The Journey Through Pain to Emptiness

In this rich and often humorous talk from the 1990s, Jack explores the art of letting go as the gateway to freedom, inviting us into the coolness of nirvana, and the wholeness found only here and now.

Join the Year of Awakening with Jack Kornfield for a monthly group livestream Q&A hang with Jack, along with weekly modules and prompts to keep your life focused on awakening!

“This freedom is not far away, the freedom of the heart is here, and it’s inviting. Nirvana is inviting.” – Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:

• The end of exile as a return to the present moment
• Pure awareness and the cycles of life
• Where is freedom found?
• Letting go vs. letting be
• The dignity of just being an earthworm
• Nirvana as a public health measure
• The coolness of nirvana and release from grasping
• How ‘periodic nirvana’ keeps us alive
• Ram Dass, Stephen Levine, surrender, and choosing your spirit
• Bodhicitta as the heart of emptiness and compassion
• Don Juan’s “controlled folly” and Zen paradox
• Finding wholeness in grief, struggle, and beauty
• Each moment as a chance for struggle or freedom
• The goal of practice as keeping our beginner’s mind
• This very moment as the only place of freedom

“If we allow ourselves to stay in the reality of the present, not only does there come a reclaiming of this life, but we also discover this emptiness or spaciousness that holds it all. No matter how painful, beautiful, exalted, or difficult—it arises and moves in its cycle back into wholeness.” – Jack Kornfield

This Dharma Talk recorded on desert retreat in the 1990s 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, 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.

“Just let go, let go, let go. I did nothing but this in my practice for years. Every time I tried to understand or figure things out, I’d say, ‘Let go, let go,’ until that desire would fade away. … Just be an earthworm who knows only two words, ‘Let go, let go…’” – Jack Kornfield

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