Ep. 216 – Heart and Mind, Wholeness and Emptiness

In Jack's heartfelt final talk at Insight Meditation Society, he explores heart and mind, wholeness and emptiness, and how the only way to be free is to let go of it all.

"When I was first studying Buddhism and meditating, even as it got a lot deeper, it was a clearing of the mind—mind becoming more silent, fewer thoughts, starting to see with a vision of clarity how things really arise, pass, and are truly ownerless. There's a kind of coolness to that vision, just like on a hot summer day when you go into a place and the cool breeze comes, and it cools off at night. That kind of vision of openness, of spaciousness of mind, and the clarity to see, has a sweetness, a sweet kind

In this heartfelt episode, Jack mindfully explores:

• The significance of this session as his last Dharma Talk at Insight Meditation Society before leaving to California to found Spirit Rock Meditation Center
• Jack's connection as a founding teacher of IMS alongside other Be Here Now Network teachers and podcasters, Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein
• How sangha—spiritual community—has a way of naturally calibrating itself and the students/teachers within it
• The sweet coolness and spacious clarity which comes from spiritual practice
• Suzuki Roshi and the wisdom of 0 and 1, emptiness and wholeness
• A moving story of service and renewal from a Ram Dass book
• How the only way to be free is to let go of all of it, absolutely everything
• The question Jack will ask himself when his body is dying: whether I've lived fully and loved well
• What the Buddha said about love

"The only way to be free is to let go of all of it." – Jack Kornfield

"What I imagine I'll ask myself when I die is: whether I've lived fully—but even more than that—whether I've loved very well." – Jack Kornfield

This Dharma Talk from 03/18/1984 at Insight Meditation Society was originally published on DharmaSeed.

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