Ep. 289 – Still We Rise: Bodhisattvas of the Great Turning with Trudy Goodman
Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield
Finding Balance: The Role of Make-Weights in Community
This chapter delves into the metaphor of 'make-weight' in life, stressing the vital role individuals play in fostering balance and transformation within their communities. It emphasizes the importance of collective meditation and support, while also reminding listeners of the impermanence of difficult times.
In this time of global uncertainty, Jack Kornfield and Trudy Goodman call us to rise with fierce compassion and become Bodhisattvas of the Great Turning.
Join Jack's Free New Course, Stand Up For Compassion: A Free Course and Resource for Navigating Uncertain Times.
“You become the imaginal cells in these times. Things fall apart, but in you is the understanding that compassion is big enough to hold all of this, that the heart is big enough to hold all this, that the Dharma is big enough to shine through empires, changes, crisis, and beauty. That’s what we have—the Bodhisattva can carry on liberating beings from suffering, however long it takes.” – Jack Kornfield
In this episode, Jack and Trudy mindfully explore:
- How you can pick all the flowers, but you can’t stop the spring
- Navigating fear politics and the cultural media machine
- Letting go of fear, blame, shame, and ending systemic division
- Using this time of “The Great Turning” as an opportunity to create a more loving world
- Ajahn Chah and living the truth of uncertainty
- How to face the big problems of the world with even bigger love
- Meeting the world through the Bodhisattva Vows
- How loving people and feeding people connects with enlightenment
- The path and practices of loving awareness and compassion
- Inclining the heart towards kindness and generosity
- How caterpillars change to butterflies through Imaginal Cells
- The world-changing power of true community
- Learning how to respond mindfully to any trigger or circumstance
- Becoming a make-weight of hope to tip the scales of humanity to love and balance
- The spiritual wisdom of Passover and Easter
- Letting go of tension and flowing into relaxation
- The Pagan Goddess of Dawn
- Community as the antidote for loneliness
- Crying, letting the tears come, and seeing what happens
- How to interact with people who are highly anxious or avoidant
- Saying hello to the people around you
“Tears feel endless, bottomless, when they don’t have a chance to fall. When they get to fall, they fall and fall, but they stop because tears too are impermanent, they cannot fall forever. It’s really like this with all the intense emotions we are afraid will flood and drown us in some way.” – Trudy Goodman
"What we're experiencing, Joanna Macy calls, The Great Turning. It's the breakdown of the exploitive late-stage capitalist model where we get as much as we can, and the harbinger of the possibility of interdependence. When it breaks down, that turning says, ‘We will use this time to turn this world into something better, to care for one another. The possibility starts with us." – Jack Kornfield
This episode was originally recorded for the InsightLA Sunday livestream on April 20, 2025.
Photo via Wirestock
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, 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.
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