Quotessence
Home / Authors / Jack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllHeartSpiritualWayPracticeCompassionSufferingWorldIfsLetting GoMindMomentsOur LivesMeditationPainUnderstandingNeedsDoeBuddhismMatterPast

Famous Jack Kornfield Quotes

“When I sit with students, I do not just want to help them solve their problems. I want to find a moment with each person where their mind stops and their eyes open. I want us to be together as if we were lying in a field on the underside of the earth on a clear summer night, held only by the magnet of gravity, looking down into a bottomless sea of stars. I want us to remember together the beauty all around us.”

IfsWantMindPersonsMomentsHelpingProblemEyeEarthTogetherRememberLyingNightStarsClearSeaFieldsStudentsSummerSolveGravityWant UMagnetLooking DownSummer Nights
Author:Jack Kornfield
Create image

“Even time is a concept. In reality we are always in the eternal present. The past is just a memory, the future just an image or thought. All our stories about past and future are only ideas, arising in the moment. Our modern culture is so tyrannized by goals, plans, and improvement schemes that we constantly live for the future. But as Aldous Huxley reminded us in his writings, "An idolatrous religion is one in which time is substituted for eternity...the idea of endless progress is the devil's work, even today demanding human sacrifice on an enormous scale.”

WritingHumansIdeasMomentsStoriesRealityTodayPastCultureGoalMemoriesProgressPlansSacrificeModernEternalDevilConceptsEternityImprovementScalesEndlessEnormousSchemesHuxleyModern CultureLive Futures
Author:Jack Kornfield
Create image

“Some other people think that awakened consciousness is really about fullness or presence, being completely present for every moment, but these experiences are only one of the dimensions of awakened consciousness. Understanding these different dimensions as facets of awakening can help with the confusion surrounding the different spiritual paths. They're not leading to different places, but rather reflect the luminous and liberated aspects of consciousness itself. These qualities are not far away; in fact, they are right here.”

PeopleThinkingDifferentMomentsFactsHelpingSpiritualUnderstandingConsciousnessQualityPathAspectAwakeningConfusionDimensionsFar AwayFullnessAwakenedLiberatedDifferent PlaceLuminousSpiritual PathFacetsDifferent Dimensions
Author:Jack Kornfield
Create image

“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.”

WorldHeartEndsMomentsRealityPastSpiritualUnderstandingMemoriesPracticeFantasyBattleLetting GoConnectionsAnd LovePresent MomentTimelessFinding PeaceSpiritual PracticeMemories And Love
Author:Jack Kornfield
Create image

“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
Create image

“Gratitude is the confidence in life itself... As gratitude grows it gives rise to joy. We experience the courage to rejoice in our own good fortune and in the good fortune of others... We can be joyful for people we love, for moments of goodness, for sunlight and trees, and for the very breath within our lungs. Like an innocent child, we can rejoice in life itself, in being alive.”

PeopleGivingChildrenMomentsJoyGrowsAliveTreeGratitudeGoodnessBreathsFortuneInnocentRejoiceJoyfulSunlightLungsGood FortuneInnocent Children
Book:Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are
Create image

“Whatever your difficulties - a devastated heart, financial loss, feeling assaulted by the conflicts around you, or a seemingly hopeless illness - you can always remember that you are free in every moment to set the compass of your heart to your highest intentions. In fact, the two things that you are always free to do - despite your circumstances - are to be present and to be willing to love.”

HeartTwoMomentsFactsFeelingsRememberLossWillingCircumstancesConflictHighestDifficultyIntentionFinancialIllnessDespiteTwo ThingsHopelessCompassDevastatedFinancial Loss
Book:A Lamp in the Darkness: Illuminating the Path Through Difficult Times
Create image

“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.”

SelfWholeMomentsActionStepsSpringConcernEmbraceCaringBelovedLove LifeCommunionParts Of A Whole
Book:The Art Of Forgiveness, Loving Kindness And Peace
Create image