43 Sharon Salzberg Quotes for You to Enjoy

Sharon Salzberg

American Author

Born: 1952

Compassion Experience Life People Suffering You

Related authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald Frederick Douglass Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Joyce Meyer Mark Twain Og Mandino Zig Ziglar

Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world. Sharon Salzberg

Commitment World Voting Country Our Ourselves Another Expression

Things don't just happen in this world of arising and passing away. We don't live in some kind of crazy, accidental universe. Things happen according to certain laws, laws of nature. Laws such as the law of karma, which teaches us that as a certain seed gets planted, so will that fruit be. Sharon Salzberg

Nature Crazy Fruit Karma World Law Will Live Universe Kind Seed Some Laws Arising Accidental Passing According Gets Just Happen In-Laws Which Us Certain Teaches Planted Away Things Things Happen

Patience doesn't mean making a pact with the devil of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations. It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the process that's unfolding, rather than ripping open a budding flower or demanding a caterpillar hurry up and get that chrysalis stage over with. Sharon Salzberg

Patience Emotions Denial Demanding Devil Stage Flower Chrysalis Our Hurry Ripping Rather Open Budding Over Caterpillar Making Up Than Get Being Unfolding Process Mean Pact Means Engaged Aspirations Ignoring Wholeheartedly

We need the compassion and the courage to change the conditions that support our suffering. Those conditions are things like ignorance, bitterness, negligence, clinging, and holding on. Sharon Salzberg

Ignorance Change Suffering Courage Compassion Bitterness Holding Our Negligence Those Support Like Clinging Conditions Holding On Things Need

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking - while cultivating power and clarity in response to difficult situations. Sharon Salzberg

Art Strength Compassion Power Isolation Sense Community Difficult Thinking Response Rigid Clarity Learn Redefining Practicing Go Cultivating Situations While Fierce Letting Letting Go

We like things to manifest right away, and they may not. Many times, we're just planting a seed and we don't know exactly how it is going to come to fruition. It's hard for us to realize that what we see in front of us might not be the end of the story. Sharon Salzberg

Exactly See Seed Come Like Know How End Times Front Going May Just Fruition Story Manifest Might Realize Us Hard Planting Many Away Right Things Right Away

Someone who has experienced trauma also has gifts to offer all of us - in their depth, their knowledge of our universal vulnerability, and their experience of the power of compassion. Sharon Salzberg

Knowledge Experience Compassion Power Our Gifts Someone Also Vulnerability Offer Experienced Depth Us Who Trauma Universal

Some people have a mistaken idea that all thoughts disappear through meditation and we enter a state of blankness. There certainly are times of great tranquility when concentration is strong and we have few, if any, thoughts. But other times, we can be flooded with memories, plans or random thinking. It's important not to blame yourself. Sharon Salzberg

Great Thoughts Memories Blame Yourself People Strong Random Some People Important Few Thinking Meditation Other State Enter Some Through Disappear Idea Concentration Mistaken Times Any Tranquility Plans Certainly Flooded

Voting is like alchemy - taking an abstract value and breathing life into it. Sharon Salzberg

Life Voting Value Abstract Taking Like Breathing Alchemy

Love and compassion don't at all have to make us weak, or lead us to losing discernment and vision. We just have to learn how to find them. And see, in truth, what they bring us. Sharon Salzberg

Love Truth Vision Losing Compassion Weak Find See Lead Make Discernment Learn How Just Them Us Bring

As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them. Sharon Salzberg

It is sometimes difficult to view compassion and loving kindness as the strengths they are. Sharon Salzberg

Kindness Sometimes Compassion Difficult Loving View Strengths

To cherish others is to cherish ourselves. To cherish ourselves is to cherish others. And in that same way, we relate to the truth. If we support it, if we embrace it, if we uphold it, we will be embraced by it, we will be supported and upheld by it. Sharon Salzberg

Truth Will Relate Others Way Ourselves Embrace Embraced Support Supported Cherish Upheld Uphold Same

We all want to be happy. We need to expand the notion of what that means, to make it bigger and wiser. Sharon Salzberg

Be Happy Happy Wiser Make Expand Want Bigger Means Notion Need

When you're wide open, the world is a good place. Sharon Salzberg

Good You World Good Place Open Place Wide

Compassion isn't morose; it's something replenishing and opening; that's why it makes us happy. Sharon Salzberg

Happy Compassion Something Opening Makes Us Why

From the Buddhist point of view, it is true that emptiness is a characteristic of all of life - if we look carefully at any experience we will find transparency, insubstantiality, with no solid, unchanging core to our experience. But that does not mean that nothing matters. Sharon Salzberg

Life Experience Will Matters Nothing Carefully Our Solid Characteristic Find Unchanging Point Point Of View True Buddhist Look Emptiness Does Any Mean Nothing Matters View Transparency Core

At times when I am myself sitting at a retreat, and at the end I get into my car to drive away, I watch my hand move forward to turn on the radio. When I can be mindful, I notice the fact that I actually don't want in that moment to listen to the news or hear some music. Sharon Salzberg

Music Myself News Car Drive Mindful Some Fact Retreat Am Hear Hand End Times Get Sitting Listen Move Move Forward Want Turn Turn-On Notice Moment Forward Radio Away Actually Watch

I've always said that lovingkindness and compassion are inevitably woven throughout meditation practice even if the words are never used or implied, no matter what technique or method we are using. Sharon Salzberg

Words Matter Compassion Practice Meditation Woven Throughout Never Implied Said Always Inevitably Method Used Using Even Technique

It's interesting that people bring different things to oppressive and difficult situations, when they're reduced to the barest terms of survival. That's what provides tension in a lot of films. Sharon Salzberg

Survival People Difficult Films Tension Terms Reduced Oppressive Provides Lot Situations Different Interesting Different Things Things Bring

The first of the four noble truths of Buddhism, that there is suffering in life, was enormously important to me. No one had ever said it out loud. That had been my experience, of course, but no one had ever talked about it. I didn't know what to do with all the fear and emotions within, and here was the Buddha saying this truth right out loud. Sharon Salzberg

Life Truth Saying Me Suffering Experience Emotions Fear First Important Out About Had No-One Buddha Noble Buddhism Know Talked Course Within Said Been Loud Truths Ever Right Four Here

It's difficult to admit to ourselves that we suffer. We feel humiliated, like we should have been able to control our pain. If someone else is suffering, we like to tuck them away, out of sight. It's a cruel, cruel conditioning. There is no controlling the unfolding of life. Sharon Salzberg

Life Suffering Control Controlling Pain Difficult Humiliated Else Our Sight Ourselves Out Able Admit Someone Cruel Feel Like Been Conditioning Tuck Unfolding Them Should Suffer Away

It is so powerful when we can leave behind our ordinary identities, no longer think of ourselves primarily as a conductor, or writer, or salesclerk, and go to a supportive environment to deeply immerse in meditation practice. Sharon Salzberg

Practice Think Meditation Our Immerse Ourselves Writer Environment Primarily Powerful Longer Supportive Identities Leave Go Conductor Behind Ordinary Deeply

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