Ep. 149 – Desire: The Driving Force of Samsara

Joseph Goldstein explores the tendency of desire, how we can understand this driving force of Samsara, and how we can practice being free of it.

“Desire is not an insignificant conditioning in us, and it takes many forms. And it’s really not the form or even the object that’s terribly important or interesting. It’s that force, it’s that energy, it’s that habit pattern of wanting. When we don’t see it, when we’re caught, when we’re identified with that wanting mind, it obscures the natural freedom of mind. It obscures the recognition of the open, empty, selfless nature of awareness.” – Joseph Goldstein

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In this episode, Joseph shares his insight on:

• The clear, unobstructed nature of the mind, and how deeply habituated patterns such as desire can obscure our natural wisdom
• The craving for sense pleasures
• Desires that manifest in our meditation practice in the forms of the expecting mind, the comparing mind, and trying to hold on to a past experience
• The desire for existence, and the craving for non-existence
• How we can better understand the powerful conditioning of desire in all of its forms and free ourselves from identification with it

This dharma talk from January 3, 2005, at the Insight Meditation Society, was originally published on DharmaSeed.

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