Most of us have spent our lives caught up in plans, expectations, ambitions for the future; in regrets, guilt or shame about the past. To come into the present is to stop the war.
Jack KornfieldRead
One of the essential tasks for living a wise life is letting go. Letting go is the path to freedom. It is only by letting go of the hopes, the fears, the pain, the past, the stories that have a hold on us that we can quiet our mind and open our heart.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Letting go of burdens allows for a freer and more fulfilling life.
This quote emphasizes the importance of releasing attachments to negative emotions and past experiences as a means to achieve inner peace and open oneself to new possibilities. By letting go of desires, fears, and past narratives, individuals can clear their minds and connect with their true selves, leading to a more enlightened and liberated way of living.
Themes
Letting GoFreedomMindfulnessInner PeaceWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming personal challenges.
More from Jack Kornfield
All quotes →We need courage and strength, a kind of warrior spirit. But the place for this warrior strength is in the heart. We need energy, commitment, and courage not to run from our life nor to cover it over with any philosophy-mate rial or spiritual. We need a warrior’s heart that lets us face our lives directly, our pains and limitations, our joys and possibilities.
Jack KornfieldRead
The questions asked at the end of lie are very simple ones: Did I love well? Did I love the people around me, my community, the earth, in a deep way? And perhaps, Did I live fully? Did I offer myself to life?
Jack KornfieldRead
We can bring our spiritual practice into the streets, into our communities, when we see each realm as a temple, as a place to discover that which is sacred.
Jack KornfieldRead
According to Buddhist scriptures, compassion is the "quivering of the pure heart" when we have allowed ourselves to be touched by the pain of life.
Jack KornfieldRead
Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.
Jack KornfieldRead
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If you evade suffering you also evade the chance of joy. Pleasure you may get, or pleasures, but you will not be fulfilled. You will not know what it is to come home.
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