Joseph Goldstein (writer)

Joseph Goldstein
Born	May 20, 1944
Nationality	American
Education	Columbia University
Occupations	Writer Meditation teacher
Known for	Co-founder, Insight Meditation Society

Joseph Goldstein (born May 20, 1944) is one of the first American vipassana teachers,[1][2] co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) with Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg,[2][3] a contemporary author of numerous popular books on Buddhism (see publications below), a resident guiding teacher at IMS, and a leader of retreats worldwide on insight (vipassana) and lovingkindness (metta) meditation.

While the majority of Goldstein's publications introduce Westerners to primarily Theravada concepts, practices and values, his 2002 work, One Dharma, explored the creation of an integrated framework for the Theravada, Tibetan and Zen traditions.[4]

Chronology

• May 20, 1944: Born; grew up in the Catskill Mountains of New York
• 1965: Graduated from Columbia University as a philosophy major
• 1965: Entered the Peace Corps in Thailand, where he first became interested in Buddhism. After the Peace Corps, he spent most of the next seven years in India studying and practicing Buddhist meditation
• 1974: He began teaching at Chogyam Trungpa's Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado. He has been leading vipassana and metta retreats worldwide since 1974.[1]
• 1975: Co-founded the IMS in Barre, Massachusetts[3] with Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg.
• 1991: Helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.[5]
• 1998: Co-founded the IMS Forest Refuge[6][7] for long-term personal retreats.

Meditation practice

Goldstein had original experiences of realisation concerning the word 'unborn' and an experience of zero and of no self.[8][9] He makes a 3-month meditation retreat most years.[9] He says the peace and happiness we experience has to do with the quality of our minds, not our possessions.[10] His book Mindfulness is based on the Satipatthana Sutta, a Buddhist text.[11]

Teachers

Since 1967, Goldstein has practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under well-known teachers from India, Burma and Tibet. His teachers include: Anagarika Sri Munindra,[12] Sri S.N. Goenka,[12] Mrs. Nani Bala Barua (Dipa Ma),[13] the Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita,[12] Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche,[12] and Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche.[14]

Publications (partial list, in chronological order)

• The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation (1976)
• Goldstein, Joseph; Kornfield, Jack (1987). Seeking the heart of wisdom: the path of insight meditation. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-57062-805-4.
• Goldstein, Joseph. Insight meditation: the practice of freedom. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-57062-025-6.
• Goldstein, Joseph; Kornfield, Jack (1995). The Path of Insight Meditation. Shambhala. ISBN 978-1-57062-069-0.
• Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate (2002), with Sharon Salzberg
• One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism (2002)
• A Heart Full of Peace (2007)
• Goldstein, Joseph (November 2013). Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening. Sounds True. ISBN 978-1-62203-063-7.

References

1. Prebish, Charles (March 2002). "Surveying the Buddhist Landscape". Shambhala Sun. Archived from the original on December 8, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
2. Fronsdal, Gil. "Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness". The Faces of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
3. "Teacher Profiles". Insight Meditation Society. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
4. ""One Dharma" by Joseph Goldstein". PBS. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
5. "About Us". Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. Archived from the original on December 25, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
6. "IMS's Forest Refuge". Insight Meditation Society. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
7. "Joseph Goldstein". The Wisdom Experience. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
8. "An Interview with Joseph Goldstein, DhammaWeb Interview". www.dhammaweb.net. Archived from the original on 20 May 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
9. "Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris on Apple Podcasts". iTunes.
10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Heyrman-Hart - Lecture by Joseph Goldstein". YouTube. 15 May 2015.
11. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Robert Wright & Joseph Goldstein [The Wright Show] (full conversation)". YouTube. 2 November 2016.
12. Gross, Amy (Summer 1999). "An Interview with Joseph Goldstein". Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
13. Goldstein, Joseph (2002). One Dharma. HarperOne. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-06-251701-2.
14. Goldstein, Joseph (2002). One Dharma. HarperOne. pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-0-06-251701-2.

Further reading

• Schwartz, Tony (1995). What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America. NY: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-09398-3.

External links

• Goldstein's IMS biography
• Downloadable talks at AudioDharma and Dharmaseed
• Video interview with Joseph Goldstein
• Audio interview on the benefits of long term practice Archived 2018-03-30 at the Wayback Machine on Buddhist Geeks