RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Sam Gentile, modified 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 12:20 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 12:18 PM

Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 1310 Join Date: 5/4/20 Recent Posts
So Joseph Goldstein is doing a mentorship program online. Of course, Joseph is famous for co-founding IMS and Dharma to the West from Burma but he is hardly a pragmatic dharma guy and Daniel thinks very little of him. If I got a scholarship, so you think this would be worth attending?

Deepening Practice: A Mentorship Program with Joseph Goldstein
In his initial meeting with his first meditation teacher, Munindra-ji, Joseph Goldstein received some simple advice: “If you want to understand your mind, sit down and observe it.” While this statement couldn’t be truer, developing and maintaining a daily practice is not easy. Everyone who meditates runs into challenges, from experiencing restlessness, physical discomfort, and boredom to struggling with doubt, motivation, and the fears and unpleasant feelings that can arise on the cushion. Questions abound. “Am I trying too hard, or too little?” “Is enlightenment really attainable?”In this mentorship program, Joseph Goldstein offers individualized support to serious meditators, answering practice questions submitted prior to each 90-minute monthly session. While it may not be possible to answer every question in every session, participants will benefit from the instruction offered, deepening their understanding of the Dharma, strengthening their practice, and learning how to integrate wisdom and compassion more fully into their lives.The course format will include meditation instruction and silent sitting, followed by student questions and Joseph Goldstein’s answers.Participants are required to attend all three sessions.



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David Matte, modified 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 5:01 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 5:01 PM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 108 Join Date: 8/3/19 Recent Posts
Hi,
Joseph goldstein is a 5 star meditation / dharma teacher imo. He's one of my top influences on my path so far.

What makes you say Daniel has a low opinion of him? I remember Daniel once saying a while back he was planning to collaborate with Joseph on some dharma related project. Daniel has also praised books by Joseph in his recommended reading list and in MCTB. He is very pragmatic; I never heard him teach anything woo.
Martin, modified 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 5:49 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 5:49 PM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 746 Join Date: 4/25/20 Recent Posts
Goldstein often rubs me the wrong way because he is religious and fond of absolutes and rules, but he knows his stuff. He is the Pope of Western vipassana for householders.  Session with the Pope? Sure!
Sam Gentile, modified 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 7:29 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 7:29 PM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 1310 Join Date: 5/4/20 Recent Posts
David Matte:
Hi,
"Joseph goldstein is a 5 star meditation / dharma teacher imo. He's one of my top influences on my path so far. "

He has been for me too.

What makes you say Daniel has a low opinion of him? I remember Daniel once saying a while back he was planning to collaborate with Joseph on some dharma related project. Daniel has also praised books by Joseph in his recommended reading list and in MCTB. He is very pragmatic; I never heard him teach anything woo.
Conversations with Daniel recently on Skype when I told him that I was going to an IMS retreat, he said not to mention his name to Joseph or Sharon or they would get mad. In another conversation, Daniel commented on Joseph's lack of attainments and his daily  practice.

When I said pragmatic, I said "pragmatic dharma" as in DhO, Daniel, Kenneth Folk, the maps to enlightment, etc.
Z , modified 3 Years ago at 6/17/20 12:02 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/16/20 11:54 PM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 201 Join Date: 3/16/18 Recent Posts
Joseph Goldstein is a good teacher and through his work over the past decades is somewhat of an (unwitting?) progenitor of a lot of the "pragmatic" stuff on this forum and in the West. I personally didn't get the impression in Daniel's writing about him "thinking very little" of Joseph, rather that there are certain areas of dispute over how best to teach this stuff and also ongoing political stuff of which I don't know much about. I also can't support the validity of the statement earlier in this thread of Goldstein being "religious and fond of absolutes and rules." Not sure where that is coming from as this hasn't been my experience of him and his work.

If you're looking for a good summation of his teaching style and approach to the dhamma, you should take a look at his recently published book Mindfulness and see if you like his style. I've only flipped around through it a bit but I've heard good things from a few people I respect. 

Just my $0.02 from time spent up at IMS over the past couple years. Have had the oppurtunity to attend some Q&A sessions with him and hear him talk and benefitted from what I heard. In fact, now that I think of it, at one of these talks he launched into a pretty long description of some of the stages on the progress of insight, which was interesting to hear from him. 
Sam Gentile, modified 3 Years ago at 6/18/20 11:45 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/18/20 11:45 AM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 1310 Join Date: 5/4/20 Recent Posts
Zachary:
Joseph Goldstein is a good teacher and through his work over the past decades is somewhat of an (unwitting?) progenitor of a lot of the "pragmatic" stuff on this forum and in the West. I personally didn't get the impression in Daniel's writing about him "thinking very little" of Joseph, rather that there are certain areas of dispute over how best to teach this stuff and also ongoing political stuff of which I don't know much about. I also can't support the validity of the statement earlier in this thread of Goldstein being "religious and fond of absolutes and rules." Not sure where that is coming from as this hasn't been my experience of him and his work.

If you're looking for a good summation of his teaching style and approach to the dhamma, you should take a look at his recently published book Mindfulness and see if you like his style. I've only flipped around through it a bit but I've heard good things from a few people I respect. 

Just my $0.02 from time spent up at IMS over the past couple years. Have had the oppurtunity to attend some Q&A sessions with him and hear him talk and benefitted from what I heard. In fact, now that I think of it, at one of these talks he launched into a pretty long description of some of the stages on the progress of insight, which was interesting to hear from him. 

I'd like to walk back this topic and apologize. I don't know what I was hoping to accomplish with this topic. I have had 2 in person retreats at IMS and 3 one week virtual retreats this year, including one with Joseph and Sharon. I have all books including Mindfulness and am grateful for his contributions in bringing the dharma from the East. He really knows his stuff and I have admired him for years.
 
The only way I can explain this, is each day, my mind is getting blown by this pragmatic dharma stuff here, in the ebooks, etc. that I am getting so passionate about it and thinking it should all be this. I'm throwing out the baby with the bath water. Anyway, I have signed up for the seminar.
Z , modified 3 Years ago at 6/18/20 2:23 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/18/20 12:45 PM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 201 Join Date: 3/16/18 Recent Posts
I have had 2 in person retreats at IMS and 3 one week virtual retreats this year, including one with Joseph and Sharon. 
 
The only way I can explain this, is each day, my mind is getting blown by this pragmatic dharma stuff here, in the ebooks, etc. that I am getting so passionate about it and thinking it should all be this. I'm throwing out the baby with the bath water. Anyway, I have signed up for the seminar.

Cool, I think a practice grounded in a pragmatic orientation coupled with access to IMS's facilities and retreat structure is a potent combination. 
Sam Gentile, modified 3 Years ago at 6/20/20 12:44 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/20/20 12:44 PM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 1310 Join Date: 5/4/20 Recent Posts
Zachary:
I have had 2 in person retreats at IMS and 3 one week virtual retreats this year, including one with Joseph and Sharon. 
 
The only way I can explain this, is each day, my mind is getting blown by this pragmatic dharma stuff here, in the ebooks, etc. that I am getting so passionate about it and thinking it should all be this. I'm throwing out the baby with the bath water. Anyway, I have signed up for the seminar.

Cool, I think a practice grounded in a pragmatic orientation coupled with access to IMS's facilities and retreat structure is a potent combination. 

If you could ask Joseph Goldsetin one question on anything what would you ask him?
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Eric G, modified 3 Years ago at 6/22/20 11:16 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/22/20 11:15 AM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 133 Join Date: 5/6/10 Recent Posts
There was a podcast somewhere I recall where Daniel thought that Joseph's answer to a question indicated that he really wasn't that enlightened.  Whatever.
Sam Gentile, modified 3 Years ago at 6/25/20 11:27 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 6/25/20 11:27 AM

RE: Would you attend this series with Joseph Goldstein? Opinions wanted

Posts: 1310 Join Date: 5/4/20 Recent Posts
Eric G:
There was a podcast somewhere I recall where Daniel thought that Joseph's answer to a question indicated that he really wasn't that enlightened.  Whatever.
 
He wasn't too pragmatic dharma friendly yesterday in our 1st session. He said Noting should only be used in specific cases and not  but very soft, in the mind rather than outloud.

He said the Progress of Insight could be "useful" but it usually leads to over-striving and over-efforting.

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