Ep. 220 – The Laziness Trap, Satipatthana Sutta Series Pt. 17

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Oct 23, 2024

Explore the fascinating dynamics of sloth and torpor as Joseph Goldstein reveals their impact on meditation and daily life. Discover how mindfulness can counteract sleepiness and promote alertness in practice. Learn strategies to recognize and manage sluggish mental states while fostering cognitive clarity. Reflect on the preciousness of human existence and the awareness of impermanence. Gain insight into personal commitment and the importance of relaxation for deeper understanding, supporting your journey to overcome laziness.

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Intro

00:00 • 35min

Navigating Sleepiness through Mindfulness

35:02 • 3min

Strategies for Overcoming Sloth and Torpor in Meditation

37:43 • 10min

Reflecting on Human Birth and Overcoming Lethargy in Practice

47:35 • 10min

Embracing Practice: Overcoming Laziness and Deepening Understanding

57:14 • 6min

Employing the Satipatthana Sutta, Joseph Goldstein shows us how to overcome the mental states of sloth and torpor.

The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. This episode is the seventeenth 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!

In this episode, Joseph instructs listeners on:

The mind states of sloth and torpor
Defining sloth as a sluggishness of mind which dispels energy
Noticing when sloth and torpor are present in us
How sloth and torpor can spread via unwise attention to boredom and depression
Watching the thinking patterns we have around slothful mind-states
How sloth and torpor can signal us to other hidden emotions
Over-consumption and being attentive to what we put into our bodies
The benefit and value of the eight precepts
Having a balance of both concentration and energy
Deepening our insight into the impermanence of the hindrances
Mindfulness as the most basic strategy for overcoming laziness
Adding in more objects to our meditation as an antidote to the sinking mind
Being alert even in times of low energy as practice for conscious dying
Finding inspiration in reading the dhamma, listening to a recording, or chanting

This talk was originally published on Dharmaseed

“Mindfulness, here, is deepening our insight into the impermanence of the hindrances. If we can stay with it, we see that they come and go by themselves. We don’t have to fulfill the desire, we don’t have to act on the anger, we don’t have to indulge the sleepiness, in order for them to go, we just need to stay with it and we’ll see their changing nature simply through the awareness of them.” – Joseph Goldstein

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