Meditation, Freedom and Ethics

     “In meditation, the content of our mind is really just a jumping off point. We do want to recognize what kind of thoughts, what kind of feelings, what kind of emotions - but I think meditation, and the (Buddha’s) teachings in general then go much deeper than that. And they go deeper in a couple of ways.
     One is there’s an ethical framework to the teachings. There’s a real recognition that some mind states are unwholesome – that is they lead to suffering for oneself and others; others are wholesome – they lead to happiness. And there’s an ethical imperative that follows from that if we really care about happiness and peace in the world. So that ethical framework I think is quite important. 
     But even deeper than that, is when we go from an interest in the content of what’s arising, to the nature of the process itself, and we’re giving more emphasis to seeing just how everything in the mind and body is simply arising, and is there for a short while, and passes away. And so we go from a level of content to a level of process. And that’s where our insight into the truth of change, of impermanence becomes strongly integrated in our lives. The more we see the changing nature of things, the less we’re attached. The less we’re attached, the less we suffer. And so that’s why it’s a path to freedom.”      Joseph Goldstein

     Above from the excellent full-length (8hrs 24min) 2010 documentary movie "Eastern Mystics - Discovering the Sacred in the Ordinary". The shorter {78min} version is: "With One Voice. Awaken to the Reality that Unites Us All"     www.WithOneVoiceDocumentary.org