Ep. 209 – The Art of Letting Go, Satipatthana Sutta Series Pt. 6
Aug 9, 2024
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Joseph Goldstein, an esteemed meditation teacher and author, dives deep into the meaning of non-clinging in this enlightening discussion. He explores three types of cravings that influence our lives and how society amplifies these desires. Goldstein reveals the importance of recognizing our thirst for sense pleasures and its impact on our spiritual journey. He emphasizes the value of abiding in empty awareness and deconstructing the self to achieve liberation from suffering. This insightful dialogue offers practical guidance on letting go and living in the present moment.
Craving manifests as an all-consuming thirst, which, when unexamined, leads to dependency and suffering in personal and societal contexts.
Practicing mindfulness allows individuals to detach from desires and thoughts, fostering a liberating awareness free from clinging to experience or self.
Deep dives
The Retreat Experience
The upcoming East Coast Retreat in Boone, North Carolina, scheduled for August 15 through 19, 2024, focuses on harmony and the sacred feminine through Bhakti and Buddhist perspectives. Participants have the opportunity to engage with well-known speakers and teachers such as Krishnadasa and Spring Washam, fostering a communal atmosphere in a scenic setting. This gathering aims to facilitate personal connections and transformative experiences for attendees, emphasizing the importance of communal mindfulness practices. The retreat reflects the ongoing dedication to creating in-person opportunities for community engagement as encouraged by Ramdas.
Understanding Thirst and Craving
Craving is depicted not merely as a mental experience, but as an all-consuming thirst that profoundly influences our lives. The discussion identifies three types of thirst: for sense pleasures, continued existence, and non-existence, highlighting how these cravings can lead to a cycle of dependency and suffering. This need for instant gratification and pleasure is evident not only in personal experiences but also within societal norms that encourage rampant desires. Various literary examples illustrate the destructive nature of these passions, linking them to serious consequences in both personal and societal contexts.
Radical Independence from Clinging
The core teaching revolves around the idea of abiding in a state of independence, free from clinging or attachment to desires and experiences. Through mindfulness practice, individuals can learn to recognize and detach from fleeting thoughts and desires, including even the longing for specific meditative states. This process encourages living in the present without the burden of expectations or the need to achieve particular outcomes. By allowing thoughts to arise and pass without attachment, practitioners can experience the profound liberation that comes from letting go of dependency on experiences.
The Nature of Self and Liberation
The exploration of suffering is deepened by examining the concept of self and how it intertwines with our experiences of existence and non-existence. The teachings emphasize that liberation is possible when one recognizes the constructs of self that arise from identification with thoughts and experiences. By perceiving sensations and cognitions without forming attachments, individuals can dissolve the sense of 'I' that perpetuates suffering. This perspective aligns with the Buddha’s teachings, advocating for a life lived in awareness without the interference of craving or attachment, thus leading to enlightenment.
Exploring the meaning of non-clinging, Joseph Goldstein outlines the three types of cravings explained by the Buddha.
The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. This episode is the sixth part of an in-depth 48-part weekly lecture series from Joseph Goldstein that delves into every aspect of the Satipatthana Sutta. If you are just now jumping into the Satipatthana Sutta series, listen to Insight Hour Ep. 203 to follow along and get the full experience!
Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE
In this episode of the Satipatthana Sutta series, Joseph Goldstein discusses
How craving can consume our entire being
The thirst for sense pleasures and how they keep us dependent
How society feeds and fosters our sense of desire and craving
Clinging to and longing for certain mind-states
The primal thirst for continued existence
How expectation takes out of the present moment
Abiding in empty, open awareness
The craving for non-existence during painful times
“When in the seen just the seen, in the heard just the heard, in the sense just the sensed, in the cognized just the cognized, then you will not be influenced by what arises, not carried away by craving.” – Joseph Goldstein