New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- We explore the intellectual and practical aspects of these mystical and esoteric concepts. Joseph Goldstein is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, both in Barre, Massachusetts. He is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Insight Meditation and The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation. Joseph has studied and practiced meditation since 1967 under the guidance of eminent teachers from India, Burma, and Tibet and he leads Insight Meditation retreats around the world. In this episode we talk about: Why Joseph has become more comfortable talking about these concepts as he's gotten older Why karma should not be seen as a deterministic principle that rules every aspect of our lives The connection between karma and past lives What he thinks about the concept of free will and how it relates to karma And why skeptics would do well to adopt a mindset characterized by the "willing suspension of disbelief" Additional Links: Joseph's Dharma Seed Talk: Understanding Karma Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master Free Will by Sam Harris IMS's Forest Refuge Program The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Related Episodes: Click here to listen to the previous episodes in our tenth anniversary series. Nirvana | Joseph Goldstein To order the revised tenth anniversary edition of 10% Happier: click here For tickets to Dan Harris: Celebrating 10 Years of 10% Happier at Symphony Space: click here Sign up for Dan's weekly newsletter here Follow Dan on social: Instagram, TikTok Ten Percent Happier online bookstore Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Our favorite playlists on: Anxiety, Sleep, Relationships, Most Popular Episodes Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/joseph-goldstein-742