“Enlightenment does exist,” internationally renowned author and meditation master Jack Kornfield assures us. “Unbounded freedom and joy, oneness with the divine ... these experiences are more common than you know, and not far away.”

But even after achieving such realization — after the ecstasy — we are faced with the day-to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry.

Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners within the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds — and how we can prepare our hearts for awakening.

Through moving personal stories and traditional tales, we learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of family relationships, emotional pain, earning a living, sickness, loss, and death.

Filled with “the laughter of the wise,” alive with compassion, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a gift to anyone who is seeking peace, wholeness, and inner happiness. It is sure to take its place next to A Path with Heart as a spiritual classic for our time.

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You have within you unlimited capacities for love, for joy, for communion with life, and for unshakable freedom—and here is how to awaken them. In The Wise Heart, one of the leading spiritual teachers of our time offers the most accessible and illuminating guide to Buddhism’s transformational psychology ever published in the West.

Trained as a monk in Thailand, Burma, and India, Jack Kornfield experienced at first hand the life-changing power of Buddhist teachings: the emphasis on the nobility and sacredness of the human spirit, the fine-grained analysis of emotion and thought, the precise techniques for healing, training, and transforming the mind and heart. In contrast to the medical orientation of most Western psychology and psychiatry, here is a vision of radiant human dignity, and a practical path for realizing it in our own lives.

The Wise Heart is the fruit of a life’s work that includes such classics as A Path with Heart and After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. Filled with stories from Kornfield’s Buddhist psychotherapy practice and portraits of remarkable teachers, it also includes a moving account of his own recovery from a violence-filled childhood. For meditators and mental health professionals, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, The Wise Heart offers an extraordinary journey from the roots of consciousness to the highest expression of human possibility....

Jack Kornfield & Christina Feldman serve up a delicious banquet of wise tales from the world’s greatest spiritual guides, including Jesus, the Buddh, Ramakrishna, and the Taoist sages. They offer contemporary readers a feast rich with wisdom and filled with timeless moral and spiritual lessons. Gathering lively and inspiring parables from both Eastern and Western traditions, from Christian, Buddhist, Sufi, Jewish, Native American, African, and Zen teachings, Soul Food illustrates the eternal truths: the greatness of the human spirit, the endless wonder and possiblity of live, the necessity of courage, love and laughter, and our quest for wisdom and virtue. Each story offers a glimpse of revelation, an example of virtue, or a moment of truth that will sustain travellers as they traverse the road to a more spiritual life....

Just as the serene beauty of the lotus blossom grows out of muddy water, Buddha's simple instructions have helped people to find wholeness and peace amid life's crisis and distractions for more than 2,500 years. For this small handbook, a well-known American Buddhist teacher and psychologist has distilled and adapted an ancient teaching for the needs of contemporary life. Its practical reminders and six meditations can infuse smallest everyday action with insight and joy.

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Beloved Western Buddhist master Kornfield makes known his personal, practical wisdom, garnered from 25 years of practicing and teaching the path of awakening, as he guides self-searchers to a simplicity of perception that brings alive spiritual practice, peace, and truth in their daily lives....

Jack Kornfield's A Path with Heart has been acclaimed as the most significant book yet about American Buddhism-a definitive guide to the practice of traditional mindfulness in America today. On this audio edition, Kornfield teaches the key principles of Buddhism's cherished vipassana (insight) tradition and puts them into direct service, with the unique needs of the contemporary seeker in mind....

Have you ever thought about trying meditation, but didn't know where to start? With Meditation for Beginners, trusted teacher Jack Kornfield shows you how simple it is to start--and stick with--a daily meditation practice. Now, this indispensable guide that has sold more than 100,000 copies in previous formats, is available in paperback for the first time. "Insight" or vipassana meditation is the time-honored skill of moment-to-moment mindfulness which results in greater clarity and "effortless flow" in any situation. In this complete course created especially for beginners, renowned teacher Jack Kornfield offers a straightforward, step-by-step method for bringing the fruits of insight meditation into your life. Using the six guided meditations on the included CD, readers will discover how easy it is to use the breath, physical sensations--and even difficult emotions--to create tranquility and lovingkindness in everyday life. These simple, elegant practices are so easy to learn that readers will begin enjoying the benefits of meditation immediately--while laying the foundation for a lifetime of inner discovery and awakening....

One of the best-known American-born meditation teachers draws from the most popular sources of Indian, Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese writings to create a treasury of essential sayings and teachings from Buddhist literature that will appeal to anyone interested in the wisdom of the East....

Since the time of the Buddha, meditation has been taught under the guidance of an expert as the easiest way to begin, and for the most powerful results. Celebrated teacher Jack Kornfield leads listeners through six essential meditations, a simple way to progressively deepen a practice--whatever your level of experience. With Guided Meditation, listeners join the author of the bestseller A Path with Heart (Bantam, 1993) on two transformational CDs that include: * Breath meditation for stilling the body and quieting the mind * Mind Like Sky meditation for releasing the ego's attachments and resting in pure awareness * Visualization practice to meet the "inner sage," and more Meditation has its challenges--especially for beginners. With practices you can listen to again and again, Guided Meditation gives listeners a concise training "of the heart and mind" to enjoy the fruits of this centuries-old art....

Forgiving someone who has wronged you holds power far beyond the act itself. On The Beginner’s Guide to Forgiveness, Jack Kornfield explores why forgiveness is essential to our health and happiness and how anyone can begin its practice. Drawing from his background in meditation and psychology, Kornfield reveals the roots of the forgiveness process within our own internalized pain. By embracing our own suffering, compassion arises naturally, so we can extend it to others as well as ourselves. With guided meditations and insights from the world’s wisdom teachings, Kornfield teaches that when forgiveness is practiced, it is a gift we give not only to others – but ultimately to ourselves. ...

Start Meditating Today with This Beginner's Guide. Have you ever thought about trying meditation, but didn't know how to get started? On Meditation for Beginners, trusted teacher Jack Kornfield uses clear language and step-by-step demonstrations to show you how simple it is to start - and stick with - a daily meditation practice. In this complete beginner's course, Jack introduces you to the "Insight" tradition of meditation. Zen monks draw from this same tradition, yet anyone can use its principles to cultivate a profound inner calm, while awakening to the truth of life. Four complete meditation exercises teach you how to work with breathing, posture, attention, forgiveness - even difficult emotions - to create tranquility and clarity in your everyday life. Now you can begin meditating today - in just the time it takes to listen to Meditation for Beginners....

Since the time of the Buddha, meditation has been taught under the guidance of an expert as the easiest way to begin, and for the most powerful results. Celebrated teacher Jack Kornfield leads listeners through six essential meditations, a simple way to progressively deepen a practice--whatever your level of experience. With Guided Meditation, listeners join the author of the bestseller A Path with Heart (Bantam, 1993) on two transformational CDs that include: * Breath meditation for stilling the body and quieting the mind * Mind Like Sky meditation for releasing the ego's attachments and resting in pure awareness * Visualization practice to meet the "inner sage," and more Meditation has its challenges--especially for beginners. With practices you can listen to again and again, Guided Meditation gives listeners a concise training "of the heart and mind" to enjoy the fruits of this centuries-old art....