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Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield Quotes

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Famous Jack Kornfield Quotes

“Forgiveness sees wisely. It willingly acknowledges what is unjust, harmful, and wrong. It bravely recognizes sufferings of the past, and understands the conditions that brought them about.Forgiveness honors the heart's greatest dignity. Whenever we are lost, it brings us back to the ground of love.Without forgiveness our lives are chained, forced to carry the sufferings of the past and repeat them with no release.”

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Author:Jack Kornfield
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“Compassion arises naturally as the quivering of the heart in the face of pain, ours and another's. True compassion is not limited by the separateness of pity, nor by the fear of being overwhelmed. When we come to rest in the great heart of compassion, we discover a capacity to bear witness to, suffer with, and hold dear with our own vulnerable heart the sorrows and beauties of the world.”

WorldHeartPainFacesSufferingCompassionBearsSorrowCapacityDearArisePityVulnerableWitnessOverwhelmedSeparatenessBeauty Of The WorldGreat HeartsBeing Overwhelmed
Author:Jack Kornfield
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“Expressing gratitude to our benefactors is a natural form of love. In fact, some people find loving kindness for themselves so hard, they begin their practice with a benefactor. This too is fine. The rule in loving kindness practice is to follow the way that most easily opens your heart.”

PeopleWayHeartHardFactsFormNaturalPracticeKindnessFineGratitudeLoving KindnessExpressing GratitudeBenefactorsForms Of LoveNatural Forms
Book:The Wise Heart: Buddhist Psychology for the West
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“Indifference pretends to create peace, but it is based on not caring, a silent resignation. It is a movement away, a separation fed by a subtle fear of the heart. We pull back, believing that what happens to others is not our concern. Our courage leaves us. Indifference is a misguided way of defending ourselves.”

WayBelieveHeartHappensMovementConcernSilentCaringSeparationIndifferenceSubtleFedsResignationMisguidedNot Caring
Book:The Art Of Forgiveness, Loving Kindness And Peace
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“What brings the karmic result from the patterns of our actions is not our action alone. As we intend and then act, we create [our] karma: so another key to understanding the creation of karma is becoming aware of intention. The heart is our garden, and along with each action there is an intention that is planted like a seed. The result of the patterns of our karma is the fruit of these seeds.”

HeartActionUnderstandingResultsCreationKeysBecomingGardenIntentionFruitPatternsSeedsKarmaOur Actions
Book:A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life
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“Strength of the Heart comes from knowing that the pain that we each must bear is part of the greater pain shared by all that lives. It is not just 'our' pain, but 'the' pain and realizing this awakens our universal compassion”

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Book:A Path With Heart: The Classic Guide Through The Perils And Promises Of Spiritual Life
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“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice. Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless. Only here can we find the love that we seek. Love in the past is simply memory, and love in the future is fantasy. Only in the reality of the present can we love, can we awaken, can we find peace and understanding and connection with ourselves and the world.”

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Author:Jack Kornfield
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“The unawakened mind tends to make war against the way things are. To follow a path with heart, we must understand the whole process of making war within ourselves and without, how it begins and how it ends. War’s roots are in ignorance. Without understanding we can easily become frightened by life’s fleeting changes, the inevitable losses, disappointments, the insecurity of our aging and death. Misunderstanding leads us to fight against life, running from pain or grasping at security and pleasures that by their nature can never be satisfying.”

WayMindHeartWarEndsWholeRunningPainFightingProcessUnderstandingLossPleasurePathSecurityIgnoranceRootsAgingDisappointmentInevitableInsecurityFrightenedSatisfyingMisunderstandingFleetingGrasping
Author:Jack Kornfield
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“A bulging portfolio of spiritual experiences matters little if it does not have the power to sustain us through the inevitable moments of grief, loss, and change. Knowledge and achievements matter little if we do not yet know how to touch the heart of another and be touched. Wisdom is alive only as long as it is lived, understanding is liberating only as long as it is applied.”

IfsKnowsHeartLittlesLongDoeMatterMomentsSpiritualSpiritSpiritualityUnderstandingLossGriefKnow HowAliveAchievementInevitableTouchedLiberatingPortfoliosSpiritual ExperienceGrief Loss
Author:Jack Kornfield
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“If you want to love, take the time to listen to your heart. In most ancient and wise cultures it is a regular practice for people to talk to their heart. There are rituals, stories, and meditative skills in every spiritual tradition that awaken the voice of the heart. To live wisely, this practice is essential, because our heart is the source of our connection to and intimacy with all of life. And life is love. This mysterious quality of love is all around us, as real as gravity... Yet how often we forget about love.”

PeopleIfsWantHeartRealSoulStoriesSpiritualLife IsCultureVoiceForgetLove IsQualityPracticeWiseSourceSkillsEssentialsTraditionConnectionsAncientMysteriousIntimacyRitualGravityListen To Your Heart
Author:Jack Kornfield
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“We can struggle with what is. We can judge and blame others or ourselves. Or we can accept what cannot be changed. Peace comes from an honorable and open heart accepting what is true. Do we want to remain stuck? Or to release the fearful sense of self and rest kindly where we are?”

WantHeartSelfAcceptingStruggleChangedJudgingBlameStuckReleaseFearfulHonorableSense Of SelfOpen HeartAccepting What Is
Book:The Art Of Forgiveness, Loving Kindness And Peace
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“Acceptance does not mean inaction. We may need to respond, strongly at times...From a peaceful center we can respond instead of react. Unconscious reactions create problems. Considered responses bring peace. With a peaceful heart whatever happens can be met with wisdom...Peace is not weak; it is unshakable.”

NeedsHeartMayMeanDoeProblemHappensAcceptanceMetsWeakResponseReactionsPeacefulUnconsciousInactionWhatever HappensUnshakablePeaceful Heart
Author:Jack Kornfield
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“It takes courage to grieve, to honor the pain we carry. We can grieve in tears or in meditative silence, in prayer or in song. In touching the pain of recent and long-held griefs, we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability, with helplessness and hopelessness. These are the storm clouds of the heart.”

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Author:Jack Kornfield
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“Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself and yourself alone one question. This question is one that only a very old man asks. My benefactor told me about it once when I was Young. And my blood was too vigorous for me to understand it. Now I do understand it. I will tell you what it is: does this path have a heart? If it does, the path is good. If it doesn't, it is of no use.”

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Author:Jack Kornfield
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“In a society that almost demands life at double time, speed and addictions numb us to our own experience. In such a society, it is almost impossible to settle into our bodies or stay connected with our hearts, let alone connect with one another or the earth where we live.”

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