This is PART TWO of Clear Mountain's interview with Jack Kornfield. Watch PART ONE here: https://youtu.be/selbulve5z0
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:35 - Early Years: From Dartmouth to Haight-Ashbury to Peace Corps to the Thai Forests
00:05:28 - Meeting Ajahn Sumedho
00:07:26 - Meeting Ajahn Chah and Being the Second Western Monk at Wat Nong Pah Pong
00:10:00 - Life in Caves (Wat Tam Saeng Pet), Walking alms barefoot
00:12:25 - Visiting Ajahn Chah with Ram Dass and Joseph Goldstein
00:13:04 - Returning to the West and the poignant decision to disrobe
00:16:28 - The Birth of IMS: Lay Practice and Unexpected Karma
00:17:39 - Founding Spirit Rock: Sacred Land and Generous Benefactors
00:20:45 - Asian Origins of Western Teachings
00:22:15 - Modernizing the Dharma: Lay Teachers and Team Teaching
00:26:21 - Integrating the Feminine
00:27:35 - Right Effort for Westerners Moving Beyond "Cowboy Style"
00:31:20 - Inviting Asian Teachers to America: Ajahn Chah, Mahāsi Saydaw, the Dalai Lama,
00:33:50 - Teacher Conversations for Mutual Growth and Respect
00:39:40 - Ethics and Sexual Misconduct: Precepts for Teachers
00:42:11 - Psychology and the Path
00:44:15 - The "Insight Tradition" and Teacher Training and Curricula
00:49:35 - Addressing Trauma and Seeing Suffering
In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho speak with Jack Kornfield, a pioneering bridge between Theravāda Buddhism and Western psychology, and a key architect of the mindfulness movement currently flourishing in the United States. Jack brilliantly summarizes a life devoted to bringing the Dharma West, touching on such topics as Kornfield’s early encounters with Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho in the Thai forests, the serendipitous karmic origins of major American centers like IMS and Spirit Rock, and the deliberate evolution of Western Dharma through team teaching, female leadership, and secular teacher training. Kornfield highlights the vital "middle path" of adapting ancient monastic medicines—such as mindfulness and Metta—to address modern issues like trauma and psychological striving, while preserving the core essence of the Four Noble Truths.
Jack's Biography:
Jack Kornfield has been a pioneering force in bringing Theravāda Buddhism – and mindfulness more broadly – to the West. After serving in the Peace Corps in the late 1960s, Jack trained as a monk under our teachers' teacher Ajahn Chah, and - for varying lengths of time – also met and trained with such other monastic luminaries as: Mahasi Sayadaw, Ajahn Jumnien, Taungpulu Sayādaw, Ajahn Buddhadāsa, and Ajahn Maha Boowa. As a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in 1975 and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in 1987, Jack has spent decades bridging Eastern tradition with his background in clinical psychology. He is the author of several modern Spiritual classics, including: "Living Dharma" (formerly "Living Buddhist Masters", "A Path with Heart", "After the Ecstasy the Laundry", and "The Wise Heart". His most recent book is a collection of stories: "All in This Together". To learn more about Jack, visit: https://jackkornfield.com/
Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!
- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 – 7:30 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)
- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11 am PT, Online & In-Person)
- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6 pm PT, Online)
See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!
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