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Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield

Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield

By: Be Here Now Network
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The Jack Kornfield Heart Wisdom hour celebrates Jack’s ability to mash up his long established Buddhist practices with many other mystical traditions, revealing the poignancy of life’s predicaments and the path to finding freedom from self-interest, self-judgment and unhappiness.


© Be Here Now Network Spirituality
Episodes
  • Ep. 294 – The Secret of Love and Attachment: Wise Relationships, Vulnerability, and the Joy of Nirvana

    Ep. 294 – The Secret of Love and Attachment: Wise Relationships, Vulnerability, and the Joy of Nirvana
    Jun 18 2025
    Sharing deep spiritual secrets of love and attachment, Jack transforms our unhealthy attachments into Wise Relationships through vulnerability, inner joy, and shared humanity.Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“The secret is, the opposite of attachment is not detachment, but love. Because true love does not seek to possess or control, it doesn’t separate or fear what is there. True love is the ability to be present without grasping. From this place, love offers its blessings.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Transforming unhealthy clingings into Wise AttachmentNot getting stuck in our ideas and views The global price of collective addiction and attachmentMoving past our attachment to our sense of separatenessThe big spiritual question—who are we really?His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and keeping a healthy curiosity around deathLowering our defenses and helping others lower their defenses around usParenting with trust and connection rather than clinging and controlThe good side of attachment—connection, well-being, mirroringTransforming low-self-esteem and the body of fear into self-confidence and opennessUsing spiritual practice to open to a love that includes our full humanityFinding the true possibilities that the spiritual path offersResting in our being—how not to seek and chase, and how not to run away and hideTouching our incompleteness, our brokenness, with compassionExpanding our heart and connecting with our shared humanityUncovering within us our inner knowing, The One Who KnowsHow to be true to yourself, and make a light of yourselfMeditation as an invitation into vulnerabilityMoving from unhealthy attachment into Wise RelationshipHow Being Here Now, our capacity to be present, transforms our lifeNirvana as the absence of struggle with the world as it asPlease help support Jack's daughter Caroline's Oasis Legal Services in their mission to help persecuted LGBTQ+ Asylum Seekers gain citizenship and safety in the U.S.“We want to be loved, we want to be held, and it’s so hard to be vulnerable. Meditation is an invitation to that vulnerability, the rawness and openness of the heart. Not because it’s good for us, but because it moves us back to the truth that we are held. If we can sit and open, we’ll discover that this universe that has given birth to us really does hold us.” – Jack KornfieldThis episode recorded on 03/08/1993 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed. “Nirvana, which is the absence of suffering, doesn’t mean that the world goes away. Nirvana is the absence of struggle with the world as it is.” – Jack KornfieldAbout Jack Kornfield:Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.Jack is currently offering a wonderful array of transformational online courses diving into crucial topics like Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals, Walking the Eightfold Path, Opening the Heart of Forgiveness, Living Beautifully, Transforming Your Life Through Powerful Stories, and so much more. Sign up for an All Access Pass to explore Jack’s entire course library. If you would like a year's worth of online meetups with Jack and fellow community, join The Year of Awakening: A Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield.Stay up to date with Jack and his stream of fresh dharma offerings by visiting JackKornfield.com and signing up for his email teachings.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    34 mins
  • Ep. 293 – Discovering the Great Way: Freedom from Attachment

    Ep. 293 – Discovering the Great Way: Freedom from Attachment
    Jun 11 2025
    Exploring the ancient Zen teaching of the Great Way, Jack guides us toward freedom from attachment, clarity beyond preferences, and the liberating joy of letting go.“The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When attachment and hatred are both absent, everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction; however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinion for or against anything.” – Third Zen AncestorIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Finding freedom from attachment by learning to let goCan we meditate society’s problems away?What does it mean to seek wisdom, compassion, freedom?The Third Patriarch of ZenFinding the Great Way and seeing the truthMoving past our opinions and preferencesHow our desires blind us and manufacture our realitySuffering, impermanence, grasping, and not relying on realityThe path to liberation from our grasping and fearsThe joy of letting go of our attachments and relaxing into what isTraining ourselves to have an obedient mind of the BuddhaIs there appropriate or wise attachment?Clarifying the full spectrum of attachmentHow to get out addiction and the Realm of the Hungry GhostsDealing with attachment to our isolation, our separatenessCommitment as a healthy devoted attachment Seeking a Wise Relationship to ourselves, others, and the worldThe slippery slope of pleasure, into desire, into habit, into needWise attachment vs unwise attachmentThe full spectrum of attachment and love“Go where you wish—cave, monastery, India, Tibet, do what you like—your mind goes with you, that’s the problem.” – Jack KornfieldThis episode recorded on 03/08/1993 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed. About Jack Kornfield:Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.Jack is currently offering a wonderful array of transformational online courses diving into crucial topics like Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals, Walking the Eightfold Path, Opening the Heart of Forgiveness, Living Beautifully, Transforming Your Life Through Powerful Stories, and so much more. Sign up for an All Access Pass to explore Jack’s entire course library. If you would like a year's worth of online meetups with Jack and fellow community members, join The Year of Awakening: A Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield.Stay up to date with Jack and his stream of fresh dharma offerings by visiting JackKornfield.com and signing up for his email teachings.“Often we think attachment is only to other people and things, but often what we are attached to is our own isolation, our own separateness.” – Jack KornfieldSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    33 mins
  • Ep. 292 – Becoming What You Want the World to Be with Ocean Robbins

    Ep. 292 – Becoming What You Want the World to Be with Ocean Robbins
    Jun 4 2025
    Jack and Ocean continue their deep conversation, exploring how to create positive change in the world without losing our spiritual center and loving essence. Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“Neither meditation nor activism has to be a grim duty. These are invitations to open the heart and be present for everything. In activism you stand up because you care and you love, and then you bring your best to it.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack and Ocean mindfully explore:Activism and creating positive change in the worldHow to save the world without losing yourselfActing beautifully without attachment to the fruitsHow not not to let the immense suffering of the world get to usWes Nisker, Gary Snyder, and saving the world because you love itActing in this world with peace, love, courage, and nobilityHonoring our emotions, grief, and fears, but not letting them control usBecoming what you want the world to beHis Holiness the Dalai Lama and meeting our lives with honesty and joyFighting for freedom and justice, but having fun doing itMaking activism fun, joyful, and beautifulEmphasizing the positives acts in the worldLife changing wisdom from the BuddhaHolding it all in the great heart of compassionAdding your voice, love, energy, and compassionIf your grief is big, hold it from something biggerThis episode was originally recorded for the Food Revolution Network in November of 2024. Discover Your Buddha Nature with Jack Kornfield, an online journey for reclaiming our dignity, compassion, and generosity, beginning June 2.“It says in the Bhagavad Gita, the essence is to act beautifully without attachment to the fruits of the actions. What it means is, you don’t get to determine how it turns out, but you do get to plant your seeds of goodness. And as Thoreau says, ‘Convince me you have a seed there, and I’m prepared to expect miracles.’ You get to plant the seeds, and eventually, in their own time, they bear fruit. That’s not your job. Your job is to make a beautiful garden, to plant beautiful things, and to tend them.” – Jack KornfieldAbout Ocean Robbins:Ocean Robbins is an American entrepreneur and author, best known for his role as the co-founder of Food Revolution Network, Inc. This California-based company is dedicated to advocating for a whole foods, plant-based diet. Check out Ocean’s book, 31-Day Food Revolution, to learn more about healing the body and transforming the world. You can keep up with Ocean on his website, HERE.About Jack Kornfield:Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.Jack is currently offering a wonderful array of transformational online courses diving into crucial topics like Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals, Walking the Eightfold Path, Opening the Heart of Forgiveness, Living Beautifully, Transforming Your Life Through Powerful Stories, and so much more. Sign up for an All Access Pass to explore Jack’s entire course library. If you would like a year's worth of online meetups with Jack and fellow community members, join The Year of Awakening: A Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield.Stay up to date with Jack and his stream of fresh dharma offerings by visiting JackKornfield.com and signing up for his email teachings.“If we don’t look, if we don’t acknowledge the children who are hungry, if we don’t acknowledge not just Ukraine and Gaza, but Sudan, and the Congo, and Myanmar, and the Rohingas—if we turn our gaze away in denial, we can’t make a difference. Our heart has to be big enough and our dignity strong enough that we’re willing to see it. And then some of us are called to do that work in the way that we can.” – Jack KornfieldSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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    40 mins
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A great question and answer interview from one of Jack's biggest fans. I learned how Jack began his spiritual trajectory.

The Origins of Jack.

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Such a Blessing. Soothing, life, ringing Bells of Truth. So much gratitude for the kindness and wellbeing in these dialogues. Bless you Jack.

Gratitude

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I am thankful for these recordings--there is lots of wisdom in Jack's words and stories. The messages he shares feel like reminders of universal truths, things we all knew/can know but often forget in the rush of everyday adult life. It helps that his way of speaking is also peaceful and uplifting.

Like Mr. Rodgers for Adults

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So much wisdom to take in.
Good pointed questions of Jack Kornfield- how to live life.

I needed to listen

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