Name: Wisdom In The Midst Of Difficulties - Jack Kornfield by Jack Kornfield
Duration: 11 min 20 s
Description: We need compassion to help us be tender with our difficulties and not close off to them in fear. This is how healing takes place. This meditation and visualization can help.

2014-11-26-Meditation: The Space of Awareness

Why Should We Meditate?

Beloved teacher Pema Chödrön has been at the forefront of spreading awareness of Buddhist practice in the West for nearly four decades. In this excerpt drawn from Ani Pema’s audio program Pure Meditation, she considers why it is that we are drawn to meditation and what we gain from its practice. In the words of Sounds True producer Matt Licata, “Pema has a real gift of reaching beyond tradition and into the heart of the modern person who is yearning for true spiritual awakening. Pema’s description of the radical act of meditation is both inspiring and clarifying.”

Why Should We Meditate - by Pema Chodron

Jack’s timeless wisdom leads the way as he responds to a handful of questions concerning some of the common struggles encountered on the human plane.

How can we be present with difficult situations without indulging the emotions? The problem often lies more in the narratives we tell about ourselves and others that perpetuate the suffering. We must be willing to allow the energies of life to rise and fall as they do, all the while expanding our capacity to feel without necessarily believing the storyline, which is often biased and untrue to begin with. In learning to be with our emotions we are better able to respond from a place of wisdom rather than an expectation of how it should be.

Taking time to recognize the distinction between wise and unskillful desire is a practical and effective method for addressing the root causes for much of our suffering. Through examining our impulses, we gain the perspective necessary to determine if the associated actions will ultimately increase our joy or our sorrow.

Jack reminds us that we don’t need to get rid of anything, we just have to remember who we really are and operate from that deeper self. The seeds we plant in the garden of the heart are not separate from us in their origin or their blossoming.

Jack Kornfield – Heart Wisdom - Ep. 46 - The Stories We Tell

Peace is possible. We can step out of the struggle with ourselves, with our judgments and fears and inner conflicts. We can learn to live in peace and with a kind heart, without believing the reactive mind.

Stopping The War Within - Jack Kornfield

“Enlightenment is one with the trusting heart.”- Zen proverb

You can learn to trust the big picture, you can learn to trust your inner knowing,  you can be inspired by trust. These simple meditations invite you to find in yourself a trusting heart.

Meditations On Trust - Jack Kornfield

We need compassion to help us be tender with our difficulties and not close off to them in fear. This is how healing takes place. This meditation and visualization can help.

Wisdom In The Midst Of Difficulties - Jack Kornfield

This very relaxing meditation by Jack Kornfield has much guidance with very short silent periods (the longest silence being five minutes long).  The complete meditation portion is a total of twenty two minutes long, preceded by a two and a half minute introduction by Trudy Goodman.

The approximate starting point of the meditation only portion is at 3:07.  It ends with the ringing of 3 beautiful bells.

To hear the Sunday Dharma Talk that followed this meditation, (including a New Year's Intention Setting Ritual), click on this link:  https://soundcloud.com/insightla_meditation/12-23-18godp-trgdjkkrf

12/23/18 MEDITATION:  'Going Deep' by Jack Kornfield (Introduction by Trudy Goodman)

Here is a second guided meditation to help you steady your heart in the time of coronavirus. For the first meditation, visit https://soundcloud.com/jack-kornfield/a-steady-heart

A Steady Heart in the Time of Coronavirus #2 - Jack Kornfield

In times of stress, it’s important to discover ways to quiet our minds and tend our hearts. This meditation and visualization can help us cultivate an inner refuge that can guide us through difficult times.

Refuge in Difficult Times - Jack Kornfield

Compassion is the tenderness of the heart when it encounters suffering. For the circle of compassion to flow it requires the care of those suffering around you but that circle must include one other being–yourself.

Heart Of Compassion Meditation - Jack Kornfield

Sitting like a great tree, imagine you have roots that extend deep into the earth. Let calm and ease grow with each breath.

Quiet Mind, Peaceful Heart Meditation - Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield is an American Buddhist teacher. He is a founder of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County, Calif., where he lives & teaches.

Wisdom In The Midst Of Difficulties - Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield

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