Quotes from Jack Kornfield

Since death will take us anyway, why live our life in fear? Why not die in our old ways and be free to live?

To open deeply, as genuine spiritual life requires, we need tremendous courage and strength, a kind of warrior spirit.

The art of living is neither careless drifting on the one hand or fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consist in being completely sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive - Allan Watts

When we struggle to change ourselves we, in fact, only continue the patterns of self-judgement and aggression. We keep the war against ourselves alive.

As we follow a genuine path of practice, our sufferings may seem to increase because we no longer hide from them or from ourselves. When we do not follow the old habits of fantasy and escape, we are left facing the actual problems and contradictions of our life.

the world is full of pain, uncertainty, and injustice. But in this vulnerable human life, every loss is an opportunity either to shut out the world or to stand up with dignity and let the heart respond.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

Love creates a communion with life. Love expands us, connects us, sweetens us, ennobles us. Love springs up in tender concern, it blossoms into caring action. It makes beauty out of all we touch. In any moment we can step beyond our small self and embrace each other as beloved parts of a whole.

In this there is no judgment and no blame, for we seek not to perfect the world but to perfect our love for what is on this earth.

When we are lost in delusion, it's hard to see even the most obvious truths.

We need a warrior's heart that lets us face our lives directly, our pains and limitations, our joys and possibilities.

Buddhist teachings are not a religion, they are a science of mind.

As Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn puts it, "If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who among us is willing to destroy a piece of their own heart?

Do not be afraid to face your difficulty. Turn toward it. Lean into the wind. Hold your ground.

It is not enough to know that love and forgiveness are possible. We have to find ways to bring them to life.

There are many ways up the mountain and each of us must choose a practice that feels true to our heart.

many people who come to spiritual practice are frightened by their feelings. They hope meditation will help them to transcend the messiness of the world and leave them invulnerable to difficult feelings. But this is a false transcendence, a denial of life. It is fear masquerading as wisdom.

The way I treat my body is not disconnected from the way I treat my family or the commitment I have to peace on our earth.

We need energy, commitment, and courage not to run from our life nor to cover it over with any philosophy—material or spiritual.

The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle.

Your happiness and suffering depend on your actions and not on my wishes for you.

When we ask it about our current path, we must look at the values we have chosen to live by. Where do we put our time, our strength, our creativity, our love? We must look at our life without sentimentality, exaggeration, or idealism. Does what we are choosing reflect what we most deeply value?

We are rarely lazy—we are simply afraid.

Attachment is conditional, offers love only to certain people in certain ways; it is exclusive. Love, in the sense of metta, used by Buddha, is a universal, nondiscriminating feeling of caring and connectedness.