After the Ecstasy the Laundry

Zusatztext A shining gift of wisdom. New Age Journal Informationen zum Autor Jack Kornfield is an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher and meditation master, and a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Northern California. A former Buddhist monk, he holds a PhD in clinical psychology. His books include A Path with Heart , Buddha's Little Instruction Book , and After the Ecstasy. Klappentext "Enlightenment does exist," internationally renowned author and meditation master Jack Kornfield assures us. "Unbounded freedom and joy, oneness with the divine . . . these experiences are more common than you know, and not far away." But even after achieving such realization-after the ecstasy-we are faced with the day-to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry. Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners within the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds-and how we can prepare our hearts for awakening. Through moving personal stories and traditional tales, we learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of family relationships, emotional pain, earning a living, sickness, loss, and death. Filled with "the laughter of the wise," alive with compassion, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a gift to anyone who is seeking peace, wholeness, and inner happiness. It is sure to take its place next to A Path with Heart as a spiritual classic for our time. Baba Yaga and Our Sacred Longing The moment I heard my first story I started looking for you.... Rumi Midway along our road of life I woke to find myself standing alone in a dark wood. Dante Alighieri What is it that draws a person to spiritual life? From as far back as we can remember, we can each sense a mystery in being alive. When we are present with an infant in the first moments after birth, or when the death of a loved one brushes close to us, the mystery becomes tangible. It is there when we witness a radiant sunset or find a moment's silent stillness in the flowing seasons of our days. Connecting to the sacred is perhaps our deepest need and longing. Awakening calls to us in a thousand ways. As the poet Rumi sings, Grapes want to turn to wine. There is a pull to wholeness, to being fully alive, even when we have forgotten. The Hindus tell us that the child in the womb sings, Do not let me forget who am, but that the song after birth becomes, Oh, I have forgotten already. Still, as surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home. Throughout the world we find stories of this journey, images of the longing to awaken, the steps along the path that we all follow, the voices that call, the intensity of the initiation we may meet, the courage we need. At the heart of each is the original sincerity of the seeker, who must honestly admit how small is our knowledge of the universe, how great the unknown. The honesty the spiritual quest requires of us is addressed in the Russian initiation tales about Baba Yaga. Baba Yaga is an old woman with a wild, haglike visage who stirs her pot and knows all things. She lives deep in the forest. When we seek her out we are frightened, for she requires us to go into the dark, to ask dangerous questions, to step outside the world of logic and comfort. When the first young seeker comes quaking up to the door of her hut, Baba Yaga demands, Are you on your own errand or are you sent by another? The young man, encouraged in his quest by his family, answers, I am sent by my father. Baba Yaga promptly throws him into the pot and cooks him. The next to attempt this ...

ldquo;A shining gift of wisdom.”—New Age Journal

Auteur
Jack Kornfield is an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher and meditation master, and a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Northern California. A former Buddhist monk, he holds a PhD in clinical psychology. His books include A Path with Heart, Buddha's Little Instruction Book, and After the Ecstasy.

Texte du rabat

"Enlightenment does exist," internationally renowned author and meditation master Jack Kornfield assures us. "Unbounded freedom and joy, oneness with the divine . . . these experiences are more common than you know, and not far away."

But even after achieving such realization-after the ecstasy-we are faced with the day-to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry.

Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners within the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds-and how we can prepare our hearts for awakening.

Through moving personal stories and traditional tales, we learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of family relationships, emotional pain, earning a living, sickness, loss, and death.

Filled with "the laughter of the wise," alive with compassion, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a gift to anyone who is seeking peace, wholeness, and inner happiness. It is sure to take its place next to A Path with Heart as a spiritual classic for our time.

Résumé
ldquo;Enlightenment does exist,” internationally renowned author and meditation master Jack Kornfield assures us. “Unbounded freedom and joy, oneness with the divine . . . these experiences are more common than you know, and not far away.”

But even after achieving such realization—after the ecstasy—we are faced with the day—to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry.

Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners within the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds—and how we can prepare our hearts for awakening.

Through moving personal stories and traditional tales, we learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of family relationships, emotional pain, earning a living, sickness, loss, and death.

Filled with “the laughter of the wise,” alive with compassion, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a gift to anyone who is seeking peace, wholeness, and inner happiness. It is sure to take its place next to A Path with Heart as a spiritual classic for our time.

Échantillon de lecture
Baba Yaga and Our Sacred Longing

The moment I heard my first story
I started looking for you....
– Rumi

Midway along our road of life I woke to find myself standing alone in a dark wood.
– Dante Alighieri

What is it that draws a person to spiritual life? From as far back as we can remember, we can each sense a mystery in being alive. When we are present with an infant in the first moments after birth, or when the death of a loved one brushes close to us, the mystery becomes tangible. It is there when we witness a radiant sunset or find a moment’s silent stillness in the flowing seasons of our days. Connecting to the sacred is perhaps our deepest need and longing.

Awakening calls to us in a thousand ways. As the poet Rumi sings, “Grapes want to turn to wine.” There is a pull to wholeness, to being fully alive, even when we have forgotten. The Hindus tell us that the child in the womb sings, “Do not let me forget who am,” but that the song after birth becomes, “Oh, I have forgotten already.”

Still, as surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.

Throughout the world we find stories of this journey, im…