Jack Kornfield is an American Buddhist teacher. He is a founder of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, Calif., where he lives & teaches.
I remember once when I was walking with my teacher Ajahn Chah he pointed to a boulder in a field and asked, "Is that heavy?" I replied, "Yes, of course." Ajahn Chah smiled and said "Not if you don't pick it up."
A Mary Oliver poem to revisit this weekend. 💛
"I Worried" from "Swan: Poems and Prose Poems" by Mary Oliver, Beacon Press (2010)
#maryoliver
#mindfulness
When you notice destructive, unhealthy thoughts, pause & feel their pain. Take a breath; hold your pain with kindness. Then inwardly recite loving-kindness phrases, imagining each one is a seed of compassion you are planting into your mind. Do this for a week, a month, a season.
“May I be safe & healthy. May I be happy.” Loving-kindness develops as we repeat phrases such as this. Initially it can feel difficult to offer love to ourself. Yet it's a powerful practice because whatever we do not love in ourself we will have difficulty accepting in another.
Joyful, healthy, Happy Birthday to His Holiness the Dalai Lama! 🎉
He is an inspiration and a lamp, a beacon of understanding and compassion that lights the world.
He treats everyone with interest, love and respect.
May he live long and his blessings spread far and wide. 🙏
If we step back and consider the "big picture," the inevitable changes in life are less likely to overwhelm us. When we have a sense of humor about the whole dance of life, everything becomes easier & lighter.
#mindfulness
#jackkornfield
It's important to practice loving kindness for ourself because whatever we do not love in our own self, we will not accept in another. Buddhist teachings explain, “You can search the whole universe and not find a being more worthy of love than yourself.”
While the news often features the worst of humanity, there are a billion acts of human kindness every hour of every day. Take a breath and sense this truth. Blessings to you in 2018.
During this time of coronavirus, a time of collective fears, it is crucial to find ways to steady the heart, to connect compassionately with ourselves & with each other. In this two-part video series, Tara Brach and I offer powerful practices & teachings:
During this time of coronavirus many of us must stay home. This is the perfect time to create a home retreat.
@TaraBrach
@TrudyGoodman
& I have put together everything you need (for free): a video of a half day retreat, meditations, talks, schedules & more
As we become more conscious, we can see yet more clearly the inevitable contradictions of life, the pain and the struggles, the joys and the beauty, the inevitable suffering, the longing, the ever-changing play of joys and sorrows that make up human experience.
Acknowledge that all created things arise and pass away: joys, sorrows, pleasant and painful events. Let yourself rest in the midst of them.
May I learn to see the arising and passing of all things with equanimity and balance.
May I be open and balanced and peaceful.
🎨:
@asjaboros
No matter what has passed, we can begin again. We can only begin now, where we are, and it is this now that becomes the seed for all that lies ahead.
You can do this grounding practice for 3-5 minutes at different times of the day to steady yourself. With each breath, exhale tension. Let yourself imagine that you have roots that go deep into the soil of the earth, to steady and nurture you.
Sense what a gift it can be to bring a peaceful heart to the world around you. Let yourself feel an inner sense of balance & ease. Find a quiet space. Then with each breath begin gently repeating phrases such as this one. Stay with it until you feel quiet in your body & mind.
Buddhist teachings explain,“You can search the whole universe and not find a being more worthy of love than yourself.” In loving-kindness practice, students visualize themselves and repeat traditional phrases of well wishing, such as “May I be safe & healthy. May I be happy.”
Epidemics, like earthquakes, tornadoes & floods, are part of the cycle of life on planet Earth. How will we respond? With greed, hatred, fear & ignorance? Or with generosity, clarity, steadiness & love? This is the time for love.
“Today I am taking sides.
I am taking the side of Peace.
Peace, which I will not abandon
even when its voice is drowned out
by hurt and hatred,
bitterness of loss,
cries of right and wrong…”
Read the full poem in my article “Taking a Stand”
Oprah Winfrey's series
@SuperSoulSunday
is now a podcast, and my conversation with her is available on iTunes and iHeartRadio. We discuss how to have compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others, living joyfully, and more:
As many of you know,
@Oprah
's series
@SuperSoulSunday
is now a podcast, and my conversation with Oprah is available starting today. We discuss how to have compassion and forgiveness for yourself and others, living joyfully, and more:
More than anything else, the way we experience life is created by the particular states of mind with which we meet it. Training in mindfulness, we learn to be aware of our own mental states without being caught in them.
One of the magical experiences in Buddhist training is our growing ability to quiet the mind & observe the world anew. We learn to walk unhurriedly again, notice the crunch of snow on the winter path. The smallest details of life appear vibrant & delightful. (“The Wise Heart”)
What the world needs most is more love, more generosity, more mercy, more openness. The root of human problems is not a lack of resources but comes from the misunderstanding, fear, and separateness that can be found in the hearts of people.
There is inevitably suffering in every human life, and nothing insulates us from this—no amount of money, success, fame, or accomplishment. But it’s possible to cultivate and develop a sense of well-being, joy, deep happiness, and worth, even amidst the difficulties of life.
Dear Ones, I've put together some resources I hope you will find helpful as we navigate through these difficult times.
May you be well in body and mind.
With metta,
Jack
We usually think someone else has it together. But as
#Zen
Master Ryokan writes: "Last year a foolish monk. This year, no change." Image: Sara Zimmerman
Everything you have survived is responsible for who you are today. It is part of your heritage and cannot be taken from you; it lives in you in the same mysterious way that everything and everyone you have ever lost remains alive and present in your heart.