Question 1

What is After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield about?

Accepted Answer

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry explores what happens after spiritual awakening and enlightenment experiences. Jack Kornfield interviewed teachers, monks, nuns, and practitioners from Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sufism to reveal that enlightenment doesn't eliminate life's problems—practitioners still face emotional pain, relationship struggles, career challenges, and daily responsibilities. The book challenges romantic notions of "fully enlightened sages" and emphasizes that awakening is just the beginning of a lifelong spiritual journey.

Question 2

Who is Jack Kornfield and why did he write After the Ecstasy, the Laundry?

Accepted Answer

Jack Kornfield is a Buddhist teacher, psychologist, and author who trained as a monk in Thailand, Burma, and India. He wrote After the Ecstasy, the Laundry to address what happens to spiritual practitioners after peak experiences, challenging the traditional Buddhist teaching of permanent, inviolate enlightenment. Kornfield combines personal accounts from decades of conversations with spiritual teachers across multiple traditions to provide a grounded, humanized perspective on the spiritual path beyond initial awakening.

Question 3

Who should read After the Ecstasy, the Laundry?

Accepted Answer

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is best suited for practitioners who have been on a spiritual path for some time and have experienced spiritual insights or awakening. The book resonates with those struggling with confusion, doubt, or the challenge of integrating spiritual experiences into everyday life. It's also valuable for anyone interested in understanding how enlightenment experiences affect long-term practitioners, teachers, and those re-entering modern life after intensive retreats or monastic periods.

Question 4

Is After the Ecstasy, the Laundry worth reading?

Accepted Answer

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is highly regarded for its refreshing and honest perspective on post-awakening life. Readers appreciate Kornfield's humanization of spirituality and his message that enlightenment experiences don't fix suffering or eradicate neuroses. The book provides reassurance and orientation for spiritual seekers at turning points, though some readers find the numerous first-person narratives distracting. It's considered a "desert island book" by devoted readers who return to it repeatedly for perspective.

Question 5

What is the main message of After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield?

Accepted Answer

The central message of After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is that "there is no such thing as enlightened retirement"—spiritual awakening doesn't eliminate human vulnerability or life's challenges. Jack Kornfield emphasizes that following enlightenment experiences, life's problems remain the same; practitioners still struggle with family relationships, emotional pain, finances, illness, and death. The book stresses that spirituality cannot rid us of our humanness, neuroses remain intact, and there is no state of perfection after awakening.

Question 6

What does the title After the Ecstasy, the Laundry mean?

Accepted Answer

The title After the Ecstasy, the Laundry captures the reality that after profound spiritual experiences, practitioners must still handle ordinary daily responsibilities. The "ecstasy" represents peak enlightenment moments and mystical experiences, while the "laundry" symbolizes mundane tasks and life's ongoing challenges that don't disappear after awakening. This powerful metaphor emphasizes that spiritual transformation doesn't exempt anyone from the practical, sometimes difficult aspects of being human—acceptance, compassion, and kindness must still be applied to everyday struggles.

Question 7

What spiritual traditions does Jack Kornfield cover in After the Ecstasy, the Laundry?

Accepted Answer

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry draws from a vast assortment of spiritual traditions to provide diverse perspectives on post-awakening experiences. Jack Kornfield interviewed practitioners from Buddhism (including Theravada, Tibetan, and Zen traditions), Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Sufism, and yoga. The book includes conversations with teachers, masters, lamas, mystics, abbots, monks, nuns, and psychologists from both Eastern and Western backgrounds, though Western practitioners' accounts predominate by Kornfield's intentional design.

Question 8

Does After the Ecstasy, the Laundry say enlightenment is permanent?

Accepted Answer

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry challenges the traditional Buddhist teaching of permanent, inviolate enlightenment. Jack Kornfield argues that while enlightenment experiences certainly occur, these states pass and don't result in permanent perfection. The book presents evidence that enlightenment experiences can be transformative and life-changing, but they don't fix suffering, eradicate the ego, or make practitioners immune to hardship. Kornfield's perspective recognizes enlightenment as powerful but rejects the notion that it creates an unchangeable state of perpetual bliss.

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After the Ecstasy, the Laundry by Jack Kornfield Summary

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おすすめの本

重要なポイント

The Sacred Longing Within Us All

Facing Our Inner Guardians

The Fire of Spiritual Initiation

The Many Gates of Awakening

The Continuing Journey After Awakening

Embracing Life's Cycles

Finding Wisdom in the Ordinary

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