Joseph Goldstein is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (where he is one of the resident guiding teachers) and the Barre Center for Buddhist studies, both in Barre, Massachusetts.  He is the author of

Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening,A Heart Full of Peace,One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism,Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom, andThe Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation (Shambhala Dragon Editions).

He has also coauthored books with Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield. Joseph has studied and practiced meditation since 1967 under the guidance of eminent teachers from India, Burma, and Tibet and he leads Insight Meditation retreats around the world.

Transcript of this interview

Interview recorded 11/23/2013.

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.

YouTube Video Chapters:

00:00:00 - Joseph Goldstein: Insight Meditation and the Enlightened Mind00:03:22 - The Nature of the Mind00:06:25 - The Purpose of Skillful Means00:09:08 - The Hindu View of Enlightenment00:12:15 - Stages of Awakening and Mistaking Preliminary Enlightenment00:15:31 - The Reassurance of Being Done with Spiritual Practice00:18:13 - Levels of Ignorance and Obstructive Forces00:21:10 - The Effort and Investigation of Awakening00:23:45 - The Importance of a Teacher and Study in Spiritual Practice00:26:55 - Recognition and examination of the mind00:30:08 - The Role of Monastics in Deepening Practice00:32:57 - The Manifestation of Awakening in Behavior00:35:22 - The Importance of Traits and States of Consciousness00:38:06 - The Universal Experience of Enlightenment00:41:13 - The Correlation Between Ethical Behavior and Enlightenment00:44:08 - Wrathful Compassion and Ethical Grey Areas00:46:27 - Manifestation of Compassion in Different Ways00:49:28 - The Power of Mindfulness00:51:49 - What is Mindfulness?00:54:31 - Mindfulness as an Ethical Dimension00:56:54 - The Analogy of the Changing Images00:59:37 - The Unmanifest Quality01:02:51 - The Purpose of Mindfulness01:05:39 - The Effort and Nature of Mindfulness01:07:45 - Mindfulness and the Effortless Approach01:09:40 - Balancing Effort and Relaxation01:12:18 - The Buddha Boy and the Atman-Anatman Debate01:14:35 - Tathagata and Tattvamasi: Exploring the Difference01:17:26 - Compassion as the Manifestation of Non-Clinging01:20:34 - The Power of Bodhicitta and Awakening for the Benefit of All01:23:23 - Conclusion and Next Week's Interview