After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path
Jack Kornfield, one of America's most beloved teachers of meditation, assures us that enlightenment does occur on the spiritual path but warns that it is not the end of the road. Bringing his thoughts to a personal level,  Kornfield looks up many of the notable spiritual teachers of our times  (Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Sufi, etc.) and presents extended quotations of  their trials and epiphanies. These anecdotes are woven together with fables and  ruminations from Kornfield's own decades-long experience as a practitioner and  teacher, creating an image of the spiritual life as challenging,  multidimensional, rewarding, and, yes, mundane. In the old days in China, Zen  monks were encouraged to travel for instruction under a variety of masters.  Here, Kornfield introduces us to today's masters, but off their podiums, as  equals. Genuine experiences of awakening, despair, fault, serious transgression,  and simple childlike joy all appear as bridges on the way to the divine.After the Ecstasy, the Laundryis not just another inspirational  bestseller, it is a lasting record of concrete insights forged from the fires of dedicated practice.--Brian Bruya