Jack Kornfield Quotes

“Most of us have spent our lives caught up in plans, expectations, ambitions for the future; in regrets, guilt or shame about the past. To come into the present is to stop the war.”

War Past Our Lives Plans Regret Ambition Expectations Shame Guilt Caught Caught Up

Author:Jack Kornfield

“No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can always set our compass to our highest intentions in the present moment”

Matter Moments Situation Highest No Matter What Intention Present Moment Compass

Book:A Lamp in the Darkness: Illuminating the Path Through Difficult Times

Source: A Lamp in the Darkness: Illuminating the Path Through Difficult Times

“The aim of spiritual life is to awaken a joyful freedom, a benevolent and compassionate heart in spite of everything.”

Heart Spiritual Life Is Aim Spite Compassionate Spiritual Life Joyful Benevolent

Author:Jack Kornfield

“You awaken your True spirit by way of the broken heart: ragged, vulnerable, fierce and finally compassionate. Chris trod this rough way and shows honestly how it can be done.”

Way Heart Done Shows Spirit Broken Honestly Vulnerable Rough Compassionate Fierce Ragged

Author:Jack Kornfield

“The task is not to perfect yourself, it's to perfect your love.”

Perfect Tasks

Author:Jack Kornfield

“If grief or anger arises, Let there be grief or anger. This is the Buddha in all forms,Sun Buddha, Moon Buddha, Happy Buddha, Sad Buddha. It is the universe offering all things to awaken and open our heart.”

Ifs Heart Form Universe Grief Sun Moon All Things Arise Offering

Author:Jack Kornfield

“One of the essential tasks for living a wise life is letting go. Letting go is the path to freedom. It is only by letting go of the hopes, the fears, the pain, the past, the stories that have a hold on us that we can quiet our mind and open our heart.”

Mind Heart Stories Pain Past Life Is Path Wise Quiet Letting Go Essentials Tasks Wise Life

Author:Jack Kornfield

“The present moment is really all that we have. The only place you can really love another person is in the present. Love in the past is a memory. Love in the future is a fantasy. To be really alive, love - or any other experience - must take place in the present.”

Persons Moments Past Memories Fantasy Alive Present Moment Live Love

Author:Jack Kornfield

“It is the place of feeling that binds us or frees us.”

Feelings

Book:A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life

Source: A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life

“Every individual in the world has a unique contribution.”

World Individual Unique Contribution

Book:Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

Source: Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

“To see the preciousness of all things, we must bring our full attention to life”

Attention All Things

Book:A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life

Source: A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life

“Train your mind the same way you’d train a puppy: Be patient, be consistent, and have some fun along the way.”

Way Mind Fun Train Patient Consistent Be Patient Puppy

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Even the most exalted states and the most exceptional spiritual accomplishments are unimportant if we cannot be happy in the most basic and ordinary ways, if we cannot touch one another and the life we have been given with our hearts.”

Ifs Way Heart Has Beens States Spiritual Given Ordinary Accomplishment Exceptional Unimportant Exalted

Book:A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life

Source: A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life

“When we take the one seat on our meditation cushion we become our own monastery. We create the compassionate space that allows for the arising of all things: sorrows, loneliness, shame, desire, regret, frustration, happiness.”

Desire Space Meditation Loneliness Regret Sorrow All Things Shame Seats Frustration Compassionate Cushions Monasteries

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Beneath the sophistication of Buddhist psychology lies the simplicity of compassion. We can touch into this compassion whenever the mind is quiet, whenever we allow the heart to open.”

Mind Heart Lying Compassion Psychology Quiet Simplicity Buddhist Sophistication

Book:The Wise Heart: Buddhist Psychology for the West

Source: The Wise Heart: Buddhist Psychology for the West

“In all practices and traditions of freedom, we find the heart's task to be quite simple. Life offers us just what it offers, and our task is to bow to it, to meet it with understanding and compassion.”

Heart Understanding Simple Compassion Practice Offers Tradition Tasks Bows Simple Life Understanding And Compassion

Author:Jack Kornfield

“There is beauty to be found in the changing of the earth’s seasons, and an inner grace in honouring the cycles of life.”

Earth Found Grace Seasons Cycles Cycle Of Life

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Compassion is our deepest nature. It arises from our interconnection with all things.”

Compassion All Things Arise Interconnection

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Whatever we cultivate in times of ease, we gather as strength for times of change.”

Ease

Author:Jack Kornfield

“To live life is to make a succession of errors. Understanding this can bring us great ease and forgiveness for ourselves and others.”

Life Is Understanding Errors Live Life Ease Succession

Author:Jack Kornfield

“In deep self acceptance, grows a compassionate understanding.”

Self Grows Understanding Acceptance Self Acceptance Compassionate Zen Master

Book:Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

Source: Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

“It does not matter whether you have religion or are an agnostic believe in nothing, You can only appreciate (without knowing or understanding) the mysteries of life.”

Believe Doe Matter Understanding Knowing Mystery Appreciate Agnostic Mystery Of Life Orbs

Author:Jack Kornfield

“To become mindful … present … is really the invitation to work with the joys and the sorrows of the world, and to do so with this gift, this capacity of loving awareness, of attention that actually can be present for the whole dance.”

World Whole Joy Attention Awareness Sorrow Capacity Invitations

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Grant that I have enough suffering that my heart really opens to the great compassion of this world, that I be given enough so that I don't wall myself off from the world, that it breaks down the heart and the separation and the ego and the fear, and it lets me touch the nectar, the milk of kindness itself, of something greater.”

World Heart Enough Suffering Given Compassion Break Kindness Greater This World Wall My Heart Ego Let Me Separation Grants Milk Breaking Down Nectar

Author:Jack Kornfield

“The ends do not justify the means. If our actions will bring harm to others, even in the service of some 'good,' they are almost certainly deluded. If our actions do not come from a kind heart, from loving courage and compassion, they are deluded. If they are based on a distinction between 'us' and 'them,' they stem from delusion. Only to the extent that we act from the wisdom of no separation, understanding how we are woven together, will our intention bring benefit.”

Ifs Heart Kind Mean Ends Action Together Understanding Compassion Benefits Intention Harm Separation Distinction Delusion Justify Stem Our Actions Woven Deluded Kind Heart

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Letting go does not mean not caring about things. It means caring about them in a flexible and wise way.”

Way Mean Doe Wise Letting Go Caring Flexible Not Caring

Book:Meditation for Beginners: Six Guided Meditations for Insight, Inner Clarity, and Cultivating a Compassionate Heart

Source: Meditation for Beginners: Six Guided Meditations for Insight, Inner Clarity, and Cultivating a Compassionate Heart

“We can easily become loyal to our suffering … but it's not the end of the path.”

Ends Suffering Path Loyal

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Love creates a communion with life. Love expands us, connects us, sweetens us, ennobles us. Love springs up in tender concern, it blossoms into caring action. It makes beauty out of all we touch. In any moment we can step beyond our small self and embrace each other as beloved parts of a whole.”

Self Whole Moments Action Steps Spring Concern Embrace Caring Beloved Love Life Communion Parts Of A Whole

Book:The Art Of Forgiveness, Loving Kindness And Peace

Source: The Art Of Forgiveness, Loving Kindness And Peace

“Buddhists were actually the first cognitive-behavioral therapists.”

Firsts Buddhist Therapy Therapists Cognitive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Cognitive Therapy

Author:Jack Kornfield

“The Sufis have a saying: "Praise Allah, and tie your camel to a post." This brings together both parts of practice: pray, yes, but also make sure that you do what is necessary in the world.”

World Together Prayer Practice Praying Praise Posts Ties Sufi Camels

Author:Jack Kornfield

“Embodied courage chooses not to wait until illness or notice of death demands attention.”

Mind Philosophy Body Waiting Attention Psychology Demand Medicine Illness Senses Soma

Author:Jack Kornfield

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