Ep. 179 – Relative and Ultimate Bodhicitta Part I

Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

Be Here Now Network

Joseph Goldstein, Mindfulness, Vipassana, Buddhism, Insightmeditation, Meditation, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.8 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 30 August 2023

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Joseph Goldstein discusses enlightenment through the lens of the aspirational mental quality of bodhicitta – the awakened heart.

This dharma talk from June 8, 2015, was recorded at the Insight Meditation Society and originally published on Dharma Seed

In this lecture, Joseph:

Teaches us that there are two understandings of bodhicitta: relative bodhicitta, which is compassion, and ultimate bodhicitta, which is selflessness
Highlights the spiritual importance of cultivating both compassion and selflessness
Ruminates on the challenges of living in our conventional, ordinarily understood reality
Reminds us that the ungovernability of life is the nexus between dukkha and freedom
Describes the union of emptiness and clarity
Recognizes the need for a gradual cultivation of awareness

“The mind’s nature is vivid as a flawless piece of crystal. Intrinsically empty, naturally radiant and ceaselessly responsive.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The mind's nature is vivid as a flawless piece of crystal.
0:10.0	Intrinsically empty, naturally radiant, and ceaselessly responsive. Welcome to the Joseph Goldstein Inside Hour.
0:37.0	This podcast is an expression of our shared interest in self-discovery.
0:43.0	Join Joseph as he shares his deep knowledge of the path of mindfulness.
0:48.0	If you are interested in supporting this podcast,
0:52.0	please go to be here now network dot com slash Joseph The term Bodigita in Poly in Sanskrit means, literally it means the awakened heart.
1:19.0	And in some teachings, this is understood on two levels. The relative level of Bodijita is
1:29.1	compassion. And this means that it's realizing our practice fundamentally is never for ourselves alone.
1:40.0	But it's always going to be for the benefit of others and we can even make that
1:50.0	understanding the aspiration for our practice. We can undertake our practice with that motivation.
1:57.2	Let it be for the welfare, the happiness, the awakening of all beings.
2:03.0	And in one form or another we find this
2:06.0	understanding of compassion or the awakened heart
2:11.0	or the kind heart in all of the Buddhist traditions.
2:19.0	The Dalai Lama, not surprisingly, speaks of it a lot.
2:27.0	He said, speaking of my own experience,
2:30.0	I sometimes wonder why a lot of people like me.
2:35.0	When I think about it, I cannot find in myself any specially good quality except for one small thing.
2:41.0	That is the kind heart, which I tried to explain to others and which I do my best
2:47.3	to develop myself. Of course there are moments when I do get angry, but in the depth of my heart I do not hold a
2:55.7	grudge against anyone.
2:58.6	I cannot pretend that I'm really able to practice Bodigita, but it does give me a tremendous inspiration.
	...

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