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hbkelley's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars Some chapters felt relevant to me and others
had information that wasn’t meaningful to me - at least right now.
had information that wasn’t meaningful to me - at least right now.
koob's review
3.0
This was an audio read that took ages, multiple states and abandons, but it went well this year with evening summer walks.
I liked getting to know Jack Kornfield some more since doing an insight course of his. I prefer his writing to his meditations actually. He seems very chill, very consistent with ensuring he's human like the rest of us, woes and all.
I respect his transparency regarding different branches of Buddhism, their presence in the US, and the centre he helped create that holds no such order as better or worse.
I liked getting to know Jack Kornfield some more since doing an insight course of his. I prefer his writing to his meditations actually. He seems very chill, very consistent with ensuring he's human like the rest of us, woes and all.
I respect his transparency regarding different branches of Buddhism, their presence in the US, and the centre he helped create that holds no such order as better or worse.
olivia_piepmeier's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This took me an ungodly amount of time to read because it was my pre-bed book but I really enjoyed it. Kornfield was recommended to me years ago by one of my first yoga teachers and this is my first time getting to him. I do think I'll read some of his other stuff, which I guess says a lot. Maybe I'm misremembering other Buddhist books I've read, but this seems to get into the roots of the practice a bit more, especially because it seems like he played a big role in bringing it to the west. I've often pondered on the level of cultural appropriation that happens with the "westernization" of Buddhism and Buddhism-derived practices, and he speaks to that a bit though I do take it with a grain of salt since he's a white dude that has financially benefited from the westernization of it (though I don't sense any financial incentives from him - he reads very genuinely invested in this!). His experience of majoring in "Asian Studies" in college and then spending years as a monk with several teachers across Asia gives him a certain level of insight that I don't think I've experienced yet. This book is just worth reading about his different experiences in monasteries in the 70s. It's interesting to hear about how someone so important to western Buddhism understands it, came to understand it, and started the centers that he did that adapted it to the west. Definitely worth a read for those interested in Buddhism.
unionmack's review
3.0
One of my reading goals for the year was to get acquainted with Eastern religions and Buddhism specifically. This is only my second book in that vein, but I really learned a lot from it and look forward to reading more of Jack Kornfield specifically. His prose and presentation both seem to grow out of his desire to make the philosophy and teachings of Buddhism accessible to the common Westerner. There's a lot of psychological depth here, both in the material itself and in the stories Kornfield tells to illustrate it further. My main critique is that it felt a little too random and jumbled together at points. There were a few ideas I wished were developed further and I hope I can maybe find that sort of thing in his other books.
stevebargdill's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure Kornfield had a specific purpose for this book--part memoir, part history, part evangelical, part magical. Mentions of the possibility of actual time travel and bodily demilitarization like the Star Trek Energizer. But then also really practical advice on letting go.
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