Where do we look for the benefit of meditation? Is it in our ability to sit for hours at a time and not budge? Is it in our excellent record of retreat attendance? Is it in life itself? Sharon Salzberg tells us… “The place to look for the benefit of meditation is in your life, […]
More Teachings of the Buddha
Here are some more teachings of the Buddha from one of my favorites, Sharon Salzberg. These teachings are similar to ones that we have learned from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, dharma teacher, Glen Schneider, and the Order of Interbeing. Sharon invites us to contemplate the forces of greed, grasping, hatred, and delusion in our […]
An Experiment in Happiness
Sharon Salzberg is here again with words of wisdom about an experiment in happiness. She is talking about doing a retreat with the attitude of a scientist – just as an experiment. I think, in terms of a retreat, one of the best attitudes to have altogether is to see it as an experiment. You’re […]
How to Recover from Distractions in Meditation
These words of wisdom from Sharon Salzberg (again) teach us how to recover from distractions in meditation. I like the way she tells us to begin anew, as if we are beginning to meditation again for the first time. So, beginning again: your attention will go somewhere eventually, one breath, two breaths, ten breaths later. […]
Paying Attention to Others
This lesson from Sharon Salzberg is about paying attention to others. She tells that when people give us a gift or annoy us we do pay attention. In normal circumstances, we listen to each other almost halfheartedly. They fail to make an impression on us and we fail to listen properly. One advantage of participating […]
The Importance of Faith in Buddhism
Sharon Salzberg is a frequent visitor to these pages. She is one of the original founders of the Insight Meditation Center in Barre, Massachusetts, along with Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield. I think her major contribution to Buddhism in the West is the way she writes about and teachs metta (loving kindness) practices. In these […]
Vipassana Meditation Day 1
Satya Narayan Goenka, also known as S. N. Goenka, was the foremost lay teacher of Vipassana meditation of our time. He was the foundational teacher of Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and many other people that have appeared on these pages. His ten day vipassana meditation course is responsible for the popularity and growth […]
The Happiness of the Buddha
Today, we have words of wisdom from two respected teachers on the happiness of the Buddha. The first quote is from Ajahn Chah, the great Thai forest teacher of Theravada Buddhism who taught the likes of Jack Kornfield and inspired the formation of many practice centers all over the world. His reputation as a spiritual […]
An American Hamburger With Indian Ketchup
I just saw the documentary film, One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das. There was a line in the movie that was so funny I had to use it as the title of this blog post. Someone in Denmark said of him, “He’s just and American hamburger with Indian ketchup!” This caught my attention […]
Stories We Tell Ourselves
This quote is from Sharon Salzberg, a renowned teacher of vipassana meditation and co-founder of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies with Joseph Goldstein. She is especially known for her teachings on loving kindness meditation. Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what’s happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what’s happening, stories that […]
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