The Roots of Buddhist Psychology

By Jack Kornfield

1995

First Published

4.27

Average Rating

198

Number of Pages

6H03M

Audio Length

The Buddha said many times that just as the great oceans have but one taste, so do all the true teachings of the the taste of freedom. Jack Kornfield's The Roots of Buddhist Psychology is an invitation to drink deeply of these teachings—to taste the wisdom that flows from the heart of Buddhism's most useful ideas on the interior life, and what brings awakening, freedom, and happiness. Among the world's great religions, Buddhism alone has developed a rich, intricate psychology based not on metaphysics, but on the human predicament. Through its strategies, you can find the way to true freedom. Buddhism views the mind as a labyrinth of feelings, perceptions, and emotional states. Unhappiness is rooted in unskillful responses to our grasping when things are pleasant, aversion when they are unpleasant, and delusion/confusion when they are neutral. Through awareness training, Kornfield teaches, you can transform these responses into real skills that are the path to true happiness. This is the way to "inner stillness" — the deathless state that allows your wisdom and compassion to flow together for a state of greater knowing. Enlivened with many parables, worldly stories, and thoughts from artists, philosophers, and writers, The Roots of Buddhist Psychology can help you to discover for yourself that what you seek is already here.

Avg Rating

4.27

Number of Ratings

375

5 STARS

47%

4 STARS

37%

3 STARS

13%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Jack Kornfield

Author · 30 books

Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. He began his training after graduating from Dartmouth College in Asian Studies in 1967. Then he joined the Peace Corps and was assigned to the Public Health Service in northeast Thailand, which is home to several of the world’s oldest Buddhist forest monasteries. He met and studied under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. After returning to the United States, Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein. He is also a founding teacher of the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California, where he currently lives and teaches. Over the years, Jack has taught in centers and universities worldwide, led International Buddhist Teacher meetings with the Dalai Lama and worked with many of the great teachers of our time. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and is a husband, father and an activist. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies. They include, A Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology, A Path with Heart; After the Ecstasy, the Laundry; Teachings of the Buddha; Seeking the Heart of Wisdom; Living Dharma; A Still Forest Pool; Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart; Buddha’s Little Instruction Book; The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindness and Peace, Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are, and his most recent book, No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy Right Where You Are.