WEBVTT - BONUS: Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield 0:00:08.360 --> 0:00:14.840 Pushkin. Hey, y'all's justin Richmond. This is a very different 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.360 episode of Broken Record. We're of course continuing to drop 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.400 regular music episodes on Tuesdays, and last week we even 0:00:21.440 --> 0:00:23.760 dropped a bonus episode with John Legend for you guys, 0:00:24.160 --> 0:00:25.960 but we wanted to break format real quick to bring 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:28.200 you an episode that could maybe help alleviate a lot 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:30.800 of the fear and anxiety we're feeling right now. This 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.760 is Rick Rubin talking with his friend Jack Cornfield. Jack 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.639 is a world renown Buddhist and meditation teacher. He's long 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:39.560 been one of the most influential figures in American Buddhism, 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:41.680 and he agreed to connect with Rick via zoom to 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:44.479 guide him and you through a couple of different meditations. 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:46.960 We hope you find these useful and visit these guide 0:00:47.040 --> 0:00:49.559 meditations as frequently as you need. I know for me, 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:51.479 I've been doing these a couple of times a day 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.480 and has really been helping. So we hope you enjoy 0:00:54.760 --> 0:01:01.000 and be well. This is Broken Record liner notes for 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:08.920 the digital Age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's Rick Rubin with 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:13.639 Jack Hornfield. This is unusual because typically in this space 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:18.039 we talk only about music and it seemed like in 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:24.040 this moment, it might be helpful to people to have 0:01:24.280 --> 0:01:28.839 something to soothe them in this time of crisis. Many 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.240 people are at home with a lot of thoughts in 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:36.160 their heads and dealing with an unusual stress that none 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:40.720 of us are prepared for. And I thought, who do 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:45.839 I know who has tools that might be helpful? And 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.280 the first person that came to mind was you, Jack 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.600 well as a good friend and somebody who's worked with 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:57.040 you on creative projects. I'm really happy that we're connecting together. 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:03.320 This feels like a critical time for the music of 0:02:03.360 --> 0:02:06.200 the heart as well as the music of the voice 0:02:06.200 --> 0:02:10.840 and instruments. We actually need to find and sense how 0:02:10.960 --> 0:02:15.880 we can keep making music in our life during this 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:23.519 outer crisis. Beautiful, So any suggestions for those of us 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:27.200 who are struggling in this moment, Well, let me talk 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:32.280 a little bit and then lead a meditation and maybe 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:34.400 talk a little more ley another meditation than you and 0:02:34.440 --> 0:02:37.919 I can dialogue as well, and anytime you want to 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:45.760 break in and ask something. This is a spontaneous conversation. 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:49.000 The Sufis call it a so bad, which is a 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:53.520 conversation of the heart where we're talking heart to heart 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:57.799 to one another. And it seems to me in this 0:02:57.960 --> 0:03:05.200 time that we have a choice. Epidemics, earthquakes, tornado's floods, 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.919 they happen periodically. They're part of the cycle of life 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:13.760 on earth. The question is how do we respond. If 0:03:13.760 --> 0:03:18.440 we respond with greed or hatred, fear and ignorance, it 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:25.919 increases the suffering. If we respond with generosity, clarity, steadiness, 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.760 and love, it's a whole different game. And it seems 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.040 more than anything that this is the time for love. 0:03:34.360 --> 0:03:38.560 The image in the Buddhist teachings is of the Bodhisatva, 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:43.440 who someone that's vows or is committed to alleviate suffering 0:03:43.480 --> 0:03:48.440 and bring blessings and benefits no matter what the circumstances. 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:53.920 A Bodhisata lives with courage and dignity and radiates a 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:58.880 kind of compassion or whatever they touch. Now, you know, 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.520 you might hear this as a sort of metaphor and 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:07.080 old archetype, but it's not. As Boists were now asked 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.320 to hold a certain measure of the tragedy of the 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:15.800 world in our hearts and respond with love. And the 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:20.320 bodhisattva path is in front of us and around us, 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:24.400 and we can see it all around, who see bodhisattvas 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.400 being singing from their balcony to those shut inside or 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:33.120 in young neighbors who are caring for the elders nearby, 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:37.719 or the healthcare workers who go in in spite of 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:43.720 the dangers, or the unheralded ones who simply stock the 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.000 shelves of our grocery stores and truck the food so 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:50.400 that we can all still have the you know, the 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.359 sustenance to live. It is a very very hard time 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:58.880 for all of us. As a father, if my daughter 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.360 called me and said, Daddie, I need you, I would 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.640 fly anywhere on the earth to help her, to protect her. 0:05:06.760 --> 0:05:11.440 But now she and her firefighter husband who's also a paramedic, 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.000 and my little grandson who's a year and a half old, 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:22.760 await the virus. His urban fire department, like many hospitals 0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:28.080 and first responders, doesn't have masks, and eighty percent of 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:32.280 their work is emergency medical calls, and they all expect 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:36.599 to get the virus, and they won't be tested because 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:41.440 the department can't afford to lose too many of their firefighters. 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.080 So I pause, and I say, what can I do? 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:50.760 What can we do? Because we all have aging parents, 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:54.760 or children that we care about, or friends and so forth. 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:59.599 In this moment, we need to sit quietly and take 0:05:59.600 --> 0:06:04.080 a deep breath and acknowledge all the feelings, the fears 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:10.040 and apprehensions, the uncertainty, the helplessness, and hold all these 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:14.360 feelings with the compassionate heart. We can say to all 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.520 these feelings, to the uncertainty and the fears, thank you 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:22.960 for trying to protect me. We can sense them and 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:27.760 then respond, I'm okay for now. Or we can imagine 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.920 taking our fears and putting them in the lap of 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:35.520 Mother Mary or the Buddha or kwanyin the goddess of 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:40.040 infinite compassion, or place them in the hearts and hands 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:45.320 of the generations of brave physicians and scientists who tended 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:50.800 the world informer epidemics. When we do this, we can 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:54.760 feel ourselves part of something greater, a connection with the 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:59.479 generations of survivors in the vast web of history and 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:04.520 life being carried, as the ojibwe elders say, by great 0:07:04.560 --> 0:07:09.480 winds across the sky. This is a time of mystery 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:14.920 and uncertainty, and it helps just to pause and take 0:07:14.920 --> 0:07:19.240 a deep breath, because the veils of separation are parting, 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:24.520 and we see the reality of interconnection apparent to everyone 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:28.760 on this earth. We've needed this pause, perhaps even needed 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:32.640 our isolation to see how much we need one another. 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.160 So as we do, and I'll lead a meditation that 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:40.200 helps us to do this, we can begin to realize 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:43.200 that it's also time for us to add our part. 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:48.400 The body satwa deliberately turns towards the suffering around to 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:51.480 serve and help those in whatever way they can. And 0:07:51.600 --> 0:07:55.600 this is the test we've all been waiting for. We 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:59.480 know how to do this as human beings. So we'll 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.240 talk about this and the kind of direction and bow. 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:06.680 But with these words to start with, I'd like to 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.720 invite those who listen to do a meditation. Is that 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:17.120 all right, Rick? Yes? Please? So if wherever you're listening 0:08:17.480 --> 0:08:23.360 in this case, I'm assuming you're probably not driving, hopefully 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:27.880 safe and sequestered at home, let yourself say it in 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:33.640 a way that's comfortable and stable, your eyes closed gently, 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:44.560 and bring your attention just here and now land back 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:48.800 in your body. You know, your feet on the earth, 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:58.200 and as you return to the body that you've been given, 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:02.800 which is really the body of the earth Earth, come alive. 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:12.480 Notice what you find without loving awareness, you likely will 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:18.480 find tension in the body, contractions, the responses of fight 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:23.559 flight or freeze of fear, the accumulation of the stress 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:30.000 that we've all been under. As you pay attention to 0:09:30.120 --> 0:09:38.560 your body and to all the contractions, hot, cold, tensions 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:45.679 and pains, let them be held in a loving awareness, 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:54.839 without resistance, without judgment, with a kind presence of attention, 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:05.439 and you'll notice that your body responds to this caring attention. 0:10:09.040 --> 0:10:12.920 As you feel what's present and make space with loving awareness, 0:10:14.320 --> 0:10:27.480 things can intensify, move change, and gradually soften. To help 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:38.080 this even further, bring in the quality of compassion of 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:44.560 a tender heart, and say to your body, thank you 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:52.120 for trying to protect me all the contractions and the 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:56.600 tensions or ways your body has to ward off and 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:04.320 protect you. Thank you for this. I'm okay right now, 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:11.000 thank you. You can release and relax and return into 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:22.840 the earth the tensions, the pains, let the breath deepen 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:35.960 in the space of loving awareness, open and now bring 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:42.080 your attention to the area of your heart and notice 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:49.480 what feelings are present. There might be sadness or grief, 0:11:51.480 --> 0:12:01.880 worry and anxiety or fear. There might be tears, longing, regret, helplessness. 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:12.240 There might also be tenderness and love, courage. Tune in 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:17.240 and let yourself acknowledge what you feel in your heart, 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:21.760 what's being carried as we go through this crisis together. 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:34.800 You can know and acknowledge the feelings that are present, 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:41.280 almost as if with a about you can name them 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:59.440 softly whispered oh, sadness or fear, longing, anger. Whatever is 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:07.280 present can be named tenderness and love as well. And 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:12.480 as you name the feelings that are present, allow them 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:16.640 to open in the space of your loving awareness, without judgment, 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:23.760 without resistance. Just let them be and let them open 0:13:23.920 --> 0:13:27.720 as they need to, even stronger if that's what happens. 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:36.960 Give them the space. Let your loving awareness be the 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:42.480 space in the heart can let go layer by layer 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:57.160 and open and again bring in the quality of compassion 0:13:58.720 --> 0:14:08.000 that tenderness toward all these feelings you've been carrying. And 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.880 as you've named and acknowledge them, as if to bow 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:16.240 to them, you can say thank you, thank you for 0:14:16.360 --> 0:14:23.400 trying to protect me and care for me. Thank you 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:32.600 worry and fear, sadness, And as you acknowledge them with gratitude, 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:40.960 thank you. You can also say I'm okay right now, 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:47.400 thank you, I'm all right, And make space for these 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:54.160 feelings to open and soften and dissipate in whatever they will, 0:14:54.520 --> 0:15:09.280 whatever way they will. And now go to your mind, 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:24.160 all the plans and thoughts, the regrets, the analyzing, the worries, 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:31.080 all of it. They're trying to figure it out, when 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:42.840 much of this is really a mystery unknown. And again 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:53.440 you can acknowledge what's present as if we're about racing mind, confusion, 0:15:56.560 --> 0:16:04.520 worried thoughts, planning, and as you whisper the name of 0:16:04.560 --> 0:16:13.160 what's present, allow it to be held acknowledge respectfully in 0:16:13.240 --> 0:16:28.240 the vast space of loving awareness. And notice what happens 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:32.320 as you bring this kind attention to the states of mind, 0:16:35.800 --> 0:16:41.840 How they too can open, intensify, expand, and like clouds, 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:46.760 begin to soften and dissipate in the vastness of your 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:57.920 loving awareness. Thank them, say thank you for trying to 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:01.920 protect me, for trying to help and care for me. 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:06.639 I can use you, I can use thinking when it's needed. 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:19.160 But the overactive, overworried, overtired, overstimulated mind, thank you, You've 0:17:19.200 --> 0:17:25.680 done your job. I'm okay right now, Thank you, And 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:33.800 feel how you are okay, just where you are present, gracious, 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:44.320 bring in the compassion. Compassion for this overworked and troubled mind, 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:54.800 a tenderness held in loving awareness and compassion. Let the 0:17:54.880 --> 0:18:12.919 mind settle, and now let yourself feel seated here on 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:20.719 the earth in this remarkable human incarnation, a growing steadiness 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:31.200 and simplicity. This is the time to steady the heart, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.400 begin to trust that you can be present for all 0:18:37.440 --> 0:18:42.320 that arises, and hold it in the great heart of 0:18:42.359 --> 0:18:55.800 compassion and loving awareness. And notice now that all the 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:02.919 things you've been experiencing, the word that you hear, the 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:11.400 sensations of the body, the emotions and thoughts, they've all 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:20.400 been received by consciousness, by awareness itself. This is who 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:26.600 you really are, the timeless consciousness that was borne into 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:33.000 your body, that will leave your body when you die. 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:38.120 You are not this physical body, although you are graced 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:45.480 to have it. You are not the passing emotions and thoughts. 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:53.919 Rest back in the vast open space of loving awareness. 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:02.000 It is who you really are, the witness to all things. 0:20:06.680 --> 0:20:11.120 When a child is born, our first gesture is one 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:17.639 of love. We love them. When a dear one dies, 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:23.520 our last response is to hold their hands and offer 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:30.919 a gesture of love. This is all that matters. Timeless 0:20:31.000 --> 0:20:35.400 love and awareness is who you really are, from the beginning, 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:44.160 in the middle, right now, and in the end. Trust yourself. 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:49.960 Trust that you have the capacity to be present for 0:20:50.040 --> 0:20:56.600 this life, with its joys and its sorrows, its unbearable 0:20:56.600 --> 0:21:01.800 beauty in the ocean of tears. You have within you 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:07.600 the great heart of compassion, the wisdom of loving awareness. 0:21:09.240 --> 0:21:17.080 Rest in it, Relax into it. It is your refuge, 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:32.960 it is your home. Now when you're ready, let your 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:39.480 eyes open again gently and let yourself sense how it's 0:21:39.600 --> 0:21:44.680 possible for you to be present for all the tensions 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:47.800 and the difficult emotions and the stories in the mind, 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.639 and not be so caught up in them that you 0:21:51.760 --> 0:21:57.600 become the wise one, the loving witness, with a steadiness 0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:01.760 and a courage. This is the time to steady yourself, 0:22:02.960 --> 0:22:06.720 and it affects everyone else. Many of you will have 0:22:06.800 --> 0:22:13.320 heard the words of Zenmaster Tikno on when the crowded 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:18.800 Vietnamese refugee boats met with storms or pirates. If everyone panicked, 0:22:18.840 --> 0:22:22.040 all would be lost. But if even one person on 0:22:22.080 --> 0:22:26.679 the boat remains steady and calm, it was enough. It 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:31.320 showed the way for everyone to survive. And you know 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:36.560 who that one person is, don't you? In your family, 0:22:36.720 --> 0:22:42.640 in your community, in this world, you have this capacity 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:47.919 and to quiet yourself, to steady, to quiet the mind 0:22:48.080 --> 0:22:53.359 and tend the heart every day gives you the grounding 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:57.679 and presence reminds you of the courage and dignity you 0:22:57.760 --> 0:23:03.240 have to move through the with the tears and the 0:23:03.320 --> 0:23:08.280 humor that's everywhere. And you can be a beacon, a 0:23:08.400 --> 0:23:12.920 medicine of the heart for all you touch. So, Rick, 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:16.359 I'd like to pause here and maybe have a little dialogue, 0:23:16.400 --> 0:23:19.119 and then I have some more things to add and 0:23:19.200 --> 0:23:22.439 another meditation perhaps, but I want to check in with 0:23:22.480 --> 0:23:26.439 you and see how this practice was for you. It 0:23:26.560 --> 0:23:30.920 really helped me if I felt my whole body change 0:23:32.440 --> 0:23:38.520 and lighten and relax. And when we talked about the heart, 0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:43.399 there was a sense of a protection and like a 0:23:43.640 --> 0:23:50.160 closing down that opened and blossomed as he was speaking. 0:23:50.200 --> 0:23:52.440 And I think I'm going to listen to those words 0:23:52.480 --> 0:23:56.880 every day from now on until until things come back 0:23:56.920 --> 0:24:00.679 to more of a sense of normalcy. We thank you. 0:24:01.160 --> 0:24:04.840 It was a little long, I don't know, maybe fifteen 0:24:04.880 --> 0:24:08.560 minutes or something, and of course none of this is planned. 0:24:08.640 --> 0:24:13.360 We're all actually living by brail, trying to feel our 0:24:13.400 --> 0:24:19.560 way through this crisis with the best wisdom and care 0:24:19.680 --> 0:24:23.040 we can. But if people want to relisten to it, 0:24:23.040 --> 0:24:27.119 it's wonderful to take time in whatever way you can, 0:24:27.920 --> 0:24:31.560 to pause and quiet the mind and tend the heart 0:24:31.680 --> 0:24:38.920 and ground the body. So helpful, beautiful. It really changes everything, 0:24:38.960 --> 0:24:44.080 just that we realize that how powerful the mind is, 0:24:44.880 --> 0:24:51.119 and how when confronted with these situations, how reactive we become, 0:24:52.280 --> 0:24:55.679 and to be able to just step aside for a 0:24:55.840 --> 0:25:02.639 moment and reset and reground and started new when we 0:25:02.720 --> 0:25:08.080 come back after the words, it seems to make us 0:25:08.119 --> 0:25:14.040 stronger in dealing with the difficulty. Yes, yeah, it does, 0:25:14.119 --> 0:25:17.679 certainly does. For me. I know it in the morning. 0:25:17.800 --> 0:25:20.960 It's a way to steady myself for the day I had. 0:25:21.960 --> 0:25:24.600 At the end of the day, it's a way of 0:25:24.720 --> 0:25:28.600 releasing the tensions and all the emotions that get touched 0:25:29.040 --> 0:25:32.560 by all of us are communicating in this electronic web. 0:25:33.359 --> 0:25:36.040 We can't hold each other's hands, but we're connecting in 0:25:36.080 --> 0:25:40.440 other ways that we're desperate for. We can't do this alone. 0:25:40.480 --> 0:25:43.040 We need one another and at the end of the 0:25:43.160 --> 0:25:46.680 day to settle down and reconnect with my own body 0:25:46.720 --> 0:25:51.840 and heart and mind. I find really helpful beautiful. I 0:25:51.880 --> 0:25:57.320 have a friend who made a suggestion speaking to what 0:25:57.400 --> 0:26:03.320 you mentioned about not having touch. Getting a really soft 0:26:03.400 --> 0:26:08.960 blanket and wrapping yourself in a soft blanket and experiencing 0:26:09.000 --> 0:26:12.719 the feeling of the blanket on your skin can really 0:26:14.480 --> 0:26:21.160 stimulate that the touch sense and give us a sense 0:26:21.160 --> 0:26:26.520 of comfort. I like that image very much, and the blanket. 0:26:26.560 --> 0:26:29.920 I think of Linus's blanket. You know, he gets a 0:26:30.000 --> 0:26:32.520 little bit freaked out the days that it's put in 0:26:32.560 --> 0:26:37.720 the dryer. Right. But there's something it's both literal, which 0:26:37.760 --> 0:26:41.280 your friend has said, and beautiful, and it's also symbolic 0:26:41.480 --> 0:26:45.960 that in some way it's useful in these times to 0:26:46.119 --> 0:26:51.200 sense what it is that nourishes us, that helps us 0:26:51.240 --> 0:26:55.720 feel like we're tending ourselves well with love, with care, 0:26:56.480 --> 0:26:58.960 or tending those around us. So it's a great suggest 0:27:00.320 --> 0:27:06.080 beautiful and also been It has been recommended to find 0:27:07.400 --> 0:27:15.000 daily practices to do to occupy yourself and either learning 0:27:15.000 --> 0:27:19.920 a new skill or reading something you've always wanted to read, 0:27:20.840 --> 0:27:25.880 or practicing a new exercise or learning an instrument. It's 0:27:25.920 --> 0:27:31.520 a great opportunity to make use of this time instead 0:27:31.560 --> 0:27:39.960 of just dwelling on the darkness and the fears. Yeah, 0:27:40.040 --> 0:27:42.480 you can go to con academy and take a course 0:27:42.560 --> 0:27:45.240 in anything, or you can learn to cook in the 0:27:45.280 --> 0:27:47.800 ways that you never have before, or as you say, 0:27:48.680 --> 0:27:52.879 learn to make music. And you know, in that way, 0:27:53.600 --> 0:27:57.400 let there be something that's beautiful and fruitful that grows 0:27:57.560 --> 0:28:01.960 for you. It also helps to make a schedule for yourself. 0:28:02.040 --> 0:28:05.959 I read a meet that's going around that says, especially 0:28:05.960 --> 0:28:09.040 in the morning, put on your damn pants. You know, 0:28:09.359 --> 0:28:13.400 don't sit around in your in your pajamas all day, 0:28:13.720 --> 0:28:19.640 but actually change the experience so that you feel like, yes, 0:28:19.760 --> 0:28:24.320 I'm here in this life, meeting this day and deliberately 0:28:24.359 --> 0:28:27.479 a part of it. And make a schedule. You know, 0:28:27.880 --> 0:28:30.320 is this is the rhythm by which I want to 0:28:30.920 --> 0:28:34.119 learn or study or reach out or meditate or whatever 0:28:34.160 --> 0:28:38.000 it is. All of that's good. On my website Jack 0:28:38.040 --> 0:28:42.680 Hornfield dot com, there is a talk, a written piece, 0:28:42.720 --> 0:28:46.200 and some videos on how to do a home retreat, 0:28:46.800 --> 0:28:50.520 And there's videos with my colleague Tar Brock and I 0:28:50.680 --> 0:28:54.880 leading a half day retreat for those who are interested 0:28:55.000 --> 0:28:57.800 or relatively new to meditation and want support of how 0:28:57.840 --> 0:29:03.040 to do this. That's another support that people can find 0:29:03.120 --> 0:29:07.040 helpful in this time. Beautiful. That sounds great. So many 0:29:07.040 --> 0:29:11.479 people I know are interested in doing a retreat and 0:29:11.800 --> 0:29:13.600 can never find the time, And it seems like a 0:29:13.600 --> 0:29:19.520 perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation for something positive. Yeah, 0:29:19.560 --> 0:29:22.440 And the beautiful thing is that these are like making music. 0:29:23.640 --> 0:29:27.080 There isn't the right way to do it. You become 0:29:27.120 --> 0:29:30.520 the jazz musician. You get the riff from the meditation, 0:29:31.040 --> 0:29:34.680 and then you find your way to make music with it. 0:29:34.960 --> 0:29:38.200 For some it will be much quieter. For others there'll 0:29:38.240 --> 0:29:41.160 be a little bit more activity of doing an active 0:29:42.000 --> 0:29:45.080 compassion or loving kindness for their body and heart and 0:29:45.120 --> 0:29:49.920 mind people around them. You get to experiment and play 0:29:50.040 --> 0:29:54.040 as an inner artist with all of this. Beautiful How 0:29:54.080 --> 0:29:58.080 did you find yourself on this path? Originally I was 0:29:58.720 --> 0:30:04.280 doing pre med studies at Dartmouth College, thinking I would 0:30:05.080 --> 0:30:09.240 learn to be a physician, and I accidentally, on purpose, 0:30:09.400 --> 0:30:14.400 took a class in Asian studies and Buddhists teachings from 0:30:14.400 --> 0:30:17.200 this wonderful old professor who'd come up from Harvard. His 0:30:17.360 --> 0:30:20.560 name was doctor winsit Chan, and sometimes he would sit 0:30:20.640 --> 0:30:24.200 cross legged on the desk and talk about Laotsu and 0:30:24.240 --> 0:30:27.600 the Buddha and Confucius, but really he was talking about 0:30:27.600 --> 0:30:31.000 the wisdom of the heart. And when he talked about Buddhism, 0:30:31.040 --> 0:30:34.800 he said that there are teachings that life has suffering, 0:30:36.080 --> 0:30:38.320 but that's not the end of the story. There are 0:30:38.400 --> 0:30:44.920 causes for the suffering, greed, hatred, fear, and ignorance, and 0:30:45.000 --> 0:30:47.920 there's a path to the end of suffering. And I 0:30:48.040 --> 0:30:52.760 sat up in my seat because my own background and 0:30:52.840 --> 0:30:56.560 family had been a pretty difficult one. We were middle 0:30:56.600 --> 0:31:00.600 class and all of that, but my father was a 0:31:00.720 --> 0:31:05.120 violent and abusive person who would beat my mother black 0:31:05.160 --> 0:31:11.280 and blue, who would terrorize us as children, and it 0:31:11.400 --> 0:31:14.400 was also completely unpredictable. We never knew when the car 0:31:14.480 --> 0:31:16.960 was coming home what was going to come out the door. 0:31:18.520 --> 0:31:24.480 So when I heard that, oh, Buddhism not only acknowledgist suffering, 0:31:25.200 --> 0:31:28.800 but it teaches the ways to heal the heart and 0:31:28.880 --> 0:31:32.680 to a path to a kind of inner well being 0:31:33.360 --> 0:31:38.880 in the face of suffering, I've got really interested. And 0:31:38.920 --> 0:31:41.920 so I changed my major and majored in Asian studies 0:31:41.920 --> 0:31:45.040 in Buddhist teachings. And then it was in the nineteen sixties. 0:31:45.400 --> 0:31:47.200 I wanted to see if there were still those great 0:31:47.200 --> 0:31:51.000 old zen masters that you read about. So I asked 0:31:51.000 --> 0:31:53.440 the Peace courts to send me to a Buddhist country 0:31:53.920 --> 0:31:58.360 to look for a teacher. And I was assigned to 0:31:58.440 --> 0:32:02.920 Thailand and spent a couple of years working on village 0:32:03.000 --> 0:32:06.400 medical teams in the remote parts of Thailand on the 0:32:06.440 --> 0:32:09.920 border of Laos, And there I found a remarkable teacher 0:32:10.600 --> 0:32:14.880 with whom I studied and became a Buddhist monk, and 0:32:14.960 --> 0:32:19.479 all the things that I was just talking about. It's funny, 0:32:19.600 --> 0:32:23.200 you know. I got a call one time from the 0:32:23.560 --> 0:32:27.880 Alumni magazine of Dartmouth. They wanted to do a cover 0:32:28.040 --> 0:32:31.600 story on weird graduates, and I guess fit the bill. 0:32:33.400 --> 0:32:36.360 And part of what I said is that I felt 0:32:36.400 --> 0:32:41.320 like I had I received only half an education. That 0:32:41.400 --> 0:32:44.440 an Ivy League education was good for the mind and 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:48.880 history and philosophy and science, but I also needed an 0:32:48.960 --> 0:32:53.520 education of the heart. How to deal with the pain 0:32:53.680 --> 0:32:57.440 from my family, with the anger of my father, his rage, 0:32:57.480 --> 0:32:59.760 and what to do with my own anger because I 0:32:59.760 --> 0:33:02.680 didn't want to be like him, How to deal with 0:33:03.440 --> 0:33:07.120 forgiveness or compassion, How to deal not just with my emotions, 0:33:07.200 --> 0:33:10.480 but with all the different states of mind, how to 0:33:10.600 --> 0:33:13.600 have a wiser relationship to myself and to the people 0:33:13.720 --> 0:33:17.520 around me. This is the curriculum of the heart. And 0:33:17.600 --> 0:33:21.239 I found it there in the monastery teachings that had 0:33:21.320 --> 0:33:25.200 been passed on for thousands of years. And now, of 0:33:25.240 --> 0:33:29.000 course it's become my life work with a number of 0:33:29.000 --> 0:33:33.440 other wonderful friends. Unfortunately, it's been available to lots of 0:33:33.440 --> 0:33:36.960 other people. When I came back and I met my 0:33:37.080 --> 0:33:41.000 colleagues Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzburg, and we all began to 0:33:41.040 --> 0:33:45.600 teach together in nineteen seventy four. We had no idea 0:33:45.640 --> 0:33:49.640 that mindfulness was going to become a watchword in the society. 0:33:50.240 --> 0:33:52.600 People asked us what happened to you? You seem so 0:33:52.720 --> 0:33:55.520 much happier and better. Can you show us? Can you 0:33:55.600 --> 0:33:59.000 tell us? And we said, sure, we'll make a retreat. 0:33:59.080 --> 0:34:03.280 Who will create a place a center if people are asking. 0:34:03.880 --> 0:34:07.200 And then it just grew by itself, like good things 0:34:07.280 --> 0:34:15.040 too beautiful. It's amazing how we find our paths and 0:34:15.200 --> 0:34:20.640 they grow just based on the need of the world. 0:34:20.680 --> 0:34:27.560 It seems it seems everybody has a role in filming 0:34:27.560 --> 0:34:34.279 a puzzle piece, and together we make it happen. Yeah, 0:34:34.520 --> 0:34:40.600 my good friend Maladoma Somey, who's West African shaman and 0:34:40.680 --> 0:34:45.280 medicine man, said, among the Dagara people, which is his people, 0:34:47.000 --> 0:34:51.080 they believe that every child who is born comes into 0:34:51.160 --> 0:34:56.080 the world carrying a certain cargo. And I love this metaphor. 0:34:56.080 --> 0:34:59.080 It sort of comes from the cargo ships that apply 0:34:59.200 --> 0:35:03.880 the rivers of Best Africa. And what they believe is 0:35:03.920 --> 0:35:07.680 that the task of every child or every human being 0:35:08.719 --> 0:35:11.080 is to have a sense of what that cargo is, 0:35:11.400 --> 0:35:14.400 you could call it, what are their gifts, and to 0:35:14.520 --> 0:35:18.480 deliver their cargo to this world. And their gifts can 0:35:18.480 --> 0:35:22.200 be as simple as a temperament that smiles at people 0:35:22.640 --> 0:35:26.000 and makes them feel that there's someone who sees them, 0:35:27.120 --> 0:35:30.520 honors them, values them. It's not the great gifts of 0:35:32.800 --> 0:35:38.120 recording the Beethoven's Ninth Symphony or something. Yes, we might 0:35:38.160 --> 0:35:42.839 have some amazing gifts. Everybody has amazing gifts because we're 0:35:42.920 --> 0:35:46.040 human beings and the fact that we live and exist 0:35:46.120 --> 0:35:51.080