Jack Kornfield Quotes

Recently, one friend asked me, "How can I force myself to smile when I am filled with sorrow? It isn't natural." I told her she must be able to smile to her sorrow, because we are more than our sorrow. A human being is like a television set with millions of channels. If we turn the Buddha on, we are the Buddha. If we turn sorrow on then we are sorrow. If we turn a smile on, we really are the smile. We can not let just one channel dominate us. We have the seed of everything in us, and we have to seize the situation in our hand, to recover our own sovereignty.

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

I know that the purpose of life is to understand and be in the present moment with the people you love. It's just that simple.

Success and failure are emotional and physiological experiences. We need to deal with them in a way that is present and calm.

Your heart will be shattered by sorrow if you force it to live in tomorrow's ephemeral imagination - world instead of in today's eternal reality - now.

Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.

Happiness is found by deeply experiencing the exact moment we are in.

We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

Once in awhile throughout the day...let go into full acceptance of the present moment, including how you are feeling and what you perceive to be happening... Give yourself permission to allow this moment to be exactly as it is, and allow yourself to be exactly as you are. Then, when you're ready, move in the direction your heart tells you to go, mindfully and with resolution.

I think its very important to not be afraid to experience joy in the middle of sorrow.

Man was made for joy and woe, and when this we rightly know through the world we safely go. Joy and woe are woven fine, a clothing for the soul to bind.

If you meditate, meditation is so beautiful, who bothers about the result? And if you bother about the result, meditation is not possible. This result oriented mind is the only barrier, the only block. There are not many blocks, the only block is that of the result oriented mind: never here-now, always somewhere else thinking of the result; while making love, thinking about the result.

Awakening self-compassion is often the greatest challenge people face on the spiritual path.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it. (21)

When we enter the present moment deeply, our regrets and sorrows disappear, and we discover life with all its wonders.

We can learn not to keep situations or events alive in our minds, but to return our attention continuously to the pristine, timeless present moment rather than be caught up in mental movie making.

If there is suffering, then it's best to accept it, because it won't go away just because you pretend it's not there. If there is joy, then it's best to accept that too, even though you're afraid it might end one day.

All the happiness and fulfillment that humans yearn for exists in the present moment.

Radical Acceptance is the willingness to experience ourselves and our lives as it is.

Happiness is lost by criticizing it; sorrow by accepting it.

He who lives in the present lives in eternity.

An emotion is only an emotion. It's just a small part of your whole being. You are much more than your emotion. An emotion comes, stays for a while, and goes away, just like a storm. If you're aware of that, you won't be afraid of your emotions.

As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care, and love - even the most simple action.

If you have your full attention in the moment, you will see only love.

If you keep your attention in the body as much as possible, you will be anchored in the Now. You won't lose yourself in the external world, and you won't lose yourself in your mind. Thoughts and emotions, fears and desires may still be there to some extent, but they won't take you over.