A 21-day course with Jack Kornfield

Ask Jack

Dharma wisdom for life’s real struggles

Begins October 9, 2026

You want to practice. And then life happens.

For 21 days, watch pre-recorded conversations and teachings with Jack. Real people bring the questions that arise when life gets difficult. Hear how he responds, pause with a reflection, and take one small practice into your own life that day.

Twice along the way, gather live with Jack—an invitation to bring questions from your own life, or simply listen.

Twenty-one days isn’t long enough to fix a life.
It is long enough to change how you meet one.

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A taste of the course

Real questions, real struggles

Listen as people bring Jack what keeps them awake at night.

One small practice a day

Each conversation ends with a reflection you can try that day.

Dear friend,

I’m delighted to welcome you to Ask Jack. This course grew from the questions of people trying to bring spiritual practice into the real circumstances of their lives — fear and uncertainty, difficult relationships, anger, illness, loss, and the suffering of our world.

Their questions are also our questions. In each exchange, we discover that the Dharma is not separate from ordinary life. Our struggles themselves can become gateways to compassion, freedom, and a deeper trust in who we really are.

As you listen, allow the teachings to become personal. Notice what touches your heart, pause when you need to, and bring the practices into your own life. You do not have to fix everything or have all the answers. You can begin by meeting this moment with loving awareness.

May these teachings help you live with greater courage, tenderness, and wisdom — and remind you that even amid difficulty, you carry within you a beautiful and trustworthy heart.

With metta,Jack

Why this course

Why take this class, and what’s special about it

Most of us carry a question we’ve never quite said out loud.

How do I live in a body that’s failing me?

How do I love someone without needing them to change?

What do I do with anger that won’t leave?

How do I keep my heart open when loss keeps arriving?

In this course, real people brought those questions to Jack — and he answered, with warmth, honesty, and a practice you can use that same afternoon.

For twenty-one days, you sit beside those conversations. One arrives each morning. You listen, notice which part of the question is also yours, and carry Jack’s answer into your own day. Twenty-one days. Eight themes. One simple practice. Nothing to catch up on, nothing to binge.

You don’t walk it alone. Everyone in the cohort is facing the same hard things at the same time, and twice along the way you can bring your own question to Jack live. On Day 21, you speak aloud what you intend to carry forward, witnessed by the people who walked it with you.

If you’ve ever wished you could just ask Jack — this is the closest thing to it.

What this course is

A seat beside Jack.

Fear wakes you at night. Your body changes. Someone hurts you. You cannot fix someone you love. The news breaks your heart. When life gets difficult, what does practice actually look like?

For 21 days, sit beside Jack as real people bring him questions from their lives — eight themes woven from real conversations, teachings, meditations, and blessings. Listen as Jack meets one person at a time with humor and tenderness. Hear what touches your own experience, pause with a reflection, and try one small practice that day. Their questions may be your questions, too.

How do I accept what happened to my body?

How do I stop being so afraid?

How do I love someone without trying to change them?

What do I do with my anger?

How do I keep my heart open when the world feels unbearable?

Pre-recorded course, self-paced. The daily conversations with Jack are recorded, so you can listen on your own schedule. The two gatherings with Jack are live.

Syllabus

Your 21 days in three movements.

Begin with a welcome and blessing from Jack, available as soon as you join. Then walk the 21 days together, moving from meeting your own experience to bringing practice into relationships and the wider world.

Meet · Days 1–10

Meet life as it is.

Illness, uncertainty, fear, and the weight of the judging mind. Through real people’s questions, explore acceptance, discover the care beneath worry, and find a kinder way to meet yourself. Begin to act with courage even when doubt is still present.

Engage · Days 11–17

Bring practice into the hard places.

Close relationships, difficult conversations, anger, and a troubled world. Explore love without fixing, boundaries with compassion, and ways to respond from care. Find a way to participate that you can sustain.

Embody · Days 18–21

Carry it forward.

Explore impermanence, loss, and what you can trust as life changes. Return to loving awareness and consider how these teachings might become a way of living. Close with a vow in your own words—an intention to carry into the life that continues after these 21 days.

Your 21 days, mapped

Each movement opens in sequence, beginning October 9, 2026.

Welcome · Day 0

As soon as you join

A welcome and blessing from Jack

Meet · Days 1–10

Days 1–10

Oct 9 – Oct 18

Engage · Days 11–17

Days 11–17

Oct 19 – Oct 25

Embody · Days 18–21

Days 18–21

Oct 26 – Oct 29

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A small daily prompt

Each morning you’ll receive a gentle reminder to listen, reflect, and practice. One sentence to carry into the day.

“Where can you meet one difficult feeling today with the same kindness you would offer a friend?”

Delivered on the course learning system at 6:00am PT. You can turn it off anytime.

Hear a sample

Listen to how Jack meets a question.

Sample conversationBeginning Again After a Painful PastSample clip · about 4 minutes

Beginning Again After a Painful Past

Julia has discovered that traumatic memories shaping three decades of her life were not real. Jack honors the grief and invites her to complete what remains through letters and ritual, then step into a new incarnation with innocence, tenderness, and permission to begin again.

How you’ll learn

A path you walk, one day at a time.

Each morning, a new day opens. There is a little to listen to, a question to reflect on, and one practice to try. Let the shared rhythm support you. If you miss a day, return when you can; nothing expires and the course is yours to keep.

Listen

A short teaching and real conversations with Jack: someone brings an actual situation, and Jack meets it with attention and care. Some days offer a teaching and meditation to sit with.

Reflect

Pause with one journal question about your own life. Your reflections stay private; there is no right answer.

Practice in life

Try one small, sincere act that same day — a call, a boundary, a hand on the heart. On meditation days, listening and sitting are the practice.

Share, if you like

Offer a tap, a line, or a photo about what you tried. You never need to share your journal or tell a private story. Simply witnessing others is a way to take part.

The shared journey

Walk the 21 days together.

Each morning, everyone in the cohort receives the same teaching and tries the same practice in their own life. You may be making a call, sitting with fear, or pausing before a difficult reply. Knowing that others are practicing alongside you can help you begin — and return tomorrow.

One small sign that you practiced. After you try the day’s practice, you can offer a simple check-in: “I made the call,” “I sat with fear,” “I paused before responding.” A tap is enough. A line or a photo is welcome if you want to share more.
You never need to post your journal, introduce yourself in a forum, or explain the private circumstances of your life.
Room for silence. You can read, listen, and belong without posting anything. Go at the pace your life allows. If you miss a day, you are still part of the journey.
Two live gatherings with Jack. Bring a question in your own words, or simply listen. October 14 at 1pm PT and October 21 at 2pm PT.
A closing on Day 21. Put your vow into your own words. Keep it private, speak it aloud to yourself, or invite someone you trust to witness it.
Care built in. A gentle note before the tender days, and a clear path to support whenever you need it.

Live with Jack

Twice during the journey, bring your own life to Jack.

Twice during these 21 days, the community gathers live with Jack. You can bring a question in your own words, or simply listen. You do not have to have a polished question or a story to tell.

Date to be announced

Ask Jack Livestream #1

Bring the place where a teaching has become personal — or where you have found it hard to put into practice.

Date to be announced

Ask Jack Livestream #2

Gather again as you ask how this practice will continue beyond the course. Bring the intention you want to live by; your vow can be spoken and witnessed here.

Each live gathering takes place on Zoom for about 60 minutes. Ask Jack Livestream #1 is October 14 at 1pm PT; Ask Jack Livestream #2 is October 21 at 2pm PT. Both are captioned and recorded. You can send a question ahead of time if you cannot attend live. Sharing and speaking are always optional.

Your teacher

Jack Kornfield

Jack trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma, studying under Ajahn Chah and Mahasi Sayadaw, and has taught meditation internationally since 1974. He is one of the key teachers who introduced mindfulness and Buddhist practice to the West, a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and holds a PhD in clinical psychology.

His books — including A Path with Heart, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, and No Time Like the Present — have accompanied more than a million readers. But this course isn’t Jack lecturing. It is Jack listening, and answering one person at a time, with humor and tenderness.

Enroll

Join us for the 21 days.

We begin . Day 0 opens the moment you join, and the course is yours to keep.

Questions

Questions people ask before they begin.

How much time does it take each day?

Listening averages about sixteen minutes a day; no day’s listening exceeds twenty-four minutes. Allow a few quiet minutes to reflect. Most practices fit within your ordinary day; some invite a brief pause or a small action. The two live gatherings are about 60 minutes each.

Do I need to be a meditator, or a Buddhist?

Not at all. The people asking Jack questions include lifelong practitioners and people who have never meditated. Jack’s way of teaching asks nothing of you but honesty.

What if I fall behind?

Then you fall behind, and that is completely fine. Days keep arriving, nothing expires, and the course is yours to keep. It is a path to return to, not a race.

Do I have to share?

Never. Sharing is invited, never required. A tap, a line, or a photo about what you tried is enough; your journal stays private. You may participate quietly throughout, including at the live gatherings.

When are the live Q&As with Jack?

There are two — Ask Jack Livestream #1 on October 14 at 1pm PT, and Ask Jack Livestream #2 on October 21 at 2pm PT. Each is on Zoom for about 60 minutes, captioned and recorded, and you can send a question ahead of time if you can’t be there live.

What if it isn’t for me?

Then it isn’t, and that’s all right. Write to us within seven days of beginning and we will refund you in full, with our good wishes.

A blessing from Jack

Who you are is love. What you have to offer is freedom. This is your birthright.

With metta, Jack

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