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Buddhist megastars in conversation.

Today, we’re dropping a recording of a live event we held earlier this year, during which Joseph Goldstein and Dr. Mark Epstein came on stage for a fascinating set of conversations. We did this event to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Dan’s first book, also called 10% Happier.

The night was structured like a late night show, so there was a monologue, and live music with the band Mates of State.

Dr. Mark Epstein is a psychiatrist in private practice in New York City, and is the author of a number of books about the interface of Buddhism and psychotherapy, including Thoughts without a Thinker, Going to Pieces without Falling Apart, Going on Being, Open to Desire, Psychotherapy without the Self, The Trauma of Everyday Life and Advice Not Given: A Guide to Getting Over Yourself, and The Zen of Therapy: Uncovering a Hidden Kindness in Life. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University. He has been a student of vipassana meditation since 1974.

Joseph Goldstein is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, both in Barre, Massachusetts. He is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Insight Meditation and The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation. Joseph has studied and practiced meditation since 1967 under the guidance of eminent teachers from India, Burma, and Tibet and he leads Insight Meditation retreats around the world.

In this episode we talk about:

The three month solo silent meditation retreat Joseph had just finished
How to not suffer in the face of unwanted experiences
Three exercises for slowing down
Pragmatic applications of retreat practice for life in the real world
How to see outside yourself
How Mark came to Buddhism 50 years ago
The relationship between Buddhism and psychotherapy
The Buddhist concept of the two levels of reality
And a guided meditation from a surprise guest

Related Episodes:

Nirvana | Joseph Goldstein

Dr. Mark Epstein On: How To Transform Your Neuroses Into “Little Shmoos”

I Just Did A 10-Day Silent Meditation Retreat With Joseph Goldstein. Here’s What I Learned

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