In this episode, Joseph examines what we learn from being mindful and how it leads us to deeper insight into impermanence.
What Do We Learn from Mindfulness?
How does the practice of mindfulness actually lead to liberation? How does it work? Joseph discusses the methodology of mindfulness and why the practice is not an end in itself.
“We really want to understand how mindfulness leads to the uprooting of the very deeply conditioned tendencies of greed, craving, hatred, and fear in the mind. This is the essence of the awakened mind, the mind that is free of afflictive emotions; free from the sleep of delusion and ignorance. We need to understand how mindfulness is not an end in itself, it is a methodology. The real question is, ‘What do we learn from being mindful?”
Discover More: Further explore the wisdom of impermanence on this episode of the Insight Hour Podcast.
Insight into Impermanence (5:15)
One of the simplest and most profoundly transformative paths into the deepest kind of wisdom is a growing and increasingly refined awareness of impermanence. Although we all know everything changes on an intellectual level, there is another level of understanding that is an ongoing and intimate awareness of change as it is happening. Joseph digs into the ways mindfulness practice allows for this shift in perception.
“As we refine our awareness of the experience of things changing moment to moment, what happens is our hearts and minds relax. We let go of struggle and so many kinds of suffering.”
Discover More: Gain deeper insight into navigating change with this episode of the Jack Kornfield Heart Wisdom Hour.
Paradox of the Spiritual Life (20:05)
Objects of wanting or desire leave us unfulfilled because they don’t last, but the very same experiences that can be objects of desire can also be objects of mindfulness. Joseph discusses this paradox of the spiritual life and looks at how we can be completely engaged in whatever is arising without holding on to the experience.
“If what is rising is an object of mindfulness, rather than one of desire, that very same experience becomes a vehicle for our awakening.”
Letting Go (38:45)
Joseph examines the Buddhas instructions for seeing impermanence and letting go of desire.