Joseph Goldstein Quotes
Joseph Goldstein (born 1944), co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, is one of the first American vipassana teachers. Trained in India and Burma, he has been teaching meditation worldwide since 1974 and is a significant figure in bringing Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West.
Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.
Joseph Goldstein
The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.
Joseph Goldstein
The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.
Joseph Goldstein
The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.
Joseph Goldstein
Our task is to learn to see clearly what is happening in each moment, rather than be lost in our reactions and judgments.
Joseph Goldstein
When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.
Joseph Goldstein
The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.
Joseph Goldstein
When we see the nature of the mind, we see that we are not our thoughts.
Joseph Goldstein
The more we understand the nature of our mind, the more we understand the nature of our world.
Joseph Goldstein
Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.
Joseph Goldstein
The path is not about perfecting ourselves, but about perfecting our love.
Joseph Goldstein
We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.
Joseph Goldstein
Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.
Joseph Goldstein
The whole path of mindfulness is about letting go. We let go of our attachment to our views, our attachment to our opinions, our attachment to our ideas.
Joseph Goldstein
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.
Joseph Goldstein
Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.
Joseph Goldstein
Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.
Joseph Goldstein
The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.
Joseph Goldstein
The great gift of meditation is that it returns us to the simplicity of our own being.
Joseph Goldstein
Mindfulness is the quality and power of mind that is aware of what's happening—without judgment and without interference.
Joseph Goldstein