Ep. 299 – The End of Exile: A Zen Love Story of Coming Home to Yourself
Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield
Be Here Now Network
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 30 July 2025
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this tender and illuminating talk, Jack shares a Zen love story and a path of mindful presence that brings us home—from the stories of the mind to the truth of the heart. Through embodied awareness, we discover that the end of exile begins with loving what is here now.
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“The end of exile is when we see all the stories of what should be, and what is, and what will be, passing through the mind, and we rest in some place of peace in the heart.” – Jack Kornfield
This week on Heart Wisdom, Jack heartfully ponders:
- Freedom and the spiritual path
- The Dharma’s ‘one taste’ of freedom
- The Sure Heart’s Release
- Present, past, future, and Being Here Now
- Life’s often dreamlike quality
- The evanescent present moment
- Noticing the dreamlike quality of life
- An enlightening Zen love story
- Uncovering your true self
- Overcoming exile with softness of heart
- Mindfulness as the end of exile
- Embodied awakening and finding liberation within the body and mind
- Accepting and including all parts of ourselves
- Mindfulness and reuniting with your body and feelings
- Cultivating “mindfulness of mind” and forgiving its stories
- Watching the mind, resting in the heart
- Stories and poems on the end of exile in our lives
- Finding true kindness through accepting sorrow
“The past disappears, the future isn’t here yet—all there is is this evanescent present moment that’s here for a moment and then changes.” – Jack Kornfield
This Dharma Talk recorded during a desert retreat on 04/05/1993 was originally published on DharmaSeed.
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 year's 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.
“The real koan is: who is your true self?” – Jack Kornfield
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Transcript
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| 1:06.9 | The end of exile is when we see all the stories of what should be and what is and what will be, |
| 1:18.6 | passing through the mind, and we rest in some place of peace in the heart. |
| 1:33.3 | The past disappears. |
| 1:36.3 | The future isn't here yet. All there is is this evanescent present moment |
| 1:40.3 | that's here for a while and then changes. |
| 1:51.3 | A very Be Here Now quote by Jack Cornfield, |
| 1:56.7 | stemming from episode 299 of the Heart Wisdom podcast, |
| 2:04.6 | The End of Exile, a Zen love story of coming home to yourself. |
... |
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