Joseph Goldstein continues unfolding his map of wisdom by touching on the magic show of consciousness, the law of karma, dependent origination, and cultivating compassion.
This recording was originally published on Dharma Seed
The Magic Show of Consciousness
Joseph briefly recaps part one of his talk on the unfolding map of wisdom. He talks about how our perception of the world is conditioned in various ways and how understanding the “magic show of consciousness” can help us in our lives. Joseph explores the law of karma and the importance of the motivation behind our actions.
“This is what the Buddha called the ‘magic show of consciousness.’ You know, in some way, our consciousness, working through the sense apparatus, is constructing the world, our view of the world.” – Joseph Goldstein
Raghu Markus and Dr. Robert Svoboda dig deeper into the law of karma in Mindrolling Ep. 218
Tumbling Mode (22:15)
Joseph uses the arena of speech as an example of examining the motivations behind our actions. He talks about how paying attention to the motivation behind our speech can be a very powerful way of integrating mindfulness into our daily lives. Joseph touches on the concept of dependent origination and the importance of getting comfortable with discomfort.
“Are we really paying attention to the motivation behind our speech, or do the words simply tumble out? My experience is, more often than not, unless we really undertake it as a practice, that they’re in tumbling mode. You know, we find ourselves stimulated by something, and then words come out.” – Joseph Goldstein
Gil Fronsdal covers the topic of dependent origination in BHNN Guest Podcast Ep. 67
Cultivating Compassion (44:25)
The last location in Joseph’s map of wisdom is cultivating compassion. He talks about how compassion arises when we’re willing to come close to suffering. But it isn’t easy to open up to the pain and suffering in our own lives and in the world around us. As our compassion grows, we can begin to engage with suffering in our world in whatever way is appropriate for ourselves.
“We’re planting the seeds, we’re planting the seeds of compassion. And they may be small seeds and small actions.” – Joseph Goldstein