Monday Night Dharma Talk: Compassion in Difficult Times

Jack Kornfield opens with a guided meditation of about eleven minutes: he asks listeners to sense the body and breath, then to hold the heart and what it carries with kindness, and to rest as awareness itself. After a short break he talks about meeting conflict and suffering with compassion. He recalls Ajahn Chah asking his monks when they had learned most, and a seminar he taught for people in Ukraine.

He then offers a practice for conflict, asking what your best intention is and then listening with curiosity, and tells the story of Vinoba Bhave’s walk through the Indian villages. He speaks of uncertainty as Ajahn Chah taught it, reads a passage from a Buddhist text on inclining the heart, takes questions from people on the call, and ends with a short meditation.