After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path [Paperback]

After the Ecstasy is generously sprinkled with the actual words, sometimes half a page or a page long, of people who have been meditating 15, 30, even 40 years. You’ll find out what brought them to the meditative path to begin with, and what they’ve learned along the way. It’s fascinating.

There are lots of good anecdotes in this book; interesting and illuminating anecdotes (most of them are true stories). In many Buddhist and Zen books, you read the same stories again and again in different books, but here you find fresh stories, some ancient, some modern, and all very good.

Jack Kornfield is first and foremost a meditation teacher, so woven throughout the book is plenty of good coaching. The meditative path is difficult, and good teaching is vital. I’m the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, so I’ve specialized in knowing the difference between teachings that help and those that are merely interesting. In After the Ecstasy, you’ll find interesting reading material AND coaching that will truly help you in your practice.

As we all visit the Laundrette of life at some time, some of us will hang around reading the magazines. There is more wisdom in this book than all the Laundrette magazines put together. And there is humour.

I was impressed when I read "A Path with Heart" the last book written by Jack Kornfield. It would, I thought be difficult to surpass this achievement.

So here is a book that has even more clarity. There are wise stories from Buddhism, Christianity and Judaism. In between teachers give personal accounts of their spiritual journey and when the author describes his own life stories I was fascinated by his experience.

He writes about a spirituality grounded in the body, intimately connected with feelings and engaged in the world.

This is a book you can read quickly and return to often. It is moving and challenging in places. And there is humour.

It will become a classic.

So what are you waiting for?

Oh I almost forget.... So there was this eager zen student who arrives at the temple and says "I want to join the Community and work to attain enlightenment. How long will it take me?" "Ten years" replies the master. "Well how about if I really work hard and double my efforts?" "Twenty years". "Hey just a moment that's not fair! Why did you double it?" "In your case," says the master "I'm afraid it will be thirty years."

It was encouraging and humbling to read how the greats like Buddha, Jesus, Dalai Lama--all suffered or suffer from being human, giving in to bouts of anger, despair and discontent. How wonderful to read that 'seeing the light' does not guarantee immunity from illness, divorce, drug addictions--all the experiences of being human. An especially poignant moment for me was when Jack explained that personal evolution did not mean getting rid of bad habits, feelings, memories but rather to understand and embrace them as part of this whole thing called life. There is a great analogy of the 'poison tree' where the natural tendency is to cut it down or uproot it. Rather, we should put a fence around it and acknowledge it as being there.

I highly recommend this book for those that have started meditating and introspection as often we have no idea what 'enlightenment' looks like, where to find it and how long it lasts. This book will put your mind at ease and is like a soothing balm during those turbulent and trying times on the journey. I feel so much ligher (maybe 'enlightened' even!) since reading this book and periodically pick it up on the 'laundry days.' It just uplifts me and reminds me that everything is ok as it is.