Jack Kornfield

Teaching

Jack Kornfield teaches Buddhist mindfulness and insight meditation from the Theravada tradition, in which he trained as a monk in Thailand, India and Burma. His books present Buddhist psychology and the view that awakening can be found right where we are, in our relationships, our family life and our service to others. ^{1, 5, 12, 13}

Who it is for

For readers and meditators who want an introduction in plain language to Buddhist mindfulness practice and its teachings on the heart, with a view to daily life. He is a Buddhist teacher, not an Advaita teacher.

Where to start

• A Path with Heart (1993), his guide through the perils and promises of spiritual life; his website publishes excerpts from it, such as the meditation instructions on naming. ^{6, 11}
• The Wise Heart (2008), his guide to the teachings of Buddhist psychology; excerpts are on his website. ^{7, 12}
• His podcast Heart Wisdom, free on his website since 2014, with his talks and guided meditations. ^{8, 9, 10}

Works

• A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life

  Book · 1993 · Bantam Books, New York

  His guide to meditation and to the difficulties and promises of spiritual life, from the Buddhist insight tradition. His website publishes excerpts from it, such as instructions for naming experiences in meditation.

  View library record · openlibrary.org ↗

• The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology

  Book · 2008 · Bantam

  His guide to the teachings of Buddhist psychology on the mind, on thoughts, beliefs and emotions, with practices of meditation.

  View library record · openlibrary.org ↗

• After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path

  Book · 2000 · Bantam

  A book on how the heart grows wise on the spiritual path after experiences of awakening and enlightenment.

  View library record · openlibrary.org ↗

• Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

  Book · 2011 · Shambhala, Boston

  Essays on bringing Buddhist practice into ordinary life: lovingkindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, parenting, forgiveness and service. It includes his recollections of his teachers, among them Dipa Ma.

  View library record · openlibrary.org ↗

The short summaries are ours.

More works of Jack Kornfield in the library

In their own words

Short passages in the words of Jack Kornfield, each with its source. Where the quoted text is not in the language of this page, a translation follows and says whose it is.

• Then include this stronger experience in the meditation, feeling it fully and naming it softly for as long as it persists—“hearing, hearing, hearing” or “sad, sad, sad.”

• When we are bothered by our thinking, Buddhist psychology tells us to ask, is it really true? If we listen from the heart, we will see how much trouble comes from believing stories that may not even be true.

• In the course of this great spiral, we return to where we started again and again, but each time with a fuller, more open heart.

• We have within us an extraordinary capacity for love, joy, and unshakable freedom.

Documented teaching relationships

• Learned personally with Ajahn Chah

  Jack Kornfield's website says he met and studied as a monk under Ajahn Chah; Lion's Roar writes that he entered monastic life under Ajahn Chah's guidance at Wat Nong Pah Pong, and the audio archive of Abhayagiri Monastery, in Ajahn Chah's lineage, lists his own account of asking Ajahn Chah for permission to leave Wat Pah Pong.

  Self-reported · jackkornfield.com , lionsroar.com , abhayagiri.org

• Learned personally with Mahasi Sayadaw

  Jack Kornfield's website says he studied as a monk under Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma; Lion's Roar writes that he later practised with Mahasi Sayadaw and shows a photograph, credited to the Insight Meditation Society, of a teacher authorisation ceremony Mahasi Sayadaw conducted in 1979 for the society's founding members, Kornfield among them.

  Self-reported · jackkornfield.com , lionsroar.com

• Teaching areas recognised by Mahasi Sayadaw

  Spirit Rock Meditation Center writes that in a ceremony at the Insight Meditation Society in 1979 Mahasi Sayadaw gave teaching authorisation to four American students, Jack Kornfield among them; a photograph in Lion's Roar, credited to the Insight Meditation Society, shows the ceremony.

  Stated by an institution · spiritrock.org , lionsroar.com

• Learned personally with Dipa Ma

  Jack Kornfield calls Dipa Ma Barua one of his Buddhist teachers and writes that he studied with her; he describes a visit to her in Calcutta in the late 1970s, when she gave him a blessing for his teaching. His website lists her among his teachers.

  Self-reported · jackkornfield.com , jackkornfield.com (2)

• Personal encounter with Nisargadatta Maharaj

  In his podcast Heart Wisdom (episode 332, 2026) Jack Kornfield recounts visiting Nisargadatta Maharaj in Bombay during his stays in India, sitting with the small group around him and listening to his teachings.

  Self-reported · youtube.com

Teaching relationships are documented statements. They confer no trust and do not attest realisation.

Compiled by us from the sources listed. Last checked 18 Oct 2026.

Report a mistake