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
When we take the one seat on our meditation cushion we become our own monastery. We create the compassionate space that allows for the arising of all things: sorrows, loneliness, shame, desire, regret, frustration, happiness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Meditation creates a safe space for all emotions and experiences to arise and be acknowledged.
In this quote, Jack Kornfield emphasizes the transformative power of meditation, suggesting that by dedicating a specific space for contemplation, we can cultivate compassion for ourselves and our experiences. The meditation cushion symbolizes a sanctuary where we can confront and embrace our full range of emotions, leading to deeper understanding and acceptance of life's challenges and joys.
Themes
MeditationCompassionEmotionsSelf-ReflectionMindfulness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a mindfulness workshop to emphasize the importance of creating a safe space for emotions.
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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