The Inner Art of Meditation [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Jack Kornfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

Meditation is not a means of self-improvement. It is a way of discovering the truth and relating to it with compassion and honesty. Awaken to a richer spiritual life with The Inner Art of Meditation, a comprehensive six-tape study course on vipassana (or "insight") meditation. Of the two major schools of meditation, this is the one that teaches you the art of creating a "foundation of awareness" in your daily life. Zen monks draw from these same principles in their practice. This is how to become fully "mindful" in your life – aware of your inseparability with all things and fully conscious that your actions in the moment create the patterns in your life. For six years, author and teacher Jack Kornfield lived and studied as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India. The Inner Art of Meditation shares with you his direct experience in awareness training. Distilled from a five-week workshop, this audio learning set presents over eight hours of intensive, personal instruction from this respected meditation teacher and clinical psychologist. Session highlights The four foundations of mindfulness • Teaching stories • The Noble Eightfold Path • The law of karma • Developing right attitude • Taking right action • Listening to yourself • Being in the present • Establishing a daily practice • Three kinds of pain • Proper sitting postures • Long and enduring mind • Unifying the mind and heart • Meditation as healing • Working with your emotions • Experience and truth • Exploring awareness • Finding freedom in truth • Counting your thoughts • Integrating meditation into your life • Cultivating the four divine qualities • Many exercises and Q & A sessions • Much more.

LEARN more about:
• The first step for seeing your life with total clarity
• Exercises to transform driving, shopping, or waiting in line into calming experiences of mindfulness
• Breathing practices to accelerate your progress
• Bad habits and patterns: getting off "automatic pilot"
• Three essential ingredients for keeping your meditation practice alive
• How meditation can enhance every waking moment of your life – at work, in relationships, and at play
• Your deepest desire, and how meditation can help you realize it
• The Buddha’s eight keys to freedom from illusion, impermanence, and the roots of all suffering
• "Wandering mind" – how to enlist restlessness and boredom as your greatest allies
• Releasing the past and healing emotional wounds through meditation
• The Five Difficult Energies – and how to turn them to your advantage
• Over eight hours of intensive exercises and teachings with the beginner in mind

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Kornfield, an ordained Buddhist monk, seasoned master, and author, conducts a series of five sessions on Vipassanna, or insight meditation. Vipassana shows how to incorporate Buddhist teaching into everyday living experiences, such as eating, driving, and walking. Kornfield instructs his class on developing an awareness of the present in order to reawaken the capacity to live more fully, compassionately, wisely, and lovingly. General audiences aspiring to a higher spiritual plane will find this an effective, practical, and enlightening course by a sensitive guide with a great sense of humor. The program is a bit lengthy, allowing time for meditation and class participation. It is not for the hurried. It also requires perseverance, as does any worthy self-actualization program. Its only detraction is the nearly inaudible students' comments and questions.
- Barbara J. Vaughan, State Univ. Coll. at Buffalo Lib., N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

First as a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, and then as a teacher at the Spirit Rock Retreat Center, Kornfield has blazed a trail that thousands of ordinary people have followed. Now he brings his most popular "retreat" directly to listeners. This complete study course teaches a 2,500-year-old system for discovering the truth, and relating to it with compassion and honesty. Kornfield offers over eight hours of exercises and teachings for starting--and sticking with--a real meditation practice.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated; Unabridged edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564556336
• ISBN-13: 978-1564556332
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.3 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,685,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you can't find a teacher, this video is excellent, September 16, 2000

By 

Rick Waugh (Pitt Meadows, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meditation for Beginners: A Complete Video Introduction to the Inner Art of Meditation [VHS] (VHS Tape)

If you live somewhere where you can't find instruction, or simply don't want to go the route of trying to find one, this is a wonderful way to learn. Trying to learn from books is difficult; insight meditation is really a very simple thing, but without someone to 'tell' you about it, there always seems to be a nagging doubt about whether you're doing it correctly. This video really opened our eyes about the practice, along with providing Jack Kornfield's usual excellent advice about spiritual practice in general.

90 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Meditation Source I've Ever Found!, November 22, 1999

By 

Eileen La Fleur (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Meditation for Beginners: A Complete Video Introduction to the Inner Art of Meditation [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The title of this review tells it all. Jack Kornfield explains and exhibits the essence of the purpose of meditation. His stories and explanations make things "click". I feel like this is the starting point of a major...maybe the major progression...in my ability to manifest the power inherent in meditative exercises. It's a lot to say about a video, I know. I'm sure glad I came across this video. I checked it out at the local library. Now I'm going to buy it and use it everyday and share it with others.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, November 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Meditation for Beginners: A Complete Video Introduction to the Inner Art of Meditation [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I run relaxation groups. I have utilized this video to
teach meditation. Groups members love Dr. Kornfield and
truly learn from him.
I have been meditating for many years and find that I
have learned new techniques from Dr. Kornfield. He has
made my job much easier