We as human beings have the amazing capacity to be reborn at breakfast everyday and say, “This is a new day.” Jack Kornfield More Quotes by Jack Kornfield More Quotes From Jack Kornfield One day Mara, the Buddhist god of ignorance and evil, was traveling through the villages of India with his attendants. He saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up in wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Mara's attendants asked what that was and Mara replied, "A piece of truth." "Doesn't this bother you when someone finds a piece of the truth, O evil one?" his attendants asked. "No," Mara replied. "Right after this they usually make a belief out of it." Jack Kornfield buddhist ignorance men With mindfulness, we are learning to observe in a new way, with balance and a powerful disidentification. Jack Kornfield balance powerful mindfulness Spiritual life doesn't make you a good person; you ARE a good person, you are a holy being when you are born. What spiritual life does is remind us that this is who we really are. Jack Kornfield good-person spiritual doe As long as you are trying to be something other than what you actually are, your mind wears itself out. But if you say, 'This is what I am, it is a fact that I am going to investigate and understand,' then you can go beyond. Jack Kornfield mind inspirational long The grief we carry is part of the grief of the world. Hold it gently. Let it be honored. You do not have to keep it in anymore. You can let go into the heart of compassion; you can weep. Jack Kornfield grief letting-go heart 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. Jack Kornfield sorrow joy attention Anger shows us precisely where we are stuck, where our limits are, where we cling to beliefs and fears. Jack Kornfield stuck limits belief We can always begin again. Jack Kornfield begin-again buddhism suffering When we let go of yearning for the future, preoccupation with the past, and strategies to protect the present, there is nowhere left to go but where we are. To connect with the present moment is to begin to appreciate the beauty of true simplicity. Jack Kornfield appreciate letting-go past We must look at our life without sentimentality, exaggeration or idealism. Does what we are choosing reflect what we most deeply value? Jack Kornfield buddhism suffering doe 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. Jack Kornfield pain compassion heart 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 Jack Kornfield pain compassion heart To learn to concentrate we must choose a prayer or meditation and follow this path with commitment and steadiness, a willingness to work with our practice day after day, no matter what arises. Jack Kornfield practice prayer commitment The quieting of our mind is a political act. Jack Kornfield political mind It is our commitment to wholeness that matters, the willingness to unfold in every deep aspect of our being. Jack Kornfield matter inspirational commitment No amount of meditation, yoga, diet, and reflection will make all of our problems go away, but we can transform our difficulties into our practice until little by little they guide us on our way. Jack Kornfield yoga reflection practice All of spiritual practice is a matter of relationship: to ourselves, to others, to life's situations. Jack Kornfield practice spiritual matter 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 believe in nothing, You can only appreciate (without knowing or understanding) the mysteries of life. Jack Kornfield eye religious believe 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. Jack Kornfield addiction body heart Through practice, gently and gradually we can collect ourselves and learn how to be more fully with what we do. Jack Kornfield practice
