Publication Date:September 1, 2004 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-4 of 4
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Voice is a good addition and companion to bookMay 10, 2007 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is an excellent and sensitively constructed audio book by a former Buddhist monk and clinical psychologist. Jack Kornfield uses stories and lyrical language to weave a portrait of an authentic spiritual life characterized by insight, compassion and wisdom. He makes Buddhism accessible to modern people and shows us how it is relevant to modern life. This is no small task and Kornfield pulls it off brilliantly, with warmth and an entertaining style. I highly recommend this resource for anyone who is looking for deeper meaning in their lives whatever their specific beliefs. It is also an important book that connects Western psychological thought to Eastern worldviews.
If you like this book, you may also find Toward a Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation a great next step in your explorations. John Welwood casts a broader net and has a more intellectual approach that compliments Jack Kornfield's more heart-centered story-based way of bringing this wisdom tradition to the West.
If you are looking for a concise essay on Buddhism, then the The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditionsby Huston Smith has an excellent relatively short, but information packed essay on Buddhism and another on Hinduism which helps place Buddhism in its historical context.
If your area of interest is more toward Tibetan Buddhism, then you might enjoy Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism (Ray, Reginald a. World of Tibetan Buddhism, V. 1.) and Secret of the Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet (Ray, Reginald a. World of Tibetan Buddhism ; V. 2.). However, be warned that Ray is a scholar, the book is long and while it is interesting, it is very detailed. If you are just looking to get a feel for Tibetan Buddhism, then you might want to try The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Livingby the Dali Lama. While it doesn't dive deeply into Tibetan Buddhism in a comprehensive way, it does draw out many aspects that are relative and useful to Western people in improving the quality of their lives. Another good short introduction is Fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism. This is probably the best choice for people who want the basics, a context to place them within and something that is very accessible to the average person.
If you want a better feel for Jack Kornfield, I would also strongly recommend Your Buddha Nature: Teachings on the Ten Perfections. This is my favorite audio book by him and I own them all. I have listened to these CDs (and a taped version) literally hundreds of times. His Meditation for Beginners is also quite good a wonderful and moving introduction to meditation. I teach meditation and you can see more of my recommendations in this area on my profile under listmania lists.
Diggin' Jack Kornfield ...August 2, 2006 6 out of 7 found this review helpful
i was turned on to Jack Kornfield through Joe Frank ... and it's taken me a longer time than I thought it would to buy this, but I love listening to his words and how he guides the meditation process. It was a relief to hear him address meditation, as I have always found it something I couldn't possibly slow down enough to do. I started listening to these CD's in the car on the way to work and home - and I have to say that just doing that has had a huge effect on me. Do yourself a favor and get this and or "Meditation for Beginners"!
Exceptional guide to meditation that covers everythingNovember 19, 1999 37 out of 38 found this review helpful
I've read many books on meditation and while each of them answers some of my questions, Jack Kornfield's book, A Path with Heart, answers every one save those that must be experienced first-hand in one's own time. His voice and advice is articulate, intelligent, humorous, open, patient and wise. He starts out by telling you a little about his own experience, goes on to cover the basics of vipassana meditation and then leads you bit by bit deep into the issues every meditator and spiritual seeker must face. What I love most about his teaching style is that he gives gentle, practical advice on the day-to-day, minute by minute stuff to do to explore, commit to, love being on the path. If my house were on fire and I had to grab only one book on my way out the door, it would be A Path with Heart.
If you only buy one book on Buddhism . . .September 4, 1999 30 out of 30 found this review helpful
. . . let it be "A Path With Heart!" With wise and skillful words, Jack Kornfield is a master of teaching Buddhist practices including insight meditation (known as vipassanna) to Western students for over 20 years. Being a former Buddhist monk with a PHD in psychology, as well as a husband and father, he is able to communicate the practice of Buddhism in everyday life in a way that makes sense to Western minds. Kornfield embraces the stuggles and hindrances that are common to the spiritual path as well as offering timely and useful meditations for awakening, opening the heart and clear and humorous insight into basic Buddhist principles such as the 5 precepts, the Buddhist view of self (or lack thereof) and karma. With open arms and a deep understanding of the Western psyche and it's tangles, Kornfield delivers a book that is a love song, a workout and a survival manual for anyone committed to the spiritual path.
