The ends do not justify the means. If our actions will bring harm to others, even in the service of some 'good,' they are almost certainly deluded. If our actions do not come from a kind heart, from loving courage and compassion, they are deluded. If they are based on a distinction between 'us' and 'them,' they stem from delusion. Only to the extent that we act from the wisdom of no separation, understanding how we are woven together, will our intention bring benefit.
Jack KornfieldEven Socrates, who lived a very frugal and simple life, loved to go to the market. When his students asked about this, he replied, "I love to go and see all the things I am happy without.
Jack KornfieldTo live fully is to let go and die with each passing moment, and to be reborn in each new one.
Jack KornfieldThrough practice, gently and gradually we can collect ourselves and learn how to be more fully with what we do.
Jack KornfieldThe aim of spiritual life is to awaken a joyful freedom, a benevolent and compassionate heart in spite of everything.
Jack KornfieldEven time is a concept. In reality we are always in the eternal present. The past is just a memory, the future just an image or thought. All our stories about past and future are only ideas, arising in the moment. Our modern culture is so tyrannized by goals, plans, and improvement schemes that we constantly live for the future. But as Aldous Huxley reminded us in his writings, "An idolatrous religion is one in which time is substituted for eternity...the idea of endless progress is the devil's work, even today demanding human sacrifice on an enormous scale.
Jack Kornfield