Metta Hour With Sharon Salzberg

Live from the Garrison Institute, Sharon contemplates the role of intentionality in our actions. Joined by the co-host of the evening, Ethan Nichtern, Sharon explores the different components of our actions and how intentionality affects each of them.

On this special episode of Metta Hour, Sharon visits humorist Randy Cohen's podcast, Person Place Thing, to talk about her most inspirational "Thing," the Statue of Liberty. Person Place Thing is an interview show based on this idea: people are particularly engaging when they speak not directly about themselves but about something they care about. Sharon shares how the values reflected in Lady Liberty inspire how she lives her life

Joseph Goldstein joins Sharon to talk about overcoming obstacles through meditative practice and living in the dharma. Recorded live from the Insight Meditation Society’s 40th anniversary benefit.

Sharon shares insight and words of encouragement on our meditative practice. We get a better understanding of the meaning of the word meditation and context for how it works in our lives. We learn to appreciate meditation as cultivation and the importance of getting used to it. Sharon is joined by Roshi Joan Halifax to take questions from the audience on patience, teaching others, and appreciating our contributions no matter how small they may be.   

This week, Sharon digs the into some of the reoccurring challenges we all encounter along the path. Our path to liberation is not a linear one of progression, in which we clear hurdles that never return. Instead, it is a circular journey that keeps coming around and influences all aspects of our life The wisdom our practice cultivates affords us the opportunity to approach these challenges in a better way each time they present themselves along the path.

Sharon shares four reflections on the Dharma that will sustain us in our practice. Who in the Western world can imagine sitting in silent meditation for years at a time? What can we do, especially as novices, to remind ourselves the purpose and importance of our practice? Sharon asked the same questions early in her practice as well. What she learned is that there are reflections for sustained practice which shift our perspective and move us forward on the path.

This special episode of Metta Hour is dedicated to exploring the life of the historical Buddha. Sharon discusses the historical Buddha as a human, legendary figure, and mystic, in addition to his role as teacher, historical figure, and founder of a tradition. She walks us through the Buddha's experiences under the Bodhi tree and the teachings he left with. On this episode of, Metta Hour, Sharon gives insight into these lessons to help us better understand the Way of the Buddha.

This week on, Metta Hour, Sharon has a conversation with Rev Angel Kyodo Williams about political activism and spiritual practice. What is the interplay between activism and personal practice? Sharon and Rev Angel Kyodo Williams discuss the qualities of the two and what they bring to one another. On this week's episode, we learn how to make radical change happen and love everyone in the process.

Sharon sits down with Ethan Nichtern and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to talk about transformational activism. The three discuss what exactly transformational activism is and how Ethan and Eric have been using the approach to promote positive change in politics.Ethan Nichtern founded The Interdependence Project in 2005 which offers a unique, multi-lineage education in Secular Buddhist practice and psychology. The project also features Transformational Activism initiatives, designed to support the interdependence of our unique personal journeys with our shared path as a society. Eric Schneiderman has been a long time partner to The Interdependence Project, offering his political experience and unique insight to the group. Listen to how Ethan and Eric developed the concept of transformational activism and how we can affect change in our community on this enlightening episode of the Sharon Salzberg Metta Hour!"Understanding the core sense of self . . . is really the key to any long-term transforma

Sharon sits down with Ali Smith, Andy Gonzalez and Atman Smith of the Holistic Life Foundation at the JCC Manhattan to talk about their work bringing mindfulness and yoga to inner city youth in their hometown of Baltimore, MD.   The Holistic Life Foundation has been serving Baltimore’s underserved communities since 2001 with high quality programming focusing on yoga, holistic health, environmental advocacy and education, sustainability, oneness, and interconnectedness. In this episode of The Metta Hour, Sharon talks with the HLF about how they began this inspiring work, and it’s expansion in their community after 15 years.     Show Notes: 00:55 – Sharon jokes about feeling like her life is kind of like “mercury in retrograde” at the moment. She welcomes her audience and introduces her guests Ali Smith, Andy Gonzalez and Atman Smith, founders of the Holistic Life Foundation (HLF). 3:50 – Ali tells about their struggles growing up in the streets of Baltimore. The Smith brothers were raised vegan with yogas and

In this episode, Sharon sits down with author and Buddhist teacher, Ethan Nichtern. Together they discuss with their live audience, life with a smartphone and how technology affects our spiritual development. Ethan highlights the use of technology as an escape mechanism and reminds us to be aware of when and why that is happening. Explaining our ability to turn the potential downfalls of technology into a weapon for positive change. How do we negotiate the extra layer of complexity that technology adds to our lives? Do the comforts it provides pull us too far out of the moment? ” To not have some way of working with one’s own mind, with seven billion people and technology and the ways messages can spread, feels more and more disrespectful. . . If we are going to have a device and we are going to connect to people, we need to know how to use that device.” Show Notes: :50 – Sharon starts the hour by briefly discussing the concept of balance in our body and our practice and how it affects all things and dives ri

We are reminded that when we are seeking balance, to practice meditation is to make a home of the deeper places that we have touched in our encounters with joy and sorrow. Loving Kindness is fueled by the truth, and therefore has the power to change our lives for the better. To train in Metta is to experiment in your relationship and reaction to all that you experience, with the understanding that everyone you see is as hopeful and deserving of the kindness and love that are our birthright. Concentration is the act of letting go of everything that is not, and is enhanced through the quality and consistency of the phrases used. A healthy balance of calm focus and creative energy help to bring this practice to life

Pulling from her insight and wealth of experience in the art of mindfulness, Sharon responds to some of the questions and concerns that often arise when one delves into the practice of Loving Kindness meditation. This particular practice is unique in its more active approach to offering kindness to ourselves and others, and can be confusing during initial integration. Topics discussed include appropriate phrases, understanding the right effort involved relative to other forms of practice, aversion to sympathetic joy, incorporating family into Loving Kindness, and acknowledging and working with the roots of difficulty within practice.

Sharon and Congressman Tim Ryan discuss voting and mindfulness in politics and the role of mindfulness in schools. Recorded at the 2016 Mindful Life Conference.

What does it mean to be born into this human form, with an ever-changing body and mind subjected to forces seemingly out of our control? How can we possibly feel at home in our own lives, amidst the inevitable torrent of change? Sharon discusses this context within which we practice, highlighting the Buddha’s teachings as the compass used in seeking direction. We are all capable of developing the consciousness necessary to ask these questions, and to know the answers for ourselves through the power of our own awareness. To have a personal and intimate sense of the Truth is as much our birthright as our potential.

A welcome explanation of what it truly means to seek refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Likening refuge to the Buddhist concept of ‘Bright Faith’, Sharon describes the power of possibility in keeping our spirits alive and moving. When our sense of limitation shifts from an absolute truth to a simple mental construct, we begin to see the light beneath the door. In revolutionizing our relationship to ourselves we affirm our own ability to bring faith, hope, and understanding to any situation.

Sharon offers an overview of the context in which we practice, providing insight and instruction for some of the basic tenements of meditation. This skills training can bring steadfast and sustainable concentration to the mind, promoting balance and ease as we move through the world. The goal is not to escape certain thoughts or to generate positive feelings, but rather to cultivate the conditions necessary for transformation within your own life. Through repeated efforts we begin to uncover a deep and abiding sense of our own true nature.

Piti is the Pali word for rapture, defined as an enthusiasm or sense of zeal that is often characterized by feelings of happiness, delight, and satisfaction. When developed, this quality pervades both the body and the mind with the energy of exhilaration. Sharon outlines the various levels of rapture and offers both methods and inspiration for its cultivation.

Sharon discusses some of the more common obstacles to sympathetic joy and offers methods that promote both the practice and sustainability of this quality. Learning to let go of our judgments and allowing others to live as they choose is often a crucial factor in shifting our perspective. Recognizing the line of separation created through the restless state of comparison will also serve to loosen the boundaries that we build. Through generosity we begin to see the happiness of others as a continuum of our own. Sympathetic joy is boundless in nature, and we alone are responsible for drawing the lines of its potential.

Sharon explains the specific form of joy that comes from taking genuine delight in the happiness of others. Engaging in this practice challenges our deepest assumptions of who we are and what it means to be truly content. Releasing ourselves from the perceived sense of battle or competition with others can bring profound liberation to the mind and heart. In allowing and encouraging the happiness of others we naturally and dramatically increase the likelihood of experiencing authentic joy in our own lives.