How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path

"Enlightenment does exist", Jack Kornfield assures us. "Unbounded freedom and joy, oneness with the divine...these experiences are more common than you know, and not far away." But even after achieving such realization, we are faced with the day-to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry.

The author's personal stories, vivid traditional tales, and the voice of many others who have traveled this path become our companions on the way. We learn to recognize the first stirring of sacred longing, the gates that lead to spiritual opening, the immediacy of satori or grace. We also learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of difficult family or community relationships, emotional pain, struggles with earning a living, sickness, betrayal by those we have trusted -- even death.

Filled with "the laughter of the wise", alive with compassion, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a gift to anyone who is seeking peace, wholeness, and inner happiness. It is sure to take its place next to A Path with Heart as a spiritual classic for our time.

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path, Jack Kornfield, Bantam, Paperback, 314 pages, $20.00

Jack Kornfield is a bestselling American author and teacher in the vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma.

An Opening Bow	ix
Introduction: Some Honest Questions	xiii
Part One: Preparation for Ecstasy
1. Baba Yaga and our sacred longing	3
2. The Gardian of the Earth: Angels of Light, Ocean of Tears	24
3. The Fires of Initiation	38
Part Two: The Gates of Awakening
4. The Heart as Mother of The World: The Gate of Sorrow	63
5. Nothing and Everything: The Gate of Emptiness	73
6. Who are you Really, Wanderer: Satori and the Gate of Oneness	86
7.The Gateless Gate" The gate of the Eternal Present	95
Part Three: No Enlightment Retirement
8. Beyond Satori: The Maps of Awakening	109
9. No Enlightment Retirement	123
10. The Dirty Laundry	139
Part Four: Awakening in the Laundry
11. The Mandala of Awakening: What Am I Leaving Out	161
12. This very body, The Buddha	172
13. Awakened Emotions and Ordinary Perfection	193
14. Honoring Family Karma	216
15. Many Brothers and Sisters: The gifts of Community	238
16. Awakening with All Beings	259
17. The Laughter of the Wise	281
Acknowledgments	299
Permissions	301
Index	306