Joseph Goldstein – Insight Hour – Ep. 61 – The Satipatthāna Sutta: Mindfulness of Body

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Joseph continues his series of teachings around The Satipatthāna Sutta, in this episode we look at the Buddha’s lessons on cultivating mindfulness of body.

Listen to the last episode in this series here: Ep. 60 – The Satipatthāna Sutta: Not Clinging to Anything

Show Notes

Overcoming Hindrances (Opening) – After a recap of where we are at in the Satipatthāna Sutta, Joseph introduces the Buddha’s teachings about the mindfulness of body as the easiest way for overcoming the hindrances of unwholesome mind-states and moving closer towards awakening.

“In so many places in the Suttas, the Buddha speaks about the benefits of using the body as an object of contemplation, as an object of mindfulness. He spoke of mindfulness of the body as a source of joy, as a way of deepening concentration, as the simplest and most direct way of overcoming the onslaughts of Mara – that is the arising of the hindrances of unwholesome mind-states.” – Joseph Goldstein

Practicing with the Body (9:30) – What practices are available to cultivate a deeper quality of mindfulness of the body? Joseph shares different techniques from several Dharma teachers, all of which work in the same way to establish mindfulness of our physical experience.

Into the Breath (27:55) – Joseph looks at an ever-present object for cultivating mindfulness of body – our breath. He shares practices of awareness of the breath taught by the Buddha and others.

“The Buddha is pointing to the invaluable, but often overlooked, power of our own breathing. This humble breath which we mostly ignore, in our ordinary lives, is such a good and powerful object of meditation because it is always present.” – Joseph Goldstein

Image via Oliver.zs