Ep. 306 – The Spacious Heart: Transcending Duality Through Meditation and Sound

Oct 2, 2025

Explore the transformative power of spaciousness in meditation and sound. Jack Kornfield guides listeners through a journey beyond duality, highlighting the connection between compassion and awareness. Discover that enlightenment thrives in accepting imperfection and that emotions are fleeting like weather patterns. Unearth the significance of mantras like Om Mani Padme Hum and learn how to confront personal challenges with equanimity. Embrace the heart's wisdom for a more compassionate life.

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ADVICE

Practice Spacious Listening

Listen to ambient sounds with open attention and let awareness expand beyond the head into a boundless space.
Let sounds arise in this spacious mind and let go of boundaries to rest at ease.

INSIGHT

Mind As Open Sky

Awareness is described as having no inside or outside, containing experiences without being limited by them.
Sensations, breath, and sounds are like clouds or bubbles appearing in an open sky of mind.

ADVICE

Combine Breath With Spacious Awareness

Include breath awareness while resting in spaciousness to anchor presence and feel the breath 'breathe itself'.
Notice thoughts and images as transient, allowing them to arise and vanish into the space of mind.

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Jack Kornfield leads a guided sound journey into spacious awareness—exploring meditation, mantra, and the freedom beyond duality.

Dive into Jack’s recently unearthed lost tapes from a vintage Yucca Valley retreat in 1990! Take the The Sacred Journey Home: Timeless Teachings on Freedom and Love Just Where You Are with Jack Kornfield

“When we touch spaciousness, we discover that in letting go there arises a natural compassion, the great heart of a Buddha. In this, we find that the true place of peace is one of trust—an open, spacious heart in the very midst of our life.” — Jack Kornfield

In this episode, Jack mindfully explores:

The Spacious Heart: A guided sound journey into awareness, transcending duality, and opening to the vastness of mind and heart.
Beyond Duality: Discovering consciousness as boundless as the sky, where there is no inside or outside, only open spaciousness.
Weather of the Heart: Seeing moods, joys, and sorrows as passing like colors in water or changes in the weather.
Enlightenment as Non-Perfection: The Third Zen Patriarch’s teaching that freedom is found in letting go of anxiety about imperfection.
Meeting Life with Spaciousness: Guided practice for opening to difficult emotions and situations with equanimity and compassion.
Mantra and Sound: Exploring Om Mani Padme Hum, the jewel and the lotus, and the seed mantra Ah as gateways to the heart.

This Dharma Talk from 7/12/1993 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.

“Your mind is not limited to your head, but rather your awareness, consciousness, expands beyond your head to be open like the sky, space without boundaries.” – 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.

“To me, the most amazing line in all of Zen literature is this astonishing line from the Third Zen Patriarch: To be enlightened is to be without anxiety about non-perfection.” – Jack Kornfield

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