After the Ecstasy, the Laundry

When does enlightenment come? At the end of the spiritual journey? Or the beginning? On After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, Jack Kornfield—author of the modern classic on American Buddhism, A Path with Heart—brings into focus the truth about satori, the awakened state of consciousness, and enlightenment practices today.

"Perfect enlightenment" appears in many texts, Kornfield begins. But how is it viewed among Western teachers and practitioners? To find out, Kornfield talked to more than 100 Zen masters, rabbis, nuns, lamas, monks, and senior meditation students from all walks of life.

The result is this extraordinary look at the hard work we all must do—the laundry—no matter how often we experience ecstatic states of consciousness through meditation and other disciplines.

Sweeping in scope, and warmly told by one of American Buddhism's most trusted voices, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a work of both deep inspiration and daily instruction that cuts through the confusion about what enlightenment really is, who it comes to, and how it continues to inform and guide our spiritual lives.

An original audio adaptation of Jack Kornfield's book, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry.

Course objectives:

Assess how to embrace the joys and sorrows of everyday life after experiencing a transcendent spiritual awakening
• Integrate inner knowledge with outer expression and experience
• Analyze how to embrace spiritual practice as an invitation to the truth
• Plan to embrace our human feelings without judgment
• Describe how to recognize the Buddha in each other and create community