Real political change must be spiritual. Real spiritual practice has to be political. Buddhist teachers Sharon Salzberg and Rev. angel Kyodo williams on how we can bring the two worlds together to build a more just and compassionate society. Sharon Salzberg: I’d like to start with a meditation. Settle your attention and energy into your body and feel your breath. Find the [...]
About Sharon Salzberg
On Suffering and the End of Suffering
A friend of mine once had to explain to her four-year-old son that the woman who had been providing child care for him since he was born was going to move away. Because her child was very attached to this person, my friend carefully told him about this step-by-step, making sure to say that the caregiver loved him, that they could write and talk on the phone and visit, but that [...]
Know Your Enemy
We call people who harm us enemies, but is that who they really are? When we see the person behind the label, say Buddhist teachers Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman, everyone benefits. Crushing the Competition Sharon Salzberg Competition today is tantamount to a blood sport—and not just on the playing field or in the ring. The psychoanalytic theorist Karen Horney [...]
Getting Started with Meditation
Sharon Salzberg explains the ins and outs of a core technique—meditating on the breath. This classic meditation practice is designed to deepen concentration by teaching us to focus on the in-breath and out-breath. Sit comfortably on a cushion or a chair. Keep your back erect, but without straining or overarching. (If you can’t sit, lie on your back, on a yoga mat or folded [...]
Becoming the Ally of All Beings
A teaching by Sharon Salzberg on the interconnectedness of all things. In the Buddhist tradition, bodhisattvas are those who, aspiring to enlightenment, make a resolve, "I vow to attain full enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings." That is a pretty incredible vow! It means that we recognize our own liberation is intertwined with the liberation of all beings without [...]
Generosity’s Perfection
Giving up, giving in, just plain giving—Sharon Salzberg says that’s the truly transformative experience. Generosity opens our heart, frees us from attachment and is the basis of all good qualities. It’s the foundation of the Buddhist path. The cultivation of generosity is the beginning of spiritual awakening. Generosity has tremendous force because it arises from an inner [...]
Awakening Confidence in Our Capacity for Loving Kindness: The Blessing of Dipa Ma
Sharon Salzberg explores the life and practice of the Buddhist meditation teacher known affectionately as Dipa Ma. "Dipa Ma exhibited no pretense, no fabrication. She was quite simple and direct, and there never was a sense that she was assuming the persona of a great spiritual being. Her lovingkindness poured out of that very simplicity and graciousness." In the transition [...]
Sit Like a Mountain: An Image of Equanimity
Sharon Salzberg teaches on why equanimity is important, and how to foster it. The fourth Brahma Vihara is equanimity, where the predominant tone is one of calm. In this spacious stillness of mind, we can fully connect to whatever is happening around us, fully connect to others, but without our habitual reactions of rushing toward what is pleasant and pulling away from what is [...]
The Myth of Multitasking
We have the illusion that multitasking makes us more efficient, but it only makes us unhappy. SHARON SALZBERG shares some tips for getting work done well without getting worked up. We would like to believe that attention is infinite, but it isn’t. That is why multitasking is a misnomer. The brain can focus only on one thing at a time. We take in information sequentially. [...]
Is Meditation Enough?
Sharon Salzberg, Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, and Gaylon Ferguson examine the central role of meditation in Western Buddhism and explore how other practices, such as study and ritual, may or may not be necessary. With introduction by Norman Fischer. The introduction of Buddhism to the West has necessarily involved comparing and contrasting various aspects of Buddhism with our own [...]