“To bow to the fact of our life’s sorrows and betrayals is to accept them; and from this deep gesture we discover that all life is workable. As we learn to bow, we discover that the heart holds more freedom and compassion than we could imagine.”
― Jack Kornfield
“In the end, just three things matter:
How well we have lived
How well we have loved
How well we have learned to let go”
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield
“There are many ways that I have hurt and harmed others, have betrayed or abandoned them, caused them suffering, knowingly or unknowingly, out of my pain, fear, anger, and confusion.
Let yourself remember and visualize the ways you have hurt others. See the pain you have caused out of your own fear and confusion. Feel your own sorrow and regret. Sense that finally you can release this burden and ask for forgiveness. Take as much time as you need to picture each memory that still burdens your heart. And then as each person comes to mind, gently say:
I ask for your forgiveness, I ask for your forgiveness.”
― Jack Kornfield, The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
― Jack Kornfield, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book
― Jack Kornfield
If it had been an actual life, you would have received further
instructions on where to go and what to do.
Remember, this life is only a test.”
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
release the images and emotions, the grudges and fears, the
clingings and disappointments of the past that bind our
spirit.”
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield, Living Dharma: Teachings of Twelve Buddhist Masters
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield
― Jack Kornfield
“Within the mystery of life there is the infinite darkness of the night sky lit by distant orbs of fire, the cobbled skin of an orange that releases its fragrance to our touch, the unfathomable depths of the eyes of our lover. No creation story, no religious system can fully describe or explain this richness and depth. Mystery is so every-present that no one can know for certain what will happen one hour from now. “
It does not matter whether you have religion or are an agnostic and believe in nothing. You can only appreciate (without knowing or understanding) the mysteries of life.”
― Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path
― Jack Kornfield, The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace
― Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
― Jack Kornfield
in a cup of water
it tastes very salty.
If you put a spoonful of salt
in a lake of fresh water
the taste is still pure and clear.Peace comes when our hearts are
open like the sky,
vast as the ocean.”
― Jack Kornfield, The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness, and Peace
“I would like to offer some exercises that can help us use the Five Precepts to cultivate and strengthen mindfulness. It is best to choose one of these exercises and work with it meticulously for a week. Then examine the results and choose another for a subsequent week. These practices can help us understand and find ways to work with each precept.
1. Refrain from killing: reverence for life. Undertake for one week to purposefully bring no harm in thought, word, or deed to any living creature. Particularly, become aware of any living beings in your world (people, animals, even plants) whom you ignore, and cultivate a sense of care and reverence for them too.
2. Refraining from stealing: care with material goods. Undertake for one week to act on every single thought of generosity that arises spontaneously in your heart.
3. Refraining from sexual misconduct: conscious sexuality. Undertake for one week to observe meticulously how often sexual feelings arise in your consciousness. Each time, note what particular mind states you find associated with them such as love, tension, compulsion, caring, loneliness, desire for communication, greed, pleasure, aggression, and so forth.
4. Refraining from false speech: speech from the heart. Undertake for one week not to gossip (positively or negatively) or speak about anyone you know who is not present with you (any third-party).
5. Refraining from intoxicants to the point of heedlessness. Undertake for one week or one month to refrain from all intoxicants and addictive substances (such as wine, marijuana, even cigarettes and/or caffeine if you wish). Observe the impulses to use these, and become aware of what is going on in the heart and mind at the time of those impulses (88-89).”
― Jack Kornfield, For a Future to Be Possible: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life
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