Editor's entry
~1 min readJack Kornfield's first major book — his synthesis of Theravada Vipassana practice (he trained for years in Thailand under Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Mahasi) with Western clinical psychology. The book's distinguishing move is its attention to spiritual bypass, addiction within sanghas, and the transference dynamics between students and teachers, written from inside the lineage rather than as outside critique.
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Contents
22 chapters- Did I Love Well?
- Stopping the War
- Taking the One Seat
- Necessary Healing
- Training the Puppy: Mindfulness of Breathing
- Turning Straw into Gold
- Naming the Demons
- Difficult Problems and Insistent Visitors
- The Spiritual Roller Coaster: Kundalini and Other Side Effects
- Expanding and Dissolving the Self: Dark Night and Rebirth
- Searching for the Buddha: A Lamp Unto Ourselves
- Accepting the Cycles of Spiritual Life
- No Boundaries to the Sacred
- No Self or True Self?
- Generosity, Codependence and Fearless Compassion
- You Can't Do It Alone: Finding and Working with a Teacher
- Psychotherapy and Meditation
- The Emperor's New Clothes: Problems with Teachers
- Karma: The Heart Is Our Garden
- Expanding Our Circle: An Undivided Heart
- Spiritual Maturity
- The Great Song
Reception
editor-collectedConsidered a foundational text of the American Insight Meditation movement alongside Joseph Goldstein's earlier work. Particularly notable for its early-1990s acknowledgement of teacher-student abuse patterns — material that several Asian-tradition teachers initially considered out of place in a dharma book and that the next two decades vindicated. The book's blend of practice instruction and pastoral psychology made it the recommended starting point for readers entering Buddhism via therapy or recovery. Sustained sales since 1993; Kornfield's Spirit Rock community is the institutional home.
Index reception note
Frequently asked
3 questions- What is A Path with Heart about?
- Jack Kornfield's first major book is a synthesis of Theravada Vipassana practice and Western clinical psychology, drawn from his years training in Thailand under Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Mahasi. The book gives practice instruction alongside pastoral psychology for the difficulties of a meditation life.
- Why is the book historically important?
- It was an early, written-from-inside acknowledgement of teacher-student abuse patterns, spiritual bypass, and addiction within Buddhist sanghas — material that several Asian-tradition teachers initially considered out of place in a dharma book and that the next two decades vindicated.
- Who was Kornfield's main teacher?
- Kornfield trained for years in Thailand and Burma, principally under Ajahn Chah of the Thai Forest Tradition and Mahasi Sayadaw of the Burmese Vipassana lineage. He later co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts and Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California.
Catalogue record
- Author
- Jack Kornfield
- Title
- A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
- Original title
- A Path With Heart
- Publisher
- Bantam Books
- Year
- 1 June 1993
- Pages
- 363
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780553372113
- Shelf
- Meditation · Awakening · Presence
Availability
By the same author
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