What the Buddha saw so clearly, and what we can see for ourselves, is that the underlying sources of suffering and freedom are forces or energies in our own minds. It’s not something outside of ourselves. Why is there suffering in the world? Why is there injustice, hunger, exploitation? The same forces which cause these kinds of suffering in the world exist within our own minds as well. We have to see that the sources of suffering and freedom are within us, they’re not outside of us. This insight is the foundation of the entire spiritual path.
Joseph Goldstein
Spirit Rock Residential Teacher
Joseph Goldstein is a co-founder and guiding teacher of Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. He has been teaching Vipassana and Metta retreats worldwide since 1974 and in 1989 helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.