Jack Kornfield – Heart Wisdom – Ep. 186 – Expansion and Contraction

Jack returns with a cosmic Dharma Talk exploring expansion and contraction in relation to impermanence as the root of spiritual practice.

This Dharma Talk from Spirit Rock Meditation Center on 6/20/1994 was originally published on DharmaSeed.

“The law of change is the brown rice and vegetables of spiritual practice, it’s the root of our direct experience of life.” – Jack Kornfield 

In this episode, Jack takes us on a cosmic journey through:
  • The basic fundamentals of Dharma teachings on how to live wisely in our practice
  • A trippy interstellar perspective flip through a simple intergalactic thought experiment
  • Life—this capacity to be conscious and aware—as a process of expansion and contraction
  • The law of change, impermanence, as the “brown rice and vegetables” of spiritual practice
  • Spiritual practice as a way to find freedom and compassion within ourselves
  • Learning to live in the present of how it is, rather than how we wish it would be
Sharon Salzberg and Dr. Omid Safi talk expansion and contraction in relation to radical love, on Metta Hour Ep. 178
About Jack Kornfield:

Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as. a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.

Listen to more from Jack:
Tune into Ep. 109 of Heart Wisdom: This Too Shall Pass
Learn about Living with a Peaceful Heart in Ep. 91 of Heart Wisdom
Check out Ep. 90 of Heart Wisdom to learn about Healing Through Loving Awareness
Listen to more Stories That Open the Mind, Mend the Heart and Lead to Joy with Jack Kornfield in Ep.92 of Heart Wisdom
Tune into Ep. 102 of Heart Wisdom: The Wisdom of the One Who Knows
Check out Ep. 1 of Heart Wisdom to gain wisdom on Impermanence

Art via Uoomi