Transforming Our Suffering
May 22, 2025 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am EDT
Join us for our weekly Buddhism & Mindfulness program, Transforming Our Suffering. This group meets every Thursday at 10 am and is led by Pamela Patton, Director of Congregational Ministries.
We are currently reading and discussing After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path by Jack Kornfield.. You are most welcome to attend whether or not you’ve done the reading. We start with a short meditation; Pamela summarizes the chapter; Harry Miller reflects on the teachings, and then we have a discussion (you can choose whether you’d like to go to a breakout room or stay in the main room for a larger group conversation). Each session is standalone, so you can drop in whenever you wish.
Password: Peace
About the book:
“Enlightenment does exist,” internationally renowned author and meditation master 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—after the ecstasy—we are faced with the day—to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry.Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners within the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds—and how we can prepare our hearts for awakening. Through moving personal stories and traditional tales, we learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of family relationships, emotional pain, earning a living, sickness, loss, and death.
About the author:
Jack Kornfield is an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher and meditation master, and a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Northern California. A former Buddhist monk, he holds a PhD in clinical psychology. His books include A Path with Heart, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book, and After the Ecstasy.
