Ep. 287 – Remembering Who You Truly Are
Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield
Be Here Now Network
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2025
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Who are we really? Jack Kornfield peels back the veil on our identity roles to uncover the deeper truth that we really are.
Join Jack's New Free Course, Stand Up For Compassion: A Free Course and Resource for Navigating Uncertain Times.
In this episode of Heart Wisdom, Jack mindfully explores:
- Opening to a new vast, gracious, and spacious perspective on life
- Stepping out of your ordinary habits and roles to see something in a new way
- How to navigate the reality that death is stalking us
- Meditation as a practice of letting things go
- The spirituality of the nature of change and the present moment
- Ram Dass and the mystery of identity, change, and awareness
- Seeing past our roles to the deeper reality of who we are
- Looking into the mystery of: Who I Am?
- Touching the secret beauty you were born with
- Jack's experience communicating with Koko the Gorilla
- Seeing past the illusion of separateness and the small self
- Meditation as a sacred space of non-consumption
- Remembering and healing through listening and letting go
- Seeing the entire arc of life with the eyes of the Divine
- Overcoming the forces of greed, hatred, and fear
- Untangling the places that cause suffering and confusion
- Opening to the birthright of your freedom
- Living the pattern of mystery that is this life
- Recognizing the total interconnection of all of life
"Part of what makes meditation so extraordinary is that to simply sit and not try to make anything happen, or get anywhere, or do something—is to step out of our identity and our roles in the small sense of self." – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk was recorded at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and originally published on DharmaSeed.
“Meditation offers us a sacred space of non-consumption. There's nothing to do, no grade, no accomplishment, nothing you have to become. It is the sacred space to listen and remember, and touch the freedom of heart or spirit that is possible in any circumstance." – Jack Kornfield
About Jack Kornfield:
Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India, and Burma, studying as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. His books have been translated into 20 languages and sold more than a million copies.
Jack is currently offering a wonderful array of transformational online courses diving into crucial topics like Mindfulness Meditation Fundamentals, Walking the Eightfold Path, Opening the Heart of Forgiveness, Living Beautifully, Transforming Your Life Through Powerful Stories, and so much more. Sign up for an All Access Pass to explore Jack’s entire course library. If you would like a years worth of online meetups with Jack and fellow community, join The Year of Awakening: A Monthly Journey with Jack Kornfield.
Stay up to date with Jack and his stream of fresh dharma offerings by visiting JackKornfield.com and signing up for his email teachings.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Authenticity isn't a characteristic or a personality trait. |
| 0:05.0 | It's something you practice. |
| 0:07.0 | Join Buddhist teacher David Nicturn, |
| 0:09.0 | and comedian and podcaster Duncan Truzzle, |
| 0:12.0 | on Tuesday, May 6th for a free online talk on developing your own authentic voice, |
| 0:17.0 | and how messy and challenging of a process that can sometimes be. |
| 0:25.2 | We'll also discuss the upcoming Dharma Moon Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training program. |
| 0:29.9 | You get an overview of the program, have the chance to ask questions, meet the teachers, |
| 0:33.1 | and see if the Dharma Moon Meditation Teacher Training might be right for you. |
| 0:42.0 | Visit Dharmamoon.com slash voice for more info and to reserve your spot for the free online event with David Nick Turn and comedian Duncan Dressel. |
| 0:55.0 | I mean, the forces of greed and fear and hatred and confusion and so forth are enormous forces. It's just that they're not who we really are. |
| 1:00.0 | They may be big, but they're not true in some fundamental sense. |
| 1:06.0 | They're part of the dance of life. |
| 1:10.0 | But when we sit and open and listen, |
| 1:13.6 | look with the eyes and heart of a Buddha, |
| 1:17.6 | something else happens. |
| 1:19.6 | The armor of the body starts to loosen, |
| 1:22.6 | all the stuff that we hold inside. |
| 1:24.6 | You know, the unfinished business of the heart, the tears come |
| 1:27.7 | because we've been too busy running around |
| 1:30.1 | to grieve our losses and bow to them and let go. |
| 1:39.2 | Greed, fear, hatred, and confusion |
... |
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