I've always been a big fan of Jack Kornfield's work so I thought I'd share 10 of his finest offerings.
1. Letting go is a central theme in spiritual practice, as we see the preciousness and brevity of life.
2. The independence and rebelliousness of our adolescence offer us yet another quality essential to our practice: the insistence that we find out the truth for ourselves, accepting no one's word above our own experience.
3. As we age, having seen many cycles of birth and death, there is a detachment and a wisdom that grows within us.
4. Who am I? who is carrying this body?
5. To see the preciousness of all things, we must bring our full attention to life.
6. Our consciousness contains all these rolls and more, the hero and the lover, the hermit, the dictator, the wise woman and the fool.
7. We can bring an open and respectful attention to the sensations that make up our bodily experience.
8. The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.
9. It is the place of feeling that binds us or frees us.
10. The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do, for the net is full of holes.
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6 comments:
"Where am I awake, and what am I avoiding? Do I use my practice to hide? In what areas am I conscious, and where am I fearful, caught, or unfree?" If we'd silently contemplate these points every day of our lives, I'm sure we'd help ourselves all to effortlessly attain a strong sense of worth and purpose. For happiness isn’t about getting something in the future--happiness is the capacity to open the heart and eyes and spirit and be where we are and find happiness in the midst of it. Even in the place of difficulty, there is a kind of happiness that comes if we’ve been compassionate, that can help us through it. So it’s different than pleasure, and it’s different than chasing after something.
Thanks for the insight, Tony. This Kornfield dude definitely does know how to open someone's eyes to the everyday mysteries of existence. And yet another good guy from New England!:)
Arrrrrrrgh,
Nick
Tony,
Huge Kornfield fan here as well - thanks for this...
Camp was awesome! Thanks Tony.
Joey P
Hi Tony,
Thanks for another opportunity to "witness the fitness" at Roseland Ranch. We can't wait to do it again next year.
-johnny
Tony,
I am doing your Power 90 Video and also a Kornfield fan for about a year now (Buddhism for Beginners, and Wise Heart). It has helped me incredibly. I thought I had seen something of this in you as you seem very kind and awake. Nice to be your fan now too. It's an honor!
Thank you for this post, really worthwhile info.
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