Ep. 249 – Right Effort, Mindfulness & Concentration, Satipatthana Sutta Series Pt. 46

Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein

Be Here Now Network

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

4.8 • 864 Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2025

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Looking into the samadhi section of the Eight-Fold Path, Joseph Goldstein clarifies how we can free the mind with right effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

The Satipatthana Sutta is one of the most celebrated and widely studied discourses in the Pāli Canon of Theravada Buddhism. This episode is the FINAL part of an in-depth 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’s exploration of the Satipatthana Sutta, Joseph Goldstein explores:

The clearest, most practical definition of Nirvana: freedom from greed, hatred, and delusion
Cultivating spiritual urgency as a wholesome motivator on the path to awakening
Uprooting latent defilements that are buried in the mind
Five methods for dispelling unwholesome thoughts and mindsets, according to the Buddha
How restraint and delayed gratification support inner discipline and lasting success
Right mindfulness as the key to all other factors of enlightenment
Suspending all judgments and interpretations; simply noticing events as they occur
Stabilizing our attention on a single object or mindfully watching as objects change
The three characteristics of impermanence, unreliability, and selflessness
Different concentration practices, such as reflecting on the Buddha-Dharma-Sangha or on peace
Exploring the nature of all phenomena once we have achieved a clear mind

This episode was originally published on Dharmaseed.

Grab a copy of the book Joseph references throughout this series, Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization, HERE and check out the other mentioned book from this episode, Kinship with All Life

“It's not so much a question of doing, it's a question of undoing all the habit patterns of proliferation, judgement, evaluation, interpretation, can we undo that, and simply come back in the most simple way to be aware of whatever it is that’s arising? It's only six things, whichever arise - sight, sound, smell, taste, sensation or an object of mind. It's like we’re listening to a six-piece chamber orchestra.” – Joseph Goldstein

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Rather, we understand that the mind is a vital and vibrant interplay of mental qualities,
0:11.0	some wholesome, some unwholesome.
0:14.0	So if we have a strong commitment to awakening, to walking on this path, to fulfilling this path factor of right
0:24.2	effort, abandoning unwholesome states that have already arisen. So then we investigate,
0:32.6	we experiment, we test different approaches, different ways of abandoning the unwholesome.
0:38.3	Now, the Buddha was the ultimate pragmatist.
0:43.3	The teachings are not about dogma, they're not about things we need to believe.
0:48.3	The teachings are all about what works, what works to free the mind. Welcome to the Joseph Goldstein Inside Hour.
1:12.3	This podcast is an expression of our shared interest in self-discovery.
1:18.3	Join Joseph as he shares his deep knowledge of the path of mindfulness.
1:23.6	If you are interested in supporting this podcast,
1:26.4	please go to BehereNownetwork.com slash Joseph.
1:38.3	Tonight I'd like to conclude this long series of talks on the Mahasatipatana Suta
1:46.0	with a discussion of the last three steps of the eightfold path,
1:51.0	that is right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
1:57.0	Together, these three steps are called the Samadhi section,
2:01.6	or the concentration division, of the path.
2:06.6	And although it is the wisdom factor, which is Panya in Pali,
2:11.6	which actually has the function of cutting through ignorance and cutting through delusion, wisdom is supported by these three factors of effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
2:28.3	They have the support for that sharp blade of wisdom to awaken the enlightenment factors within us.
2:38.1	So it's important that we understand right effort, the sixth step on the path, in the context of awakening.
2:47.6	The mental factor which underlies effort and right effort in particular is viria or energy,
	...

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