Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are

This book is mind blowing. I cannot stress enough how important this book has become to my current way of thinking. It's quite a dense read, however, there's a plethora of wisdom in between the pages. If you wish to focus on personal growth, this is a must have.

This will be read many times by me. At times I felt I was listening to Jack Kornfield in my own home as his compassionate voice comes through on so many of the pages. From antidepressants to meditation, every subject is dealt with in a non judging, informative, and expansive way. The book left me feeling light and hopeful. I didn't feel as if I needed to "do" a lot of anything that I am not already doing. There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to "awakening", instead there are many options and interesting paths to discover. I am so thankful for people like Jack Kornfield who have done a tremendous amount of work and share what they have learned with us.

Jack Kornfield has spoken to me.....in my mind..... since I first read his book ¨First the Ecstasy then the Laundry. I've read every book since. His words feel like a down to earth and clear interpretation of what the Buddha said. I wish my life were such that he were my personal teacher, but shy of that, his work has been enormously helpful to my intention to be mindful, accepting and aware. I read everything he writes and I'm always grateful and glad I did.

This book is a good reference for understanding the evolution of Buddhist teachings and ways you can use it in any place or culture you find yourself in.My interest in reading it was specifically its use in Western culture. The title is fitting and delivers what it said it would. My favorite focus in the book was mindfulness and compassion.It would be good for beginners as well as middle of the road seekers. It was worth the read and delivered helpful techniques that are immediately usable.

I don't typically review books, but I wanted to review this book because I almost didn't read the book because of some of the reviews which criticize the author for not honestly addressing criticisms of Chogyam Trungpa. After reading the book, I believe those reviews miss the bigger learning. While Jack Kornfield only addresses some of Trungpa's specific short-comings in passing, I believe more importantly, he spends considerable efforts to convey the fact that many of the revered Buddhist spiritual leaders are far from perfect and are very human. As the title of Chapter 21 says "Even the Best Meditators Have Old Wounds to Heal."Finally, if you do buy this book, I would mention that I thought that the book starts a little slow, but gains momentum as you read. In particular, I really enjoyed Part Four: Practicing the Dharma in the West, where Jack Kornfield addresses some topics typically ignored or only addressed in passing in other Buddhist literature such as sexual practices, drug use, and achieving enlightenment versus having enlightened moments.

A thoughtful summary of Buddhism in America. I savored this book. Beautifully written. I heard his sweet gentle voice on every page. I very much appreciated his wise review of Trungpa Rinpoche -- helped me understand and appreciate this controversial teacher in ways I hadn't been able to before. Also, I loved his summary of the different expressions of enlightenment -- what enlightment looks like on Dipa Ma, on Thich Nhat Han, on Suzuki Rochi, on Ajahn Chah, on the Dalai Lama, etc. "Each manifests enlightment with his or her own flavors." A book to read and then to read again.

Of his many books, Jack Kornfield's Bringing Home the Dharma is an excellent book around which to center a Dharma discussion around. It is well written, easily to follow, deep in meaning, and appropriate to both beginnings and more experienced practitioners. It is of value to all who wish to deepen their practice.

He basically covers almost every aspect of modern life while intertwining it directly with the dharma. Going into this book I had alot of questions about balancing modern life with the dharma and most were answered by the way he looks at all of the modern situations with ancient wisdom.

I am learning about how to incorporate a mindfulness practice into my life and Jack's book is an excellent resource. It has lots of anecdotes that makes it a very enjoyable read.

Arrived in good condition

Jack Kornfield is THE MOST WONDERFUL TEACHER. He is a gentle and wise soul with the heart of a poet and is a clear and compassionate teacher . This book is typical of his work. A total delight . A help to life and to daily practice. I am so glad to have it and we are so lucky to have him in our world.

My first book of Jack Kornfield, A Path with a Heart, I have read in 1995 and only in retrospect I realize how his writings have been of great influence and help to my life. I can reread his books ( like "After the Ecstacy" or "the wise heart" ) again and again and find new insights. Years later I find advice which in the first reading I did not notice since "I wasn't there yet".Jack Kornfield has a wisdom and personal experience, which is very humble and selfless and I find him to be one of the best authors inspiring the very practical aspects of spiritual life.So why only three stars for this book? Two things:Parts of the book is recycled texts from previous publications, which is a bit dissapointing. But there is another thing, which I found disturbing:Kornfield has in his previous books very gently and very wisely taken up the issue of betrayal in spiritual communities and the fact that some teachers don't live up to what they promise, often in the areas of sex, power or money. I noticed that Kornfield was over time more open in mentioning this and also had in some books very helpful advice how to deal with such experiences.Now to my suprise, Kornfield has a long chapter containing enourmous praise regarding Chögyam Trungpa, describing his amazing qualities on full 16 pages. The uninformed reader is left with the impression that Trungpa was absolutelty amazing and almost without any flaw. I am left with the impression, that Kornfield answers an "insider discussion" which only those having more information understand completely. In only one short paragraph he mentions that Trungpa "drank and was a womanizer" -- which seems after all I know quite an understatement. Brad Warner for example describes such issues in a good chapter "when good spiritual masters go bad", also mentioning Trungpa as "a problematic teacher to say the least",and his even more problematic successor.I am not saying that Trungpa may not have had amazing qualities and that he created much good, as for example establishing Naropa and Buddhism in general in America and the West. But from Kornfield I had expected a more balanced presentation of Trungpa -- his later chapter on the "sex life of gurus" does not ease my uneasiness about the Trungpa chapter. The fact that he is controversial must be clearly stated and discussed in a chapter about Trungpa and not "covered up" in one-sided praise. It simply raises much bigger questions: If some ideals, especially the celibate life, fail so often in spiritual communities, be they Catholic, Buddhist or whatever, one has to honestly ask if these ideals cause more damage and hypocrisy than true help. From Kornfield I am used to see such discussions and I am really puzzled about this chapter on Trungpa, since it does not seem to be Kornfields usual style.I still find much inspiration in large parts of his book. I do think his previous ones were better and I am disturbed by the Trungpa chapter the way it is written. Maybe since I have had my share of dissappointments in the Catholic tradition I grew up with and had so far thought the Buddhist community would deal better with these things.

It's to be expected from a renowned author with a full knowledge of dharma to be wonderful , and this book is wonderful - as indeed is the audiobook version. Brilliant.