Joseph Goldstein – Insight Hour – Ep. 100 – The Fetters and Defilements of the Mind

Fetters

Joseph Goldstein continues his exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta, sharing his insights on how the fetters and defilements of the mind arise, are removed, and can be prevented.  

This talk is a continuation of Insight Hour Ep. 99 – Mindfulness of the Six Sense Spheres

The Fetters and Defilements of the Mind

Joseph digs deeper into the Buddha’s instructions from the Satipatthana Sutta as he explores the fetters and defilements of the mind. He talks about how we can translate the teaching of dependent origination in a way that helps us understand how these fetters can condition our responses to the sense spheres. 

“Here, we’re not simply knowing the fetters that arise at the different sense doors, in the different sense spheres, the Buddha’s asking us to understand how they arise, how they can be removed, how they can be prevented. In other words, how we can free ourselves from the influence of these fetters, defilements, unwholesome tendencies of mind.” – Joseph Goldstein

 

The Chain of Dependent Origination (16:15)

Joseph discusses all the touchpoints along the chain of dependent origination where we can work with being mindful of the fetters and defilements. There are lots of opportunities for mindfulness, from the sense spheres all the way to desire and clinging. Joseph talks about how the Buddha emphasized mindfulness of the fetters because they cause so much suffering. 

“We’ve created such an elaborate story about ourselves and our lives and our situation, and this way of being mindful just brings us right down to the immediate experience of just what it is that is actually happening. It’s powerful; it takes us out of the movie of our lives into a much more direct experience of the reality that’s actually arising.” – Joseph Goldstein

 

Gil Fronsdal explores the concept of dependent origination on BHNN Guest Podcast Ep. 67

 

How Perception Interprets Experience (43:36)

Joseph ends with a discussion of how perception can entangle us with the fetters. He talks about how perception interprets experience, and how the way we perceive things is conditioned by our karmic predisposition, culture, and the latent tendencies in our mind. 

“Our perceptions are conditioned, they are not reflective of some omniscient, absolute truth.” – Joseph Goldstein

 

 

Image via Oliver.zs