Ep. 241 – The Paradox of Self and No-Self

Harmonizing to the 'music of the spheres' & sharing gardening tips from Buddha, a blissful Jack unveils the possibility of sudden awakening.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self."You don't want to wait until you float out of your body when you die and look back and say, 'Wow, that was an amazing incarnation, wasn't it?' You actually want to have it now." – Jack KornfieldIn this fresh video episode, Jack blissfully illuminates:The wisdom of the Music of the SpheresEnergies of the 2024 Solar EclipseAlan Watts on why 'life is like music'The enlightening present momentHarmonizing life's opposites like the TaoDancing with life's changing rhythmsTo be married to amazement and mysteryThe beautiful revelation of sudden awakeningBeing at the still point of the turning worldSudden realization, gradual practice, and ZenReleasing from the body of fearBuddha's gardening wisdomThe fruits of inner well-being"That's what meditation does, it makes space. We step out of the thrall of our plans, thoughts, reactions, how it should be, what's happened, and what should happen; and out of the fears and the confusion, sadness, excitement, and all those things; and we become the space of loving awareness that says, 'Yes.' It's an act of love." – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk originally took place 3/25/24 for Spirit Rock Meditation Center's Monday Night Dharma Talk and Meditation. Sign up for Jack's next one at JackKornfield.com/eventsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Revealing how to disentangle your illusions and let go of old identities, Jack paves the way to the mystical present moment.Join Jack online Sat June 22 for The Awakened Heart: Mindfulness and Compassion Practices for Living a Wise and Free Life – a special live daylong retreat exploring lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and peace. Register here.“Part of the joy of selflessness is that as we become selfless much greater forces of what life is move through us.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Disentangling your illusionsOpening to the paradox of self and no-selfThe yogic practice of asking, “Who am I?”This mystical present momentHow the entire universe is inside your mindExperiencing selflessnessWhy you can’t just ‘no-self’ it awayMoving past your inner-critic, shame, and unworthinessListening to, accepting, and loving the shadowThe strength of being grounded on EarthWorking with meaninglessnessLetting go of old identitiesLove as the work of a lifetime“You can’t just ‘no-self’ it away.” – Jack Kornfield“All that you need to do is to keep coming back to the present and what needs to open in you will. You can really trust that.” – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk estimated to be recorded on 4/23/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Exploring life as a flowing, dynamic process, Jack shares the jewel of Buddha's awakening by unraveling the paradox of self and no-self.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self."Each of those sets of words, 'self,' and 'no-self,' are concepts or ideas or words that we use in a very crude approximation of pointing to some mystery of this process of life that's neither self nor no-self." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully illuminates:Unraveling the paradox of self and no-selfThe Jewel of the Buddha's AwakeningAnattā (selflessness) and how it connects with respectTales of a Magic MonasteryLiving in the reality of expansion and contractionWhy Ajahn Chah shared 'self' and 'no self' both aren't trueThe word "happy/sad" in JapaneseOpening to our life as a flowing, moving processBecoming aware of selflessnessInterdependence, interconnection, codependent arisingLearning to respect ourself and nourish beneficial qualitiesDeveloping yourself while also "losing yourself"Discovering your True SelfThe importance of integrating our spiritual practice into our livesLearning to live in your body and love well"To be really present is to connect with the mystery." – Jack Kornfield"You develop yourself as you lose yourself." – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk estimated to be recorded on 4/23/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass! To take part in the two live online Q&A sessions, register by June 9 at bit.ly/InteractiveCohortSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sharing the blueprint for how to unlock true abundance, Jack reveals the secrets of letting go of greed, embracing generosity, and appreciating simplicity in life.Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass cohort this June! Join the journey."Abundance isn't about how much you have, but how much you appreciate. – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:How to let go of our greed and live in true abundanceThe Buddhist notion of "dana" – generosity, service, open-hearted caringGreed as a strategy of impoverishment, rejection, and incompletenessTransforming our 'endless wanting' into a beneficial awakened dance with the worldExpressing the Tao, the harmony of the universe, through our beingThe Dharmic alchemy of the Bodhisattva Meditation, listening, and finding out what we truly want in this lifeWhere Suzuki Roshi meets Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.How abundance of the spirit connects with simplicity rather than thingsA personal story of Jack taking his unique Bodhisattva Vows in the Rocky Mountains while teaching at Chögyam Trungpa's Naropa UniversityTaking your strong, grounded, noble seat that can handle it allHow being there for others is abundance in their lifeThe generosity and delight of authentically giving – things, space, silence, listening, attention, commitment, honesty, smiles, blessingsRam Dass and Maharajji's lesson of "feed people, love people."Is "selfless service" actually selfless?"Abundance of the spirit doesn't mean things; it means discovering a kind of simplicity of our life where we're abundant in any circumstance." – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk estimated to be recorded on 3/1/1990 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Unveiling how to grow your heart as big as the sky, Jack shares the spiritual antidote for aversion, negativity, and fear.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self."Let your heart be as big as your whole experience, like the sky." – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Overcoming aversion by "bringing it into your heart" rather than your rational mindTouching into emotions, fears, and judgements with compassion instead of aversionUsing techniques like "noting/naming" for moving past intense feelingsLoving your negatives states as you would love your own childSeeing clearly the karma, value, and consequence of your personal patternsWho would you be if you dropped your opinions, views, identity?Growing your heart to the size of the skyPracticing the 'art of letting go'Learning to live in the reality 'the Now'Why Buddha had a better time than mostPainting as a doorway to spiritual experienceTransmuting difficulties by dropping our resistance to themHow to hold healthy views without being attached to them"In this space of Now, it's not necessary to have fear. In this place of Now, we can rest." – Jack Kornfield"If we want to create peace, or if we want to live free from greed, hatred and delusion, the place to start is in ourselves." – Jack KornfieldLearn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass cohort starting this June.This Dharma Talk originally recorded on 1/1/1989 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Illustrating how to free yourself from fear and opinion, Jack reveals how to overcome suffering by cultivating a pure heart.This episode is brought to you by Betterhelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self."The only Zen you find on tops of mountains is the Zen you bring there." – Robert M. PirsigIn this episode, Jack skillfully illuminates:Skillful ways to free yourself from stuck views and opinionsRam Dass's teaching advice to JackBalancing life's sufferings with life's joysZen wisdom on how to drop your viewsAccepting what you see and rejecting what you thinkOvercoming suffering by living with a pure heartBuddha's 'Fire Sermon' teachingsThe way attachment connects to fear, and how to get to the rootHow views and opinions keep you separate, ego-focused, and defensiveWorking with racism and fear by imbibing wakefulness and mindfulnessOvercoming opinions and and views by the method of noting/namingThis Dharma Talk originally recorded on 1/1/1989 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in an online masterclass cohort starting this June!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Uncovering how to find joy and freedom in any situation, Jack shares the roadmap for discovering peace within yourself.Learn the Dynamic Art of Interactive Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield in this online masterclass cohort starting this June! Learn more and register at bit.ly/InteractiveCohortThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“Peace is the cessation of your struggle, it’s putting down the burden and letting things be as they actually are.” – Jack KornfieldIn this episode, Jack mindfully explores:Learning to be at peace with yourself and the worldHow to meditate when it feels like you can’t meditateThe way emptiness connects with compassionReconciling where peace meets strugglePeace as an internal state you can bring with youBeing Here Now, opening to life fully, and becoming intimate with all thingsHow we can find joy, liberation, and freedom in any situationDharma stories of the Buddha as well as the Bodhisattva VimalakīrtiComing to terms with the First Noble Truth of suffering, disappointment, and changeThe transformative power of meeting life exactly as it isWhat we can learn from both a “Duck Meditation,” “Goose Poem,” and a Tibetan PrayerLove and it’s connection with courage“We can’t come to rest because we’re at war with what’s actually here.” – Jack Kornfield“To enter into the unknown is really to enter into the moment.” – Jack KornfieldThis Dharma Talk originally recorded on 12/01/1989 at Spirit Rock Meditation Center was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jack and the ‘Grandfather of Gratitude,’ Brother David Steindl-Rast, delve into sacred reflections on death, where Buddha meets Jesus, the power of compassion, the positive side of grief, and beyond.Stay up to date with Jack and his stream of free offerings by signing up for his email newsletter teachings at JackKornfield.com/newsletter “The process of grieving that breaks this little heart, which closes itself in itself, opens us to the heart that we all share, the one heart that we all have in common.” – Brother David Steindl-RastIn this sacred dialogue, Jack, Brother David, and Frank Ostaseski reflect on:How Christianity and Buddhism fit together spirituallyThe compassionate smile of Buddha meeting the sacred heart of Jesus ChristThe positive side of grief: opening to the collective heartDeath and grace in both traditionsDeconditioning from a difficult motherHarnessing the power of your common senseA funny story about the Pope, and how to awaken to who we already areJack’s journey to the Temple of the Coconut MonkHow to handle pain like a Burmese MasterHow to forgive yourself and overcome remorseDiffusing suicidal tendencies by cultivating self-compassionGuided meditations and sacred chants from Jack and Brother David“In a meditative way, one of the big pieces of being able to love, or touch, or open, or live, is really the work of forgiveness, grace, and receiving yourself in all of your complexity and loving.” – Jack Kornfield“Compassion, loving kindness, and understanding are our true nature, our true state.” – Jack KornfieldThis conversation recorded on 6/30/1988 was originally published on DharmaSeed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fantastic Fungi's visionary director, Louie Schwartzberg, joins Jack to explore the profound connection between psychedelics and mindfulness. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/heartwisdom and get on your way to being your best self.“You can’t separate psychedelics from life.” – Jack KornfieldIn this fresh conversation, Jack and Louie spelunk the depths of:The connection between psychedelics and spiritualityPsychedelics as a gateway to wonder, curiosity, and the sacredHow tripping on psychedelics informed Louie’s filmmakingAlbert Einstein and psychedelics as the intersection between art and scienceThe universe and life as a constant transformation of light energyBuddha’s “Flower Sermon” and Zen Master Suzuki Roshi’s “Beginner’s Mind”Jack “exchanging maps” with famous LSD researcher, Stanislav GrofStudies showing the combination of psilocybin mushrooms and Louie’s time-lapse nature imagery as a powerful therapeutic tool for helping addiction and PTSDThe importance of “set and setting,” community, and integrationHow psychedelics actually fit into the Buddhist preceptsHonoring biology and the feminine aspects of natureThe gifts of sacred attention and loving awarenessFinding beauty wherever you are, and how Louie’s films heal by sharing patterns of nature for the soul to connect withThis conversation was originally recorded on 3/29/24 by Banyan Together – an online mindfulness community started by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. To join the community and learn more, visit BanyanTogether.com“A lot of the work I do is to make the invisible visible. And that’s the perfect description of what a psychedelic journey is like, making the invisible visible.” – Louie Schwartzberg“We live in a culture that’s almost defined by the absence of the sacred. And so we feel this yearning, this intuitive wish to connect—whether it’s going high in the mountains, or making love, or taking psychedelics, or meditating.” – Jack KornfieldSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Inviting in calm, strength, and steadiness, Jack leads a guided meditation into the heart of mindful loving awareness. This guided meditation was originally recorded on 2/19/2024 for the Spirit Rock Monday Night Dharma Talk and Meditation. Register to join Jack's next livestream at JackKornfield.com/events"Feel the weight of your body, gravity, and how the earth completely supports you when you let go into your seat. You're met by the strength and steadiness of the earth itself. You can rest on her. – Jack KornfieldIn this fresh episode, Jack leads a guided meditation for:Inviting in a sense of ease and calmRelaxing into mindful loving awarenessFinding a steady, grounded, rooted postureKeeping a natural, soft, and flowing breathQuieting the mind and watching experience unfoldNoticing the arising and passing away of all phenomenaAllowing yourself into rest, trust, and relaxation Learn to live beautifully with Jack Kornfield and Dr. Dan Siegel in their new online journey, Living Beautifully: Transformative Science and Mindfulness Practices to Cultivate a Wise HeartSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.