A Gift of Dharma for 12.31.10
Today’s quote is from Joseph Goldstein, who is one of the best-known teachers of Vipassana meditation in the United States; the co-founder (along with Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg) of the Insight Meditation Society and Barre Center for Buddhist Studies; and the author of such books as A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, and The Experience of Insight. This is it — from my recent interview with Joseph for Shambhala Sun Space:
…The word “mindfulness” has quite a range of meanings. What’s important from the Buddhist perspective, which may not always be apparent when the term is used in other ways, it has an ethical component; so it means more than simply recognizing what’s present. It means being aware of what’s present without greed, without aversion, without delusion. So it’s a special kind of awareness, which is a little more precise. So there’s a fine-tuning we need to do to find that place in the mind that is aware of what’s going on, and that also contains that ethical framework. I think that piece may not always be clear to people.
