--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The path of awakening begins with a step…" description: "\"The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called right understanding.\" — Jack Kornfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png" --- # The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called… ![“The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called right understanding.” quote by Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png) > “The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called right understanding.” [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Awakening starts with correct understanding, a foundational insight that guides further growth. **In simple terms:** Right understanding starts the awakening. Key Takeaway Cultivate clear insight first. Themes spirituality mindfulness growth Mood calm reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - meditation practice - personal development - spiritual study - counseling Key Concepts Buddhist teachings self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you deepen your understanding today? - What blocks your insight? A Different Perspective Understanding alone may not change behavior without practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awakening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [Each step along the Buddha's path to happiness requires practising mindfulness until it becomes part of your daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/each-step-along-the-buddha-s-path-to-happiness-requires-practising/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Awakening begins when a man realizes that he is going nowhere and does not know where to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-i-gurdjieff/awakening-begins-when-a-man-realizes-that-he-is-going-nowhere-and/) [G. I. Gurdjieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-i-gurdjieff/) > [The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/the-path-of-awakening-is-not-about-becoming-who-you-are-rather-it-is/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Built on the foundation of concentration is the third aspect of the Buddha’s path of awakening: clarity of vision and the development of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/built-on-the-foundation-of-concentration-is-the-third-aspect-of-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“The path of awakening the kundalini is to turn inwards and pay attention to our world of emotions, thoughts and talents hidden inside us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/om-swami/the-path-of-awakening-the-kundalini-is-to-turn-inwards-and-pay/) [Om Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/om-swami/) > [“On the path of awakening, it's natural to experience some upheaval, dark nights of the soul, or unnerving groundlessness when the foundation of old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-hanson/on-the-path-of-awakening-it-s-natural-to-experience-some-upheaval/) [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) > [Your life, all of your life, is your path to awakening. By resisting or not dealing with its challenges, you stay asleep to Reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/your-life-all-of-your-life-is-your-path-to-awakening-by-resisting-or/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“Enormous cumulus clouds float above the plateau in the shape of turtles. Always turtles. The are moving so slowly, almost imperceptibly, makes me dizzy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/enormous-cumulus-clouds-float-above-the-plateau-in-the-shape-of/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“You cannot reach lofty heights in art if you do not first discover the unsurpassable beauty in your own heart. If you would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/you-cannot-reach-lofty-heights-in-art-if-you-do-not-first-discover/) [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [It's kind of hard get outside of your own frame of reference. To one degree or another, we all go through our breakdowns and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-grey/it-s-kind-of-hard-get-outside-of-your-own-frame-of-reference-to-one/) [Alex Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-grey/) > [“By spending time with a Gnani Purush (One who has realized the Self and is able to do the same for others), the wrong intellect becomes right, and thereafter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/by-spending-time-with-a-gnani-purush-one-who-has-realized-the-self/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Right Understanding means feeling terrible, remembering pain is finite, and taking some solace from that remembering. And, when things are pleasant, even splendidly pleasant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-boorstein/right-understanding-means-feeling-terrible-remembering-pain-is-finite/) [Sylvia Boorstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-boorstein/) > [“The wrong understanding is unhappiness and the right understanding is happiness. One has to see which kind of understanding he is getting. The entanglement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-wrong-understanding-is-unhappiness-and-the-right-understanding-is/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Others will always show you exactly where you are stuck. They say or do something and you automatically get hooked into a familiar way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/others-will-always-show-you-exactly-where-you-are-stuck-they-say-or/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [From the beginning of my Reformation I have asked God to send me neither dreams, nor visions, nor angels, but to give me the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/from-the-beginning-of-my-reformation-i-have-asked-god-to-send-me/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) ## More by Jack Kornfield > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [In opening we can see how many times we have mistaken small identities and fearful beliefs for our true nature and how limiting this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/in-opening-we-can-see-how-many-times-we-have-mistaken-small/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Wherever you are is the perfect place to awaken. This moment is the exact place to practice compassion and loving awareness. You have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/wherever-you-are-is-the-perfect-place-to-awaken-this-moment-is-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Acceptance does not mean inaction. We may need to respond, strongly at times...From a peaceful center we can respond instead of react. Unconscious reactions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/acceptance-does-not-mean-inaction-we-may-need-to-respond-strongly-at/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [To live in this precious animal body on this earth is as great a part of spiritual life as anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/to-live-in-this-precious-animal-body-on-this-earth-is-as-great-a-part/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [We do not have to improve ourselves; we just have to let go of what blocks our heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/we-do-not-have-to-improve-ourselves-we-just-have-to-let-go-of-what/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [To open deeply, as genuine spiritual life requires, we need tremendous courage and strength, a kind of warrior spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/to-open-deeply-as-genuine-spiritual-life-requires-we-need-tremendous/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [As we step out of the way new things are born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/as-we-step-out-of-the-way-new-things-are-born/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [For most of us, generosity is a quality that must be developed. We have to respect that it will grow gradually; otherwise our spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/for-most-of-us-generosity-is-a-quality-that-must-be-developed-we-have/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [What is truly a part of our spiritual path is that which brings us alive. If gardening brings us alive, that is part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/what-is-truly-a-part-of-our-spiritual-path-is-that-which-brings-us/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“Working with these distractions, steadying the canoe, letting the waves pass by, and coming back again and again in a quiet and collected way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/working-with-these-distractions-steadying-the-canoe-letting-the-waves/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [To understand ourselves and our life is the point of insight meditation: to understand and to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/to-understand-ourselves-and-our-life-is-the-point-of-insight/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [To let go in the deepest recesses of the heart, to release all struggle and wanting, leads us to that knowing which is timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/to-let-go-in-the-deepest-recesses-of-the-heart-to-release-all/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/wisdom-says-we-are-nothing-love-says-we-are-everything-between-these/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Breathing meditation can quiet the mind, open the body, and develop a great power of concentration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/breathing-meditation-can-quiet-the-mind-open-the-body-and-develop-a/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) [Explore all 324 Jack Kornfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) ## More Awakening quotes > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [“Low states are a like a poison to the psyche. Millions of people throughout the world take tranquillizers each day to combat depression, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belsebuub/low-states-are-a-like-a-poison-to-the-psyche-millions-of-people/) [Belsebuub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belsebuub/) > [The awakening of the soul to its bondage and its effort to stand up and assert itself - this is called life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-awakening-of-the-soul-to-its-bondage-and-its-effort-to-stand-up/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [My political awakening, if I can be as grand as to call it that, was all about what was happening around me. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-sturgeon/my-political-awakening-if-i-can-be-as-grand-as-to-call-it-that-was/) [Nicola Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-sturgeon/) > [How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-often-have-you-sailed-in-my-dreams-and-now-you-come-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“CWC (Church Women Concerned) enabled us as women in that part of South Africa, to see ourselves as ordinary citizens who found themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sindiwe-magona/cwc-church-women-concerned-enabled-us-as-women-in-that-part-of-south/) Sindiwe Magona > [I feel there is a great spiritual awakening on the planet right now. More than any previous time, people are drawn to meditation, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agapi-stassinopoulos/i-feel-there-is-a-great-spiritual-awakening-on-the-planet-right-now/) [Agapi Stassinopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agapi-stassinopoulos/) > [When I was 20 years old, I got cast in 'Spring Awakening' and got swept up in this experience where it was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/when-i-was-20-years-old-i-got-cast-in-spring-awakening-and-got-swept/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [Motivation is awakening own mind and Inspiration is arising spirit in others to find their own with their heart and soul in all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj/motivation-is-awakening-own-mind-and-inspiration-is-arising-spirit-in/) [Anuj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“The Illusion - The source of suffering can be linked back to a condition of the mind that creates the illusion of separation--the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-blanchard/the-illusion-the-source-of-suffering-can-be-linked-back-to-a/) L.M.Blanchard [Browse all 1,440 Awakening quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awakening/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called right understanding.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jack Kornfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step-the-buddha-called-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awakening" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step-the-buddha-called-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/jack-kornfield-936_awakening_the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step_1913814.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The path of awakening begins with a step the Buddha called right understanding.” — Jack Kornfield", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jack Kornfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The path of awakening begins with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step-the-buddha-called-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/the-path-of-awakening-begins-with-a-step-the-buddha-called-right/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```