I was disappointed and irked by The Wise Heart. My low rating comes from three sources: (1) Format (2) Content and (3) Peeves. My critical comments and poor rating come with hesitation because I have a a sincere appreciation of Jack Kornfield's work. I hope this book will be re-written.

(1) Format. I have been fortunate to attend many Monday nights of Jack's dharma talks at Spirit Rock, and his powers as a presenter are unmatched. Unfortunately, the formula in this book fails to deliver the sub- title's promise "A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology." The sections start with several quotes, next a vague notion ("So does mindfulness open us to that which is unseen in our experience" p. 97) followed by an intense story with a happy ending ("With mindfulness Peter found relief" p. 98) and ending up with a sweeping generality ("Since 1980 nearly a thousand scientific papers have documented the effectiveness of mindfulness, often studying Western trainings that are based on a Buddhist approach." p. 99). The therapy stories are too numerous, I come away from this book completely befuddled.

(2) Content. The notion of inner radiance or beauty as each human's intrinsic nature isn't an idea that is accepted by many followers of Theraveda or Zen Buddhism. I am finding that once you read the original texts not Western commentary, the Buddha is circumspect about settling any metaphysical debates, in Nikaya's translation of the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha in the Aggivacchagotta Sutta on p. 590 for example, the Buddha refuses to settle a long sting of metaphysical debates in his discussion with the wanderer Vacchagotta. The 26 principles throughout the book are internally contradictory, and not universally accepted by Buddhists.

(3) Peeves. Authors that provide "early praise" for this book on the back cover have most of their books listed in the Related Documents section. Perhaps it isn't quid pro quo, but I find it really irritating to have the extraordinary claim that "Two thousand years before Freud and Jung's probed the unconscious, Buddhist psychology taught about the unconscious foundation of human behavior" on pg. 151 without providing the title and translating author of the book containing the Fifty Verses on the Nature of Unconscious in the in the Related Documents section. This book has hundreds of quotes, and there are no footnotes to check how the quotes mold the content. You can't check whether the quotes are taken out of context, or if the quote comes from a early inaccurate translation. Also, there are well intentioned but sloppy stereotypes, for example, the dubious stereotype "This is evident in the healthy, caring bond between parents and children in Buddhist countries." p. 187. Or, what I find most irritating of all, what I can only describe as sophistry via oxymoron baiting: this is the use of objective terms to modify subjective experiences to further the current self-help fad promoting Buddhism as a scientific not religious activity. So, we have the "technology of visualization" p. 277 "science of mind" p.xi, and "particle-like aspect of consciousness" p.39.

I enjoy,savor and collect almost every book by Thich Nhat Hahn,Ajahn Chah and others and this one goes right into the realm of Gem.The wisdom of Ajahn Chah(from "Food for the Heart",Everything arises,Everything falls away,Being Dharma,and A still forest pool,All highly recommended)is made easier to understand.The Structure of the book and contents is perfect.I read this one chapter and sometimes one section of a chapter at a time,realizing this is the best it gets with these kind of books.A perfect gift and I will give it away and reread when paperback comes out.I like to do that with Gems.Im doing that now with The Joy of Living(Yongey Rinpoche). This book is an excellent summary of all teachings of the Mind Science,Buddhism.

I enjoy,savor and collect almost every book by Thich Nhat Hahn,Ajahn Chah and others and this one goes right into the realm of Gem.The wisdom of Ajahn Chah(from "Food for the Heart",Everything arises,Everything falls away,Being Dharma,and A still forest pool,All highly recommended)is made easier to understand.The Structure of the book and contents is perfect.I read this one chapter and sometimes one section of a chapter at a time,realizing this is the best it gets with these kind of books.A perfect gift and I will give it away and reread when paperback comes out.I like to do that with Gems.Im doing that now with The Joy of Living(Yongey Rinpoche). This book is an excellent summary of all teachings of the Mind Science,Buddhism.

Use this book with my boyfriend (he has a copy)We take approximately 10 minutes to read a chapter, then we follow up with a 20 minute meditation.
Useful information.

As anyone who has heard Jack Kornfield speak or has read his previous books (e.g., A Path With Heart) knows, Jack is a wonderful storyteller who uses his beautifully touching stories to teach us the most profound truths about life. Any reader of The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology will not be disappointed.

Fifteen years after having written A Path With Heart, Jack's story telling abilities have not diminished--and he has new stories to tell. In addition, he clearly enunciates 26 principles of Buddhist psychology; moreover, as other outstanding teachers of psychotherapy have noted (including not only therapists with a solution-oriented bent, but also such psychoanalysts as Allen Wheelis and Herbert J. Schlesinger--e.g., see Endings and Beginnings: On Terminating Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis), he reminds us that psychotherapy is not just about understanding but is also about action. In contrast with much of Western psychology, however, which has primarily focused on the contents of consciousness, "on what we think about," he points out that Buddhist psychology focuses on how we think, on our mental states themselves. In line with that orientation, at the end of each chapter, he offers a specific practice to help us shift from unhealthy states of mind to healthy ones, thus making it possible to turn theory into a living reality.

The Wise Heart is an outstanding book, worthy of being not only read but also chewed and digested.

Frank R. Timmons, Ph.D., P.C.
Certified Hudson Institute Executive and Life Coach
Licensed Psychologist
303-751-6301

As anyone who has heard Jack Kornfield speak or has read his previous books (e.g., A Path With Heart) knows, Jack is a wonderful storyteller who uses his beautifully touching stories to teach us the most profound truths about life. Any reader of The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology will not be disappointed.

Fifteen years after having written A Path With Heart, Jack's story telling abilities have not diminished--and he has new stories to tell. In addition, he clearly enunciates the 26 principles of Buddhist psychology, and as other outstanding teachers of psychotherapy have noted (including not only therapists with a solution-oriented bent, but also such psychoanalysts as Allen Wheelis and Herbert J. Schlesinger--e.g., see Endings and Beginnings: On Terminating Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis), psychotherapy is not just about understanding but is also about action. In order to help make the 26 principles a living reality, Jack gives specific practices at the end of each chapter to enable the reader to put the principles into practice.

The Wise Heart is an outstanding book, worthy of being not only read but also chewed and digested.

Frank R. Timmons, Ph.D., P.C.
Certified Hudson Institute Executive and Life Coach
Licensed Psychologist
303-751-6301

This is an exceptionally intelligent, well-written and useful book. Based on Buddhist principals, it lays out a way of looking at the world and wisely becoming an integrated, constructive, comfortable member of it. It is generous and compassionate and anecdotal enough to show how its applications can enhance one's life. It's contrast of Buddhist psychology and Western psychology is extremely interesting and explains how the Eastern view gives more room for one to use already present internal mechanisms for healing. I recommend it highly.

I purchased The Wise Heart in June of 2008. I read many of this type of book but this wise heart has caught me like no other. It is an easy read but I have not yet finished it and this is August. I have found that I must pause and think after each chapter. I often can't make it through the entire chapter before I am in the midst of a new realization. His writing is clear, simple in presentation, diverse in his resources, and profound in content.
If I do not reach enlightenment after reading this wonderful book I am sure I will after I read it a second time.

I have not read a Wonderful work on Buddha Dharma of this quality in a long, long time. I have shared this observation / recommendation with my meditation colleagues and dharma friends. A wonderful teaching to reflect on our current practice, a comprehensive insight into the Dharma from a truly wholistic perspective, a treat of series of short anecdotes to punctuates important lessons from friends, teachers, other practitioners...
A wonderful dharma gift to the world.
Bo Tep, Ph.D.

If you have some knowledge of Buddhism and want to deepen it this is a great book. It took me a long time to read because there are so many places I wanted to stop and think about the meaning of what he said. What I really loved was the stories about people he worked with and how they had to deal with the everyday problems in their lives. It will make me a better person if I can just adopt a small percentage of his wisdom

This book is well-written, clear and mostly complete and very helpful for a person who is a Buddhist practitioner as well as a teacher in Vipassana meditation. Especially teaching in the West requires a right blend of traditional Buddhist psychology with the western psyche and ethos. This book specially helps to comprehend the subject clearly and in presenting the subject to the western audience

This is a wonderful meditation companion and history book rolled into one. Jack Kornfield compares and contrasts Buddhist and Western pyschology while giving a wealth of stories of meditations benefits and a guide to practice.

I read several of Jack's previous books and always find his writing style easy and understandable. Probably not the best book for someone just starting their path of meditation, I'd recommend "A Path with Heart" for that, but this is a good book for someone with a few years of practice under their belt who wants to have a deeper understanding of their practice.

Highly recommended.

I am interested in and practice meditation. I am not a Buddhist, but find that the teachings of Buddhism are a practical way to live in our very complicated world, full of beauty and suffering. Jack Kornfield's book presents the teachings in a simple manner, making it easy to understand some of the more complicated ideas of Buddhist thought. I listened to the book on audiobook, as I absorb information well this way. I heartily recommend The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology to anyone who has any suffering in this life and is interested in finding a practical, meaningful guide.

This book is beautifully written and organized. It's an open, intelligent, and thoughtful integration between Buddhist wisdom and modern psychology. Actually, Jack explains some of the healthier aspects Buddhist thought. While not denying the existence of mental illness, his focus is more on mental health and how we can cultivate it as meditators. I particularly enjoy Jack's honesty about special experiences in meditation while keeping both feet on the ground of compassion and wisdom. As a meditator, I have sometimes been thrown by the smoke-and-mirrors vagueness around special experiences; I like knowing where they are on the map and how they relate (or don't) to the development of wisdom and compassion. This conveys that they are "no big deal" far more than the smoke and mirrors! I also like knowing that other people struggle with their "stuff" in meditation, and that keeping at it could lead to some freedom. I've heard teachers say that, but Jack's stories make it seem much more relevant and possible. I want to commend Jack for writing a book that is so interesting and enjoyable and that really makes sense to me! I hope it will be useful to others, as well.

Jack Kornfield richly expounds on 26 principles of Buddhist psychology.

The first of these is: "See the inner nobility and beauty of all human beings" and the 26th being: "A peaceful heart gives birth to love. When love meets suffering it turns to compassion. When love meets suffering it turns to joy."

Jack Kornfield provides the reader with a philosophical discussion of each principle and the basis of it in the Buddha's teachings. These principle are demonstrated with numerous cases from Jack Kornfield's many years of practice. Several of these are followed by practices and practical exercises, such as loving-kindness meditations.

Buddhist teachings, which as the Dalai Lama describes as "a science of mind", have had a profound influence on modern cognitive behavioral psychotherapy. Neuroscience and evidence-based research increasingly validates the efficacy of Buddhist practices, such as mindfulness and forgiveness for mental health, happiness and well-being. This accessible guidebook will be of interest to any one who is interested not only in self-help, or clinical psychotherapy, but in better understanding the rich Buddhist traditions and ideas behind them.

It is not often that the heart of the sun speaks. Why would it when it could just gaze in wonder at the extraordinary splendor and pure magic of its own being ... and look at existence naked.

Jack must have twisted the Buddha's arm to have gotten the Sky to spill all these grand goods. I think I will start meditating more, it sure seemed to work for JK.

I hope this exceptional book becomes required reading in many classrooms around the world. I bet that would make the gods happy.

Daniel Ladinsky
an international best-selling Penguin author of poetry

There's an irony that at times Buddhists can become stuck in ideology, clinging to their ideas of what they believe the Buddha intended as THE right way. Jack Kornfield avoids this. He has the soft touch, open heart and discerning wisdom that comes from his own struggles and decades of meditation, practicing therapy, and teaching. He knows there is no such thing as a formula for happiness. Kornfield generously quotes from a wide range of thinkers, mystics and disciplines, knowing Buddhists don't have a lock on insight.

Still, Kornfield is steeped in and dedicated to Buddhist practices; his goal is to transmit what may at times be difficult to discern insights from Buddhist psychology to a wide audience. As he writes:

"At this moment, a winter rainstorm is drenching my simple writer's cabin in the woods above Spirit Rock.On my desk are classic texts from many of the major historic schools of Buddhism: the Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, the eight-thousand-verse "large version" of the Heart Sutra, with its teachings on form and emptiness, and a Tibetan text on consciousness by Longchenpa.

Over time, I have learned to treasure these texts and know that they are filled with jewels of wisdom. Yet the Abhidhamma (or Abhidharma in Sanskrit), considered the masterwork of the early Theravada tradition and the ultimate compendium of Buddhist psychology, is also one of the most impenetrable books ever written. What are we to make of passages such as, "The inseparable material phenomena constitute the pure octad; leading to the dodecad of bodily intimation and the lightness triad; all as material groups originating from consciousness"? And the Heart Sutra, revered as a sacred text of Mahayana Buddhism in India, China, and Japan, can sound like a mixture of fantastical mythology and nearly indecipherable Zen puzzles. In the same way, for most readers, analyzing the biochemistry of a lifesaving drug might be as easy as deciphering some of Longchenpa's teachings on self-existent empty primal cognition."

Happily, Kornfield succeeds at making the translation from traditional Buddhist texts accessible to everyone--from clinicians to those new to Buddhism. For those who are familiar with his previous books, they won't find this surprising.

This wonderful book makes the timeless teachings of Buddhist psychology explicable and accessible to all.
With explanations and exercises that are not culture specific and with a healthy helping of Jack's great stories that further illuminate the psychological wisdom of the Buddha, this book opens the deep understandings of Buddhist thought for all to use for their own benefit and for the benefit of all beings.

As the Dalai Lama says, "Buddhism isn't a religion. It is a science of mind"

and IMHO, a science of mind that can help bring healing to our own lives and to our wounded world.