Joseph Goldstein (writer)

Joseph Goldstein (born 1944) is one of the first American vipassana teachers (Fronsdal, 1998), co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) with Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg, contemporary author of numerous popular books on Buddhism (see publications below), resident guiding teacher at IMS, and leader of retreats worldwide on insight (vipassana) and lovingkindness (metta) meditation.

While the majority of Goldstein's publications introduce Westerners to primarily Theravada concepts, practices and values, his 2002 work, "One Dharma", explored the creation of an integrated framework for the Theravada, Tibetan and Zen traditions.

Chronology

1944: Born; grew up in the Catskill mountains of New York
1960's: Graduated from Columbia University as a philosophy major
1965: Entered the Peace Corps as a volunteer in Thailand where he first became interested in Buddhism; he later went on to live for eight years in Asia
1974: Led meditation retreats fashioned after those of S.N. Goenka at Chogyam Trungpa's Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO., where he met Kornfield and Salzberg
1975: Co-founded the IMS[1] in Barre, MA.
1989: Helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies[2]
1998: Co-founded the IMS Forest Refuge[3] for long-term personal retreats.

Teachers

Since 1967, Goldstein has practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under well-known teachers from India, Burma and Tibet. In his 2002 book, One Dharma, he lists his teachers (p. v) as:

Lord Buddha Shakyamuni, Guru Rinpoche, Anagarika Sri Munindra, Sri S.N. Goenka, Mrs. Nani Bala Barua (Dipa Ma), Joshu Sasaki Roshi, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, the Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita, His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

Publications (partial list, in chronological order)

The Experience of Insight (1983)
Seeking the Heart of Wisdom (1987), with Jack Kornfield
Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom (1994)
Path of Insight Meditation (1995), with Jack Kornfield
Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate (2002), with Sharon Salzburg [Sounds True]
One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism (2002)
A Heart Full of Peace (2007)

Honors

Goldstein was honored by the New York Open Center [4] in 1999 for his "oustanding contribution to the mindfulness of the West." He is a member of the Board of Scientific Governors at The Scripps Research Institute.

References

Bibliography

Fronsdal, Gil (1998). Insight Meditation in the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, in C.S.Prebish & K.K.Tanaka (1998), The Faces of Buddhism in America, University of California Press. Also available on-line at: http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/articles/InsightintheUS.html.
Gross, Amy (1999). An Interview with Joseph Goldstein, in Tricycle Magazine. Available on-line at: http://www.dhammaweb.net/interview/view.php?id=5.
Prebish, Charles (March 2002). Surveying the Buddhist Landscape, in Shambala Sun (March 2002). Also available on-line at: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1697.
Schwartz, Tony (1995). What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America. NY: Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-09398-3.
Wright, Robert (undated). An Interview with Joseph Goldstein. Available on-line at: http://meaningoflife.tv/video.php?speaker=goldstein&topic=complete.