In this dharma talk, Joseph Goldstein reflects on the nature of craving and how our desire for sense pleasures can be one of the biggest roadblocks on the path to liberation.
The Craving for Sense Pleasures
The last step on our spiritual journey depends on the first step, and the first step depends on the last. Joseph explores the path to liberation, and how the many sense pleasures of the world can create a craving within that can derail the journey.
“It’s like a blade of grass pushing up through cement; this very small thing, but with such deep roots. Craving and desire is a primal energy within us.” – Joseph Goldstein
Explore the craving mind with Dr. Judson Brewer on Mindrolling Ep. 285
The Drawbacks of Sense Pleasures (28:41)
Joseph examines the several ways of understanding the drawbacks of sense pleasures. He talks about how sense pleasures are impermanent and don’t deliver on their promise of happiness. Craving can become an obsessive, dangerous force in the mind.
“We all understand, on some level, that a growing realization of the dharma really does open up vast potentials for a much deeper kind of happiness.” – Joseph Goldstein
The Craving for Becoming (41:35)
Beyond the craving for sense pleasures, there’s another craving known as the ‘craving of becoming.’ Joseph explains how this concept is deeply connected with the understanding of liberation. The liberated mind is free of all craving.
“When we understand that liberation is not about getting anything, it’s about letting go, that changes how we’re doing our practice.” – Joseph Goldstein
Image via Oliver.zs