Heart Wisdom With Jack Kornfield

Illuminating the Way of the Bodhisattva, Jack shares wisdom from St. Teresa of Calcutta, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, Ajahn Chah, and Sueng Sahn on walking the spiritual path.This vintage episode from April 10, 1977 at Camp Cedar Glen was originally published on DharmaSeed.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdomIn this vintage episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:The selfless service, love, and wisdom of Saint Mother Teresa of CalcuttaElizabeth Kübler-Ross's unshakeable compassion and revolutionary work around death and dyingHow his teacher Ajahn Chah's Thai monastery was an island of peace and possibility amidst war and conflictWhat the story of Korean Zen Master, Seung Sahn, getting a job at a laundry mat teaches us about non-attachment to selfCompassion, the spiritual path, and the Way of the BodhisattvaDiscover the transformative practice of teaching mindfulness in a new FREE 30-

In this flowing question and answer session, Jack helps his students mindfully navigate topics like loneliness, intention setting, meditating with ADD, meeting our shame with nobility, and dealing with jerks."The spiritual path is really step by step. If you think of it as long, you can get lost and overwhelmed. But if you realize that you're not going from here to there, you're going from there to hear, the path leads you back to this moment and to a more tender heart.” – Jack Kornfield In this question and answer session, Jack and his students mindfully explore:A do-it-yourself intention setting ceremonyWhat it's like to practice meditation with ADDThe benefits of going on spiritual retreat both in-person and onlineHow to handle being triggered by "jerks," politics, greed, hate, and injusticeMeeting our shame and regret with nobility and growthFinding patience and trust for the spiritual pathSpirituality and how to deal with difficult familyThe importance of satsang (sangha, spiritual community)Transfo

Executive Chairman of the Ford Motor Company, Bill Ford, joins Jack to discuss capitalism, Right Livelihood, and the next generation.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom“To be successful in business you have to have values, you have to stand by those values, and you can't compromise those values. But you also have to have the tools to do that. Whether it's meditation or other forms of self-exploration, you have to have a way to shed the stress and to really dive into what's important.” – Bill FordIn this episode, Jack and Bill mindfully navigate:How we can make business and work a force for good The stakes and rewards of servant leadership Capitalism, Right Livelihood, and the Next Generation Navigating tough decisions and bringing out the best in others Compassionate leadership in a cold economy Living with empathy and from our highest intentionTransform your life through Jack's Kor

In this hilarious episode, Jack Kornfield, Trudy Goodman, and Bonnie Duran, DrPH, share stories on becoming empowered to solve your own problems.Transform your life through Jack's Kornfield's most powerful stories in this brand new 10-hour journey! Live session begin on Sept 28th!“The Buddha's enlightenment solved the Buddha's problem, now you solve yours.” – Joseph GoldsteinIn this episode Jack, Trudy, and Bonnie mindfully explore:The powerful lesson encased within Bonnie's first one-on-one session with Joseph Goldstein Empowerment, personal understanding, and spiritual awakening Hilarious stories from Jack on his teacher Ajahn Chah involving enlightenment, Jesus, and the wisdom of not-knowing Trudy's two-sided spiritual lesson on aging, impermanence, and presence Dealing with uncertainty and learning to trust yourselfAbout Bonnie Duran, DrPH:Bonnie Duran, DrPH, (mixed race Opelousas/Coushatta) is a Professor Emeritus in the Schools of Social Work and Public Health at the University of Washington (UW),

Reflecting on what it means to live in a wise society, Jack shares stories on how we can handle difficult topics – cancer, abortion, women's rights, prison, and war – with a mutual respect.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom“How much respect do you give to those you disagree with? And what would they feel from you? Not that you have to have the same ideas, but is there that spirit of respect? Can you see the secret beauty behind their eyes? Can you see them all with a heart open even if you disagree?” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:What the truth of interdependence means to tending a wise society How Buddha, Dharma, and meditation connect with politics and community A story of enlightenment about 'The Rabbi, the Abbot, and The Messiah' Quieting the mind, opening the heart, mutual respect, and listening deeply The compassion of Quan Yin, and the Dharma as me

Jack shares a guided meditation on relaxing into the ocean of air we find ourselves in when we open to the present moment.Transform your life through Jack's Kornfield's most powerful stories in this brand new 10-hour journey starting Sept 28th!“You become a connoisseur of breathing for this moment, attentive to this remarkable breathing in and out of the atmosphere, keeping you alive, exchanging with all.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack leads a guided meditation helping us:Tune into embodied presence Invite in relaxation, ease and calm Become mindful of the body breathing itself Use noting to move past waves of emotions and thoughts"As you sense each breath, you can whisper softly in the background of your mind, 'Ease, calm,' and allow the embodied presence that is feeling this breath to invite you into a place of stillness, breath by breath." – Jack KornfieldThis meditation was originally live-streamed by Spirit Rock Meditation Center for the Monday Night Dharma Talk on July 24, 20

Illuminating the concept of mudita – sympathetic joy – Jack helps us cultivate authentic happiness for those around us, and leads a guided meditation on the topic.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom"Spiritual joy is the innate capacity for the heart to take pleasure and wonderment in this life and in the happiness of others, a kind of sympathetic joy." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully navigates:Mudita as a spiritual/sympathetic joy and generosity of spirit which take s pleasure in the happiness of others Rumi, the ocean of poetry, channeling, listening, and inspiration Seeing the beauty in the the light, eyes, and world around us Spirituality, happiness, and taking responsibility for your heart The Buddha's lens that joy and beauty are crucial factors of enlightenment A guided meditation partner practice to cultivate mudita (sympathetic joy) and metta (loving kindness

Jack returns to explore the nature of Dharma as universal, immediate, timeless, beneficial, protective, and available to all."The Dharma is universal, it's immediate, it's open-handed, it's to be experienced by each person for themselves directly, it's timeless. The truth of life is here to be discovered for any individual with eyes open to see." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully navigates:Sufis introducing the Dance of Universal Peace to Jack's retreat of Buddhists Dharma as universal, immediate, timeless, beneficial, protective, and available to all The various meanings of 'Dharma': the teachings, the physical/emotional elements of the world, personal destiny/path, and Universal Laws/Truth How Joseph Goldstein accidentally found his teacher Munindraji while on the way to take LSD under the Bodhi Tree Karma, impermanence, duality, selflessness, attachment, metta (loving kindness), and the preciousness of life The Vipassana paradox of Tibetan Dream Yoga"The Dharma protects those who follow it li

Getting vulnerable about the hungers which afflict our lives, Jack helps us into the nirvana beyond the illusion of incompleteness.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom“In Sanskrit or Pali the word is ‘Trishna,’ which means thirst, desire, wanting. It’s exaggeration, or the realm that it manifests in in the greatest way, is called ‘The Realm of the Hungry Ghosts.’ Hungry Ghosts are pictured as these beings who have huge stomaches and tiny little mouths, so that it’s never possible to get enough in there to ease that hunger.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack vulnerably navigates:Hunger, abundance, deprivation, indulgence, addiction, and the illusion of incompletenessFeeling idiotic, depressed, needy, judgmental, sad, lonely, hungry, etcTrishna—thirst, desire, wanting—and the Realm of the Hungry GhostsSamsara and the propulsion of endless wanderings of seperation/seekingAjahn Chah

In this lively episode, Jack dives into how mindfulness, awareness and intimacy help us engage with life more fully.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom"Zen master Dōgen said that to be mindful, to be awake, to pay attention, is the same as intimacy—intimacy with your lover, with your friends, or the sky and the trees, the drought, the grasses, your neighbors, the rhythms of the seasons, your children or parents." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:Spiritual practice as a path with heart about connecting our spiritual life and worldly life Using breath to relate with nature and life as movement and a process of change Understanding the movements of mind and using mindfulness to live more fully A story involving Jack, a Zen master, and a glass of sake at Naropa How mindfulness, awareness and intimacy are synonymous The way Jack personally deals with and gets i

Navigating the body's river of sensations, Jack helps us into the still-point of freedom amidst life's cycles of change."If our goal in spiritual practice is some state, some open state, it would be in spiritual life like buying already open flowers instead of buds, or like adopting an adult instead of a child. To awaken the heart of a Buddha requires us to find the deepest respect and compassion for things as they are, for they way things are. There isn't anything you can hold onto in that because it's always changing. There is no enlightened retirement. The way things are includes the cycles of stillness and action, the times of raising a family or being a renunciate, making money or retiring—and finding somehow a way to be with what is, with the truth of change." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully elucidates:The Dalai Lama's view on the Big Bang Theory How when we open deeply to our feelings, we recognize the body as a flowing river of sensation The Buddha's 'Eight Worldly Winds' and using min

Illuminating the art of paying attention, Jack shares hilarious stories and mindful insights around how we can let go into the present.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom"To learn the art of paying attention requires some practice, that we learn how to sit and steady ourselves, to steady our bodies, and listen with a steadiness of heart, to actually be with what is here in our experience—pleasant and unpleasant, beautiful and ugly. That's what sitting is about, really, is to sit and be with the 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows, to see them, feel them, and let ourselves be as we are." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack artfully illuminates:How your spiritual path is truly in your own hands; other's can point the way, but you must walk itThe Buddha's four aspects of Right EffortLearning the art of paying attention, and applying this to sit with life's 10,000 joys and sorrowsThe Samur

In this Independence Day focused episode, Jack reflects on how we can foster true freedom and independence through using a spiritual rudder."The Buddha, in the last bit of his life, said, 'When I'm gone, don't follow or place all of your reliance on elders or teachers, but rather follow the Dharma, the universal law, and know these things for yourself. Know the forces of grasping, hatred, and ignorance. Really know what they are. Let yourself see them, and know that it is possible to find freedom from these. If it weren't possible I wouldn't tell you about it. Then as you live your life, be aware of what brings goodness, what brings freedom from grasping, hatred, and delusion. Nourish that which brings that freedom, sustain it and support it." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack dives into:The ideals of the U.S., versus its reality and history What it means to be independent, what it means to be free Learning what your "spiritual rudder" is to steer you in the midst of this Kali Yuga Buddha's advice on foll

Hop in the Sauna with Jack Kornfield and Prince Ea, as they steep deeply into topics of spirituality, fear, meditation, compassion, and staying awake in the world.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom"People say the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, but that's only half the story. There is a lot of suffering that really needs our honest compassion and tending, but it also needs hope. If you go into a refugee camp and you're depressed and worried; they don't need that, they already have plenty of that. They need somebody that comes in and says, 'We human beings can make the world better." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack and Prince Ea steam in:Meeting all facets of the world with optimism and hope Why we should never underestimate the human heart Mindful presence, loving awareness, and waking up to who we are Overcoming fear and not buying into the scare tactics used in pol

Jack joins CEO of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Sam Altman, onstage with Soren Gordhamer at Wisdom 2.0 to talk artificial intelligence, spirituality, ethics, and the future of humanity.Sam Altman is the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI and ChatGPT. Soren Gordhamer is the founder of Wisdom 2.0.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdomIn this episode, Jack, Sam, and Soren explore:How A.I. technology will impact our world and the future of humanityThe ways Sam's meditation practice is influencing his tech careerPotential benefits and pitfalls of opening artificial intelligence onto the worldIf we can instill values, ethics, and morals into A.I.How Sam created OpenAI to allow a collective democratic process for how A.I. evolvesDoes artificial intelligence technology have a sense of self?Learning how humanity can best utilize these evolving toolsHow A.I. can aid our spiritual practice"What are people going to

Plunging further into last week's topic, Jack offers vulnerable perspectives on how sexuality and relationships play into our life and practice."If one wants to understand karma, or one wants to understand virtue, ethics, or morality—which are equally important and profound in developing a spiritual life—the way to do it is very simple: it's beginning to know, observe, feel, and understand what's going on in our hearts as we act." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack vulnerably explores:Understanding karma, virtue, intention and action How so much of our sadhana and practice comes through our relationships Learning about ourselves and the universe through sex and relationship Sex and relationship as a form of opening and surrender, as well as commitment, offering, acceptance, growth, and healing Desire, grasping, reality, love, and the present moment Relationships as a place to find the foundations of mindfulness The nature of love as expression, growth, and unityThis episode from 1987 at Spirit Rock Meditat

Exploring the relationship between spirituality and sexuality, Jack offers reflections and perspectives on ways to dance with the sexual energy in our lives.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom"In a way, sex is a mirror. How your sexuality goes in a particular day or week is pretty much a reflection of the rest of your heart, mind, spirit, and being. In that regard, it's just like meditation—you sit down, close your eyes, and you get to see what's there: frustration, anger, happiness, or love. Sexuality serves the same way, physically, but even more so emotionally." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:The relationship between spirituality, sexuality, and our lives Why sexuality is such a major part of our culture Our underlying fear of true intimacy Suzuki Roshi's koan of "How do you realize Buddha while making love?" The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in relati

Directly following Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's death, Jack offers perspectives on the life and dharma of one of spirituality's most impactful and controversial figures."Lama Govinda said that of all the young tulkus, of all the young incarnate lamas to leave Tibet, there was none as bright as Trungpa Rinpoche—bright in the sense of his field of his being and his energy. Lama Govinda, even at a point when he wasn't very happy with the way Trungpa Rinpoche was behaving, said that he still had to admit there was no one who walked across the Himalayas and came out who had that light more than Trungpa." – Jack Kornfield In this episode, Jack dives into:A celebration of the life, teachings, and impact of Chögyam Trungpa RinpocheThe Vimalakīrti Sutra, and how certain Bodhisattvas teach as householders so that their message can be best understood by the worldHow Jack being invited to teach alongside Ram Dass, Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein on the faculty of Trungpa's Naropa University in Boulder, CO sparke

Rewiring our brains around difficulties, emptiness, fear, and longing, Jack highlights how we can connect our practice with our deepest love.Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/heartwisdom"When you get afraid or things are difficult, fear is simply the signal that you're about to learn something new. When you feel afraid it's like the little light comes on that says, 'About to grow.'" – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack contemplates and explores:The times in our lives where we feel truly connected to our heartsAjahn Jumnian, motivation for practice, spiritual thirst, and working with addictionBringing awareness to the truth of emptiness and nature of joy and sorrowReincarnation and seeing everyone in the world as your mothers, fathers, and childrenFinding that what we really want is simple heart connectionEmptiness, longing, and feeding the hungry heartStillness and living from our funda

Mindfully retelling ancient Buddhist Dharma stories, Jack reflects on what it means to live with a wise heart."For someone who wants to break free inside of the forces of ignorance, delusion, habit, and sleepwalking—you must really see that there's something greater than just getting through each day, and devote yourself in some fashion to it." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack opens us to:Modern retellings of ancient Buddhist Dharma storiesThe courage and mystery of the heartThe law of karma and the power of intentionThe compelling nature of spiritual practiceBuddha's past life as a lion living on an island with an elephant friendDiscovering what is love, and what is goodness in the heartLearning to listen to where our actions comes from"Find a place in yourself—in your being, your heart—that really wants to understand what life and death is about, that wants to live in a different way. Let that be the source of your inspiration, the source of your guidance." – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk from 3/23/86