Ep. 262 – Letting Thoughts Dissolve

Insight Hour with Joseph Goldstein - Be Here Now Network

Joseph Goldstein explores the subtle nature of 'conceit' (mana) and the experience of non-self through personal insights and Buddhist teachings. He shares how recognizing 'I am' thoughts as empty patterns leads to freedom, even in brief moments of insight. The talk emphasizes integrating non-self realization into daily life.

Key takeaways

• Conceit (I am) persists even after realizing non-self.
• Recognizing 'I am' thoughts dissolves their power.
• Even brief insights into non-self are transformative.

Transcript preview

Over the last 10 years the Be Here Now Network has had more than 100 million streams. That is so many people being touched by the wisdom of Jack Cornfield, Ram Doss, Alan Watts and all of our other beautiful teachers. And if all of you wisdom seekers could donate just five dollars this month, we could accomplish our goal of keeping these teachings accessible. And until the end of June, your donation will be matched. So five dollars will turn into ten dollars. And ten dollars from everyone who sees. And ten dollars from everyone who sees this, could get us to our birthday goal. So for Be Here Now Network's 10th anniversary, please consider donating even just five dollars. Thank you. Donate today at Be Here Now Network.com forward slash 10 years. 1-0 Y-E-A-R-S. Welcome to the Joseph Goldstein Inside Hour. This podcast is an expression of our shared interest in self-discovery. Join Joseph as he shares his deep knowledge of the path of mindfulness. If you are interested in supporting this podcast, please go to Be Here Now Network.com slash Joseph. So in the Terravada tradition, it offers a pretty clear framework for understanding these two elements. That is Southern Awakening, gradual cultivation. So as I mentioned, from the first glimpse of Nibana, the view of self is uprooted. So that's gone, that is not going to arise again. And from that point on, there is no doubt about the path. is guaranteed, we're firmly on the path. There's no going back at that point. But still, the other defilements still remain. We're still like the feeble young cattle, right? So there's still desire in aversion and restlessness and conceit. So all of these qualities are still present in our mind. just spend a little time focusing on the particular defilement of conceit, which in Polly is called Mana, M-A-N-A, because it highlights how we can have realized the truth, realized it, realized the truth of non-self, yet still have a persistent, feeling of I am. And that's the meaning of mono. It's translated as conceit, but there are different connotations in English. But in this Buddhist context, conceit is this I amness. And it can be very obvious, and it can be very obvious and it can be very subtle background. So, Mauna, this conceit I am, can take different forms. It can take the form of comparing ourselves with others. I am this in relationship to others. That is feeling better then, feeling worse than, feeling equal to. And we may think, well, I don't really do that. that. But it would really be interesting, and I've just noticed this in myself. You know, we meet somebody, maybe meet somebody for the first time, and friendly and engaging. But how often are there some background thoughts of some kind of comparison going on? Oh, they're shorter than I am. than I do too. It can be that trivial or it can be a little more meaningful. But that's an expression of this manner, this conceit I am in relationship to this. It can also refer to the projection of this I am in relationship to this. It can also refer to the projection of this I am over time. So every time we're caught up in force of, oh, I was this. So I did this in the past. Notice what the subject of that sentence is. I was this in the past. I did this in the past. Project it into the future. I will do this. I will go there. And of course in the present. I am this now. So this mana. I hope you can get a sense of why it's so deeply conditioned. The pattern, even after the view of self has been uprooted, we understand that there's no self. But I amness continues until full inlankment. That's how deeply conditioned it is. identity view has been uprooted, we can then begin to see Mauna, I am. Even these thoughts and feelings associated with them, this I amness, we begin to experience and understand the very I amness as being selfless. It's just a pattern. It's a pattern. It's a pattern that's there until full awakening. But after having uprooted identity view, we see, yes, this is just an empty pattern, empty of self. So we see this as being self-less. So we see this as being self-less. So I finally kind of put all this together. These days I am totally delighted when I see Mana arise in my mind. I love it. And I love it for two reasons. And it arises quite enough to be delighted a lot of the time. to recognize, oh, yeah, that's Manna instead of not recognizing it and being caught up and identified with that pattern. So just the seeing of it is free. And then the second reason I'm so delighted is knowing that it's not uprooted till full enlightenment. Every time I see it, oh, Mana, I feel like I'm working on. full enlightenment. I'm working on the end of the path. So that gives me a lot of joy, to see that, okay, I'm really investigating something that is that deep. This understanding has very practical applications. So I'll tell a little story about this.