Goldstein reveals:

• The Thai forest tradition of Buddhism
• Nibbana: Unconditioned awareness or transcendent awareness?
• The unconditioned mind and the power of zero
• Enlightenment and a mind that is free of defilements
• The analogy of ‘seeing the moon’ rather than the finger that points to it
• Why the experience of Nibbana is so important
• Seeing the intimate connection between wisdom and compassion
• The concept of nonself and our lives as constantly changing phenomena
• The dance between pleasure and suffering

Check out this episode’s companion essay, Reflections on Nibbana, by Joseph Goldstein

“One meaning of Nibbana is this unconditioned, unborn, unformed reality. The other meaning of Nibbana refers to the mind that has been freed of defilements—the mind that is free of greed, hatred, and delusion. We could describe the state of a fully enlightened being in which these defilements have been uprooted as Nibbana.” –Joseph Goldstein

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Joseph Goldstein reveals how Nibbana differs from blissful meditation states and why true liberation lies beyond every conditioned experience.

Today's 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:

• How Nibbana has made its way into Western culture
• Expectation and striving versus having a healthy goal
• Having an aspiration and direction for our practice
• Using equanimity to differentiate beautiful experiences from true glimpses of Nibbana
• The Abhidhamma and understanding the factors of mind which color our consciousness
• The experience of Nibbana as the experience of zero, the stilling of all formations
• How Nibbana uproots the defilements in stages

Check out this episode’s companion essay, Reflections on Nibbana, by Joseph Goldstein

“Even exalted states of mind or great powers of mind do not imply purification of mind. That is the particular power of Nibbana.” –Joseph Goldstein

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Touching into the selfless nature of experience, Joseph Goldstein explores uprooting the defilements through the clarity that comes from practice.

Today's 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 provides his perspective on:

• Engaging with mindfulness
• The radical uprooting of self and identification with experience
• Seeing a glimpse of the deathless in our practice versus the transcendent moment of the unborn
• Slowly seeing clearly over time with dedicated practice
• The emptiness within the defilements
• Taking all things as an invitation to explore rather than to believe
• A brief guided meditation with Joseph
• Moving our mental dialogue into a passive voice

This episode is the 3rd and final part of a 3-part series. It was originally published on Dharmaseed and recorded at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, a non-profit organization founded by renowned meditation teachers Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg to integrate Buddhist study and practice. To start at the beginning, check out Ep. 261 – Gradual Cultivation in Buddhist Practice.

“If you put your hand in fire, do you know that it burns? Do you have any doubt about it? In the genuine experience of things being uprooted, there is that quality of certainty. It is very different than what you were saying about ‘Yeah, it looks to me that the defilements are uprooted.’ The experience that results in the uprooting, which is the experience of the unborn. It has that same immediacy and certainty as putting your hand in fire and knowing it burns.” –Joseph Goldstein

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