Episodes
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Helping us reflect on our daily habits and feelings, Jack shares how Right Attitude, Wise Aspiration, and Mindful Thought allow us to uncover the sweet joy of living in The Way.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“With Wise Attitude we begin to discover the power of kindness, the joy in not grasping, the delight in generosity, the ease in letting go, and the immediacy of freedom and liberation that is here in every moment.” – Jack Kornfield
Exploring the second step of the Eightfold Path, Jack mindfully shares on:
Right Attitude, Wise Thought, the second step on the Eightfold PathSeeing directly the true power of mind and heartOvercoming habitual patterns of thought, action, and attitudeThe Buddha on nobility, integrity, and the heartOvercoming greed, hatred, and delusionKnowing the sweet joy of living in The WayWise Aspiration and the path of the BodhisattvaReflecting on our attitude around deathRumi, Stephen Levine, Martin Luther King Jr, Suzuki Roshi, and Alan WattsTaking what life gives us as “grist for the mill” of awakeningExamining spiritual teachings in our own life (what works, what doesn’t?)Trading ‘protection and defensiveness’ for ‘openness and curiosity’Accepting each moment as an unrepeatable miracleBeginner’s Mind and Don’t Know MindOpenness, respect, and compassion“It is knowing what is true that brings ourselves freedom. We don’t get free by making ourselves free.” – Jack Kornfield
“It is only through mercy, through the kindness of compassion, that reconciliation happens, that what’s locked in suffering begins to grow and breathe new life.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded in 1992 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Intersecting the Buddha’s ‘Wise Understanding’ with Alan Watt’s ‘Wisdom of Insecurity,’ Jack illuminates the path of discovering lasting happiness.
For an even deeper dive down the Eightfold Path, sign up for Walking the Eightfold Path with Jack Kornfield, an online course designed to guide you through the wisdom, compassion, and freedom of Buddha’s teachings. Learn more and sign up here.
“Spiritual life is not about possessing or finding security, but rather it’s discovering what Alan Watts called, ‘the wisdom of insecurity,’ the capacity for freedom and compassion of heart, no matter what the circumstances. Right Understanding is a willingness to dedicate ourself to awakening, no matter how conditions change.” – Jack Kornfield
Exploring the first step of the Eightfold Path, Jack mindfully shares on:
The Buddha, Enlightenment, the Eightfold Path, and Four Noble TruthsHow to live a wise, mindful, happy, and loving lifeThe Middle Path as the pathway to freedomWise Understanding, the first step on the Eightfold PathSuffering, it’s causes, and how to alleviate itWhere happiness actually comes fromWorking with clinging, grasping, aging, aversion, fearImpermanence, change, and the wisdom of insecuritySpiritual Direction and the journey of the soulThe seed of awakening your Buddha NatureUnderstanding the Law of KarmaFinding nirvana through our current circumstancesHaving compassion for what puts us to sleepTending your heart to tend the whole world“Buddha saw that the cause of happiness and the cause of suffering is not so much in life itself, but in the way that we relate to life.” – Jack Kornfield
“Right understanding tells us that we can dedicate our life to something beautiful.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded in 1992 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Discover how to shift from trauma to loving awareness through mindfulness, conscious healing, and compassionate activism with Jack Kornfield and Thomas Hübl, PhD.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“Who you are is so much more than your trauma, you are consciousness itself.” – Jack Kornfield
In Part 2 of this episode originally airing for The Collective Trauma Summit in 2021, Jack and Thomas mindfully explore:
Developing the skills to heal our traumaJack’s time with meditation master, Maha GhosanandaThe powerful connection between activism and spiritualityAvoiding burnout, finding balanceTransforming from skeptical to mysticalNavigating the traumas in the Middle EastDigesting our traumasWaking up from auto-pilotExpanding your window of toleranceHow to face racism, war, economic disparity, the environment, etcMindfulness, consciousness, and loving awareness“The whole notion that spiritual practice doesn’t have anything to do with activism is a fiction.” – Jack Kornfield
“Every breath you take is the breath of the starlings and the breath of the earthworms and the soil. We’re all inter-breathing it together. That’s how it works, that’s what life is.” – Jack Kornfield
About Thomas Hübl, PhD:
Thomas Hübl, PhD, is a renowned teacher, author, and international facilitator who works within the complexity of systems and cultural change, integrating the core insights of the great wisdom traditions and mysticism with the discoveries of science. Since the early 2000s, he has led large-scale events and courses on the healing of collective trauma.
He is the author of Attuned: Practicing Interdependence to Heal Our Trauma—and Our World and Healing Collective Trauma: A Process for Integrating Our Intergenerational and Cultural Wounds. He has served as an advisor and guest faculty for universities and organizations, as a coach for CEOs and organizational leaders, and is currently a visiting scholar at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University. For more info, books, podcast, and upcoming offerings, please visit thomashuebl.com
Open the Heart of Forgiveness with Jack Kornfield: A Journey of Redemption, Reconciliation and Renewal. Learn more and sign up!
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Jack Kornfield and Thomas Hübl, PhD explore the dimensions of trauma, individual and collective healing, and the transformative power of community.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“Almost every great spiritual tradition knows that we can’t do it alone. Because part of the revelation is that the whole notion of separateness is a constructed fiction—that we are one another’s bond, we are one another’s glory, that we are life itself—and that sense of separation dissolves in mystical ways, in the deepest most profound therapeutic ways.” – Jack Kornfield
In Part 1 of this episode originally airing for The Collective Trauma Summit in 2021, Jack and Thomas mindfully explore:
The essence of trauma, how it gets locked in our body, and how to finally release itThe merging point of Eastern Spirituality and Western PsychologyThe way intimate relationships help bring up exactly what we need to work onHow our trauma work can lead to spiritual healingThe various dimensions of healing traumaDeep and moving stories of alchemizing traumaCreating a safe container for our healing and collective healingHow interdependence in a group naturally leads to healingThe importance of community (satsang, sangha)How Stan Grof’s holotropic breathwork is a psychedelic experienceGrounding and integrating our our practice into mindful loving awarenessAn ancient Buddhist parable on merging the physical world with the spiritualOpen the Heart of Forgiveness with Jack Kornfield: A Journey of Redemption, Reconciliation and Renewal beginning Oct 21. Learn more and sign up!
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Jack guides us in creating a sacred container for spiritual practice—a space where, like a garden, our inner life can be nurtured, allowing us to transform life’s challenges into paths of awakening and growth.
Open the Heart of Forgiveness with Jack Kornfield: A Journey of Redemption, Reconciliation and Renewal beginning Oct 21. Learn more and sign up!
“Much of our spiritual life, to mature, needs a sacred container for transformation. It needs this container that is greater than our small self—the body of fear and the mind of desire—something that honors a larger spirit, a larger truth.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Creating a free and protected space, a sacred container for your practice
How the very difficulties in our lives are what actually awakens us
Using our hardships as a crucible for uncovering our own goodness
Rumi’s flavorful and delicious “vegetable fable”
Learning how to stay centered on your cushion
The mirror-like quality of meditation practice
Meeting our practice with commitment, constancy, patience
Honoring the cycles of nature and the universe
Feeling our feelings to heal our grief
Learning the value of staying with things, even through difficulty
Choosing the Dharma over the body of fear and mind of desire
Nurturing the sacred garden within yourself
The power of prayer and feeling blessed
“In a way, sitting is nothing more than looking in the mirror. You sit and face whatever arises.” – Jack Kornfield
“It almost doesn’t matter what we pick, who our partner is, or what we choose to do, as long as it’s reasonably wholesome. What matters is how much we can give to it, of our sincerity, of our earnestness, of our heart.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded on 8/1/1991 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Guiding us through the ever-changing cycles of life, Jack uncovers the profound truth of our interconnectedness as boundless and unique expressions of the Dharma.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“We see that there isn’t one way to practice or to live, but many cycles, seasons, and expressions of Dharma and truth.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Natural wisdom of the rainforest ecosystemDiscovering the truth of our inexorable interconnectionSeeing clearly the reality of change and impermanenceInterconnectedness within the flowing stream of interbeingSpiritual maturity and recognizing the patterns and cycles of lifeThe many unique expressions of Dharma, spirituality, and truth in this worldWisdom from Buddha, Dipa Ma, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, HH the Dalai Lama, S.N. Goenka, and Tibetan cave-dwelling yogisBringing your compassion to the environment, politics, social action, homelessness, education, etcMeditation as a radical act: facing head-on the forces of greed, prejudice, hatred, and delusionFinding your unique dharma and way to help the worldLife and spirituality as a process of death and rebirth over and over againUncovering a deep ‘joy for no reason’How the “light and love” in meditation is actually literalUntangling the knots of our attachments to live in inner freedomA poem dedicated to the struggles in the Middle EastDiscovering your capacity to awaken, and your unique gift“It’s not about perfection of oneself or the world, but it’s learning to live in a simple way and touch one moment after another with wisdom, understanding, compassion, and presence.” – Jack Kornfield
“Wisdom is a state of our being in our heart. And to live in that way takes humility, a surrender or commitment, a trusting heart, a going into the unknown.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk from 1/3/1991 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
Open the Heart of Forgiveness with Jack Kornfield: A Journey of Redemption, Reconciliation and Renewal beginning Oct 21. Learn more and sign up!
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Speaking to progressing on the spiritual path, Jack explores enlightenment as true intimacy, and shares how: where we’re going is actually here.
“Where we’re going is here, and what we’re after doesn’t exist in time.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Our idealistic/romantic notions of the spiritual pathConsciousness, impermanence, and working with human emotionsWisdom stories of Ajahn Chah, Jack’s accomplished Thai meditation teacherMaharishi Mahesh Yogi and the legend of building a Spiritual Amusement ParkProgress and patience along the spiritual pathEnlightenment as intimacy with all thingsA guided meditation practice reflecting on life, death, and good deedsTransforming the the world with one small act of kindness at a timeHonoring our own beauty and goodnessHow compassion is characterized by true intimacyRecognizing and coming to our spiritual maturityLiving like a Bodhisattva, and what it really means to ‘save all beings’Alchemizing extreme suffering, trauma, and grief into compassion, forgiveness, and service“Enlightenment is to be intimate with what’s here.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk from 1/3/1991 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
For more teachings, full courses, articles, and guided meditations, head to JackKornfield.com or sign up for Jack's email teachings at JackKornfield.com/newsletter
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Jack unfolds the radical wisdom and healing teachings of the great Buddhist sage Atīśa on living this dreamlike life as gesture of love.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“If life is like a dream, make it a beautiful one.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Radical wisdom from the 7 Verses of Atīśa – one of the greatest Buddhist sagesA moving story about the deep transformative power encased within committing an act of truthThe nature of timeless awareness and the witnessExchanging “spiritual trading cards” with Ram DassHumor, listening, stillness, and spiritual perspectiveNot being swayed by outer circumstanceLearning what really matters in this lifeLiving with an honest and compassionate heartEmptiness and considering all phenomenon to be dreamsNot brooding over the faults of othersNoticing our inner waterfall of thoughts, feelings, sensationsBecoming medicine for others and the worldLooking through the eyes of mercyBeing grateful to everyone and everythingAlways relying on joyful and peaceful mind and heartDon’t expect a standing ovation for your spiritual work or service to the world“Who you are is what matters most—and who you are is awareness having this amazing life journey.” – Jack Kornfield
“Let your life be a gesture of love.” – Jack Kornfield
This episode was originally recorded on 11/20/23 for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Meditation. To join Jack's next livestream, head to JackKornfield.com/events
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In this fresh guided meditation, Jack invites you to rest your mind and heart to uncover the authentic happiness encased within true peace.
This Dharma Talk originally took place for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation on 11/23/2024. To join his next livestream, please check out Jack’s events calendar.
“There is no greater happiness than peace.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack leads a guided meditation on:Peace as the highest happinessFinding ease, stability, stillness, and presenceReceiving whatever arises with kindness and compassionInviting thoughts and emotions to quietResting in mindful loving awarenessUncovering a peaceful mind and full heart“Feel how the earth you are sitting on supports you completely in its steadiness.” – Jack Kornfield
Join senior meditation teachers David Nichtern and Rebecca D’Onofrio for a free online discussion on the path of developing one's own meditation practice and supporting others who wish to explore this transformative path. Register for free today: The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher | Sep. 19th @ 6:00pm ET
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Listening to the song of the present moment, Jack uncovers how to dance with life’s dynamic rhythms along the harmonizing path to inner-freedom.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“The rhythm of your breath is no different than the rhythm of the stars.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
The art of listening to the song of life, birth and deathWhy it can be so tough to actually “Be Here Now” like Ram DassHow love connects to the present momentAlan Watts, music, dance, and harmonizing to the universeFeeling the rhythms of your breath and bodyLearning to dance to life’s dynamic musicStaying open and avoiding spiritual bypassLooking at our body and life clearly and directlyThe power of attention, noting, and spaciousness for diffusing our judgements and emotionsBuddha’s discovery of the Middle Way, and why he stopped fighting himselfDealing with the unfinished business of grief, loss, loneliness, woundsHow to handle worries or fantasies that keep looping over and overChögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the tenderness and fearlessness of an Awakened HeartWhy Buddha focused on humans as ‘five processes,’ rather than personalitiesLetting go of our rigid sense of self and diving into the fluidity of lifeNon-grasping and how even enlightenment is a problemDiscovering the true path to liberationDeath, dying, and a reading from the Tibetan Book of the Dead“To listen is to be awake in the present without moving away from or running away from what’s actually here.” – Jack Kornfield
“The only place to actually love another person, or a tree, or a living creature, or the earth itself, is when we’re here in the present.” – Jack Kornfield
Discover your great joy and love in Jack’s life-changing new online journey – The Awakened Heart: Discovering Great Joy and Love – Dive in here and now at JackKornfield.com
This Dharma talk originally recorded in 1991 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
Join senior meditation teachers David Nichtern and Rebecca D’Onofrio for a free online discussion on the path of developing one's own meditation practice and supporting others who wish to explore this transformative path. Register for free today: The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher | Sep. 19th @ 6:00pm ET
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Revealing how to calm the mind through meditation, Jack shares wisdom on self-acceptance, trust, and healing the unfinished business of the heart.
Discover your great joy and love in Jack’s life-changing new online journey – The Awakened Heart: Discovering Great Joy and Love – Sign up by Sept 9 to take part in two live Q&A’s with Jack.
“Don’t live in the mind, rest in the heart and let the mind come and go as it will. This is discovering your Buddha Nature.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Working with the ‘unfinished business of the heart’ – grief, sorrows, longing, wounds, lossHonoring life’s ‘ocean of tears’ with love and kind attentionCultivating the courage to allow your heart to be brokenChögyam Trungpa Rinpoche and the tender heart of a warriorSelf-acceptance, allowing yourself to feel, and reawakening a trust in yourselfHealing the mind by seeing clearly and not taking it so seriouslyResting the in heart and letting the mind come and goDiscovering Your Buddha Nature, your fundamental ground of beingThe technique of seeing the world as enlightened, and the path as yoursThe healing encased within understanding emptiness, selflessness, and letting goMeditation as a truly courageous act“The problem with the mind mostly is that we take it seriously.” – Jack Kornfield
“Healing of the mind is when we can hold in our hearts all that arises, and sense a rest and a goodness, a wholeness in us.” – Jack Kornfield
Join senior meditation teachers David Nichtern and Rebecca D’Onofrio for a free online discussion on the path of developing one's own meditation practice and supporting others who wish to explore this transformative path. Register for free today: The Journey of Becoming a Meditation Teacher | Sep. 19th @ 6:00pm ET
This episode recorded in 1991 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Exploring healing through meditation, Jack shares on kundalini, addiction, suffering, and the transformation of having an ‘in body experience.’
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“You have heard of ‘out of the body experiences,’ but what we’re after is something more unusual and important, an ‘in the body experience.'” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:
Finding strength, wakefulness, and compassion amidst it allThe Coconut Monk and the Jesus-Buddha connectionFinding compassion and joy despite suffering and warHealing—what it is, how it arises, and how we can connect with itListening and respect as the ground for healingFinding and living a path with heartMindfulness, breath, attention, noting, and the BuddhaMeditation and having an ‘in-body experience’Kundalini and opening the energy bodyLearning to handle both pleasure and painBuddha and finding the Middle WayThe healing of reconnecting with our senses and world around usWhat addictions really mean in an addicted societyFacing our suffering as the gateway to the precious mystery of lifeReading children’s direct messages to God“There’s a healing that comes just in reconnecting with the senses and the world around us.” – Jack Kornfield
“As we begin to practice together, we can sense that meditation and spiritual work is to bring a heartfelt awareness to our life, and out of this there comes an awakening or opening, which we call healing.” – Jack Kornfield
Discover your great joy and love in Jack’s life-changing new online journey – The Awakened Heart: Discovering Great Joy and Love – Sign up by Sept 9 to take part in two live Q&A's with Jack.
This episode recorded in late December 1991 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Deeply unveiling the Buddha’s transformative miracle of awakening, Jack provides a comprehensive guide to finding freedom in everyday life.
Discover your great joy and love in Jack's life-changing new online journey beginning Sept 9 – 'The Awakened Heart: Discovering Your Great Joy and Love'
“We’re asked to discover in this dance the possibility of awakening in the midst of our life, to turn what we do into something sacred.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
What happened to the Buddha when he sat under the Bodhi TreeWhat Buddha’s enlightenment means for the worldBodh Gaya and the possibility of awakening through natureBuddha’s path as a yogi, and how he dealt with his spiritual powersBuddha's miracle of awakening and educationReflections and questions from the Buddha for how you are livingKeeping freshness and “beginner’s mind” in your practiceParenting, schooling, and the different styles of educationFinding freedom in the difficulties and direct circumstances of your lifeThe real possibility of awakening in the midst of lifeThe Ten Paramitas, Buddhism’s Ten PerfectionsWhat walking meditation is actually aboutWhy Thich Nhat Hanh does everything slowly and mindfullyPatience, listening, and presenceSpiritual life as the education of awakeningListening deeply for the Tao, Dharma, truth“Spiritual life kindles in us an interest, an attention, a passion to awaken.” – Jack Kornfield
“Meditation is the art of doing what we do and bringing our senses, our heart, our whole being to that.” – Jack Kornfield
This episode recorded on 10/01/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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In this fresh Dharma Talk, Jack reveals how listening from the heart can empower you to transform yourself and the world.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“Difficult times call on our best spirit.” – Jack Kornfield
In this fresh episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Navigating life skillfully through difficult timesHow we can change ourselves and the world through true listeningThe two dimensions of mindfulness: Sati (mindful presence) and Sampajanna (mindful response)How deep listening leads to compassionate responseUsing our difficulties as doorways of opportunity to help us awakenReflecting on how we respond to the troubles of the worldThe art of listening and how it brings us into the present momentHow taking a “sacred pause” leads to more possibilitiesThe childlike playfulness and joy between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond TutuJack tells a transformational and moving story of Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, the miraculous Tibetan physician.How all the problems and conflicts of the world are symptoms, and the solution is in the human heartActivism, service, and helping with an open heartListening deeply to sense the universal truths of realityThe powerful prayer of Black Elk, the mystical Lakota medicine manListening inwardly, tending the heart, and honing your intuition“The very difficulties you have are the place that truly awakens the heart.” – Jack Kornfield
“Quiet the mind, take time, tend the heart, listen inwardly, listen to one another, listen to the earth—and you will know what to do.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk originally took place for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Guided Meditation on 4/15/24. To join his next livestream, please check out Jack’s events calendar.
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In this special episode originally airing on television’s Thinking Allowed series, Jeffrey Mishlove interviews Jack Kornfield about meditation, mindfulness, and self-acceptance.
Want fresh Jack teachings delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Jack’s newsletter for weekly free content from JackKornfield.com – guided meditations, Dharma Talks, articles, and more! JackKornfield.com/newsletter
“The purpose of meditation is to make people happy.” – Jack Kornfield
In this special television episode, Jeffrey Mishlove interviews Jack about:
How western psychology and science fits together with eastern spirituality and meditationWhether Jack preferred getting his Ph.D. or his time at the Buddhist monasteryThe three aspects of Buddhist practice: generosity, ethics/virtue, training of heart/mindHow what we practice, positive or negative, grows in our lifeSpiritual bypass and mediation as an escapeVipassana meditation and seeing clearlyOvercoming the “near enemies” in BuddhismEquanimity, balance, centering, and fearlessnessMeditation in action and engaging mindfully with the worldFacing our fears and confronting ourselves in meditation practiceSelf-acceptance and learning to care for oneselfNot being so afraid of what’s painfulUncovering the basic mechanics of meditationReleasing tensions, unskillful concepts, and our limited sense of selfPsychic abilities and intuitionAwareness and moving past our thoughtsUsing meditation to relate deeper to your inner life“Meditative awareness has a healing quality to it.” – Jeffrey Mishlove
“One of the tenets of Buddhism is that the heart, body, and mind can all be trained. That is, if you practice something, it will gradually grow in your life.” – Jack Kornfield
About Jeffrey Mishlove:
Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist, an accomplished radio and television interviewer, and one of the most erudite and articulate personalities on television. Jeffrey holds the only doctoral diploma in parapsychology to be awarded by an accredited American university. Learn more about Dr. Mishlove and his ongoing offerings and interviews at newthinkingallowed.com
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Unraveling the mystery of who you truly are, Jack reveals mindfulness as the gateway to liberation within the ever-changing river of life.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“Mindfulness, in the Buddhist tradition, is said to be the gateway to liberation, the gateway to that which is eternal, to the timeless or the deathless.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Mindfulness as the gateway to liberationThe Buddha’s Eightfold Path and the Middle WaySacred attention, receptivity, and sensitivityThe prayer of Mad Bear, a magical Iroquois medicine manOvercoming worry in the present momentRumi’s transformational poem, The Guest HouseAwareness of breath, body, mind states, feelings, dharma, and the laws of natureUsing mindfulness as a vehicle to discover who we really areEternity, time, timelessness, change, and becoming deathlessWhat it was like when Thich Nhat Hanh visited Spirit RockEntering the “river of life,” humanity’s collective pains, joys, etcDealing with attachment, aversion, grief, and sufferingWorking spiritually with our dreamsStepping out of the bureaucracy of ego, thought, and mindThe freedom of identifying with “the witness”Liberation as both practical and radical“Reality comes out of nothing, exists according to certain patterns, and then disappears. To know this frees us. To not know it, we are bound. This recognition brings us face to face with the mystery.” – Jack Kornfield
“To become mindful is to become free, to have the capacity to step out of the rat race, the speed, the complexity and be who we are, be true to our hearts. There comes a great balance and ease with that. In any moment, we stop the war, we stop the conflict, we come back to be as the Buddha sits, as the Buddha walks, as the Buddha speaks, where we are, just present and alive.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded on 3/1/1992 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Exploring how to direct energy in a wise way, Jack shares how embracing Sacred Effort nourishes joy, ease, beauty, equanimity, mindfulness, and loving kindness in your life.
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"Right Effort, or Wise Energy, most fundamentally is the effort to pay attention, the effort to be present, awake, and see what is true in front of us. Out of all the kinds of efforts we can make, the most fundamental wise effort in spiritual life is to be where we are and see it clearly, to be conscious, or mindful." – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Directing the energy of your life to be awake, aware, and presentSeeing the Eightfold Path as a lotus or mandalaCarlos Castaneda, impeccability, and becoming a spiritual warriorHow to wake yourself up from sleepwalking through your lifeHaving a full heart, deep attention, and clear seeingThe two levels of spiritual friends and spiritual practiceUsing suffering to develop a wise heartRemembering death and impermanenceWhat Jack taught his daughter about deathBowing to our difficult emotions and moving onDisentangling ourselves from greed, fear, and obsessionNourishing equanimity, ease, joy, beauty, and loving kindnessTending each moment as if you were planting a seedBalance and the Buddha stringing the luteRamana Maharshi and the wisdom of letting goMaking your life and activity an expression of the Tao"The teaching of Right Effort or Wise Effort is a reminder of our nobility. It is a reminder of the human inspiration of spirit not just to get through our lives, but to honor it, to respect it, to be present for it, to delight in it." – Jack Kornfield
"Unclench the heart, steady yourself, and be present for things as they are, and then your activity becomes an expression of your awakening, it becomes a vehicle for the Tao." – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded on 3/1/1992 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Revealing how to smoothly navigate the cycles of spiritual life in openness, stillness, and intimacy, Jack explores the transformative beauty of living the Dharma.
This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.
“There are different cycles. They are natural for us. We breathe in and out. Our heart opens and closes. Your heart isn’t supposed to stay open all the time, even flowers close at night. So don’t get some idea you’re supposed to be some certain state or some certain way. It’s more about flexibility, listening, and honoring what cycle you are in in your life.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Navigating the cycles of spiritual lifeSpiritual practice as a voyage, a journeyOpenness and the necessity of letting goWhat we can learn from the change of seasonsCultivating the courage to live a spiritual lifeRumi’s poem of the wisdom of the bird in the trapThe peace of rejecting nothing whatsoeverHow Jack had to work his way down the chakras instead of upEmbodying and experiencing your feelingsStillness, simplicity, intimacy and reconnecting with the earthA perspective-shifting Buddhist meditation on death and good deedsOvercoming self-judgement and unworthinessNon-attachment and commitment in relationshipsA tantric master’s wisdom on overcoming burnoutThe Dalai Lama’s surprising advice to Jack“When you look back over your life, what really matters is, ‘How well have I loved?’ And that love is never done in generalities. It’s always done in a moment with a tree, or a spider, or a person that you meet, or a person close to you.” – Jack Kornfield
“In some way in life, that’s all that people around us want if you look—people mostly just want to be listened to and acknowledged.” – Jack Kornfield
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This Dharma Talk recorded on 7/14/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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Jack Kornfield delves into the simplicity of goodness and virtue in a talk spanning Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Amma-ji, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Napoleon, and Rumi.
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“I believe within us, within the human heart and human consciousness, is an innate love of honesty and a joy in virtue, straightforwardness, and the simplicity of goodness.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:
Buddhism, virtue, and the Five PreceptsAhimsa – the blessing of non-harmingThe chilling note Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche wrote when he escaped TibetTaking a fearless moral inventoryHonesty and the simplicity of goodnessWhat Buddha learned in his past livesDr. Martin Luther King Jr. and standing up for truthAdi-Sila – spontaneous or innate virtue, the shining of the just heartThe Tibetan Buddhist perspective on reincarnationJack’s meeting with “hugging saint,” Amma-ji, archetype of the Divine MotherFinding your Buddha Nature, Tao, and DharmaRumi’s brilliant poem about ducksInterdependence and connectednessDeep philosophical questions and contemplations from JackNapoleon, the sword, and the spirit“Meditation or spiritual life asks us to look at our actions and pay attention to how we actually live.” – Jack Kornfield
“We’re all in it together, we’re all connected, we all support one another.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded on 6/1/1990 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Teaching a nature retreat amidst softly chirping birds and cooling rain, Jack, Pema Chödrön, and Ajahn Sumedho illuminate joyful insights of monastic life.
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"Mostly what draws people to monastic life in the healthiest and best sense is its joy." – Jack Kornfield
In this special outdoor retreat, Jack, Pema Chödrön, and Ajahn Sumedho explore:
Chanting the powerful seed syllable mantra, "Ah"Joys and misconceptions of monastic life in modern timesWhy someone would take vows and become a monk or nuKabir's poetry, being human, and walking the spiritual pathSexuality and celibacy in spiritual communitiesRelating to both ultimate and relative realityDealing with the body in physically taxing situationsWorking with injustice, inequality, and hierarchy within monasteries and spiritual institutionsThe nature of change and how our present creates our futureOpen-heartedness and open-mindednessLiving the Dharma every second of our existenceLetting our issues be our teachersA surprise Q&A appearance from Heart Wisdom family, Brother David Steindl-Rast, along with Ajahn Sundara, and Sister Columba"Quite clearly the future is the result of how we work with our minds now. To the degree that we open our hearts and minds to the present moment, that creates our future." – Pema Chödrön
"I like to reflect that the Buddha only taught two things: suffering and the end of suffering." – Ajahn Sumedho
About Pema Chödrön:
Pema Chödrön is a Buddhist teacher in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa. She served as the director of Karma Dzong, in Boulder, until moving in 1984 to rural Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to be the director of Gampo Abbey. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche asked her to work towards the establishment of a monastery for western monks and nuns. Check out her new book, How We Live Is How We Die, and learn more at PemaChodronFoundation.org
About Ajahn Sumedho:
Ajahn Sumedho is a prominent teacher in the Thai Forest Tradition of Theravāda Buddhism. He was ordained in 1967, trained under Ajahn Chah, and has been instrumental in helping bring Buddha's teachings to the West. Learn more about Ajahn Sumedho in Teachings of a Buddhist Monk, including a forward by Jack.
This Dharma Talk recorded on 5/26/1990 on the land which would become Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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