To be truly happy in this world is a revolutionary act...It is a radical change of view that liberates us so that we know who we are most deeply and can acknowledge our enormous ability to love. Sharon Salzberg More Quotes by Sharon Salzberg More Quotes From Sharon Salzberg Effort is the unconstrained willingness to persevere through difficulty. Sharon Salzberg persevere effort meditation 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 karma crazy law We long for permanence but everything in the known universe is transient. That's a fact but one we fight. Sharon Salzberg fighting meditation long What unites us as human beings is an urge for happiness which at heart is a yearning for union. Sharon Salzberg yearning unions heart If you’re reading these words, perhaps it’s because something has kicked open the door for you, and you’re ready to embrace change. It isn’t enough to appreciate change from afar, or only in the abstract, or as something that can happen to other people but not to you. We need to create change for ourselves, in a workable way, as part of our everyday lives. Sharon Salzberg buddhist reading doors True giving is a thoroughly joyous thing to do. We experience happiness when we form the intention to give, in the actual act of giving, and in the recollection of the fact that we have given. Generosity is a celebration. When we give something to someone we feel connected to them, and our commitment to the path of peace and awareness deepens. Sharon Salzberg generosity giving commitment Meditation may be done in silence & stillness, by using voice & sound, or by engaging the body in movement. All forms emphasize the training of attention. Sharon Salzberg voice silence meditation By engaging in a delusive quest for happiness, we bring only suffering upon ourselves. In our frantic search for something to quench our thirst, we overlook the water all around us and drive ourselves into exile from our own lives. Sharon Salzberg quests suffering water To offer our hearts in faith means recognizing that our hearts are worth something, that we ourselves, in our deepest and truest nature, are of value. Sharon Salzberg recognizing heart mean We do good because it frees the heart. It opens us to a wellspring of happiness. Sharon Salzberg wellspring heart Pure generosity emerges when we give without the need for our offering to be received in a certain way. That’s why the best kind of generosity comes from inner abundance, rather than from feeling deficient and hollow, starved for validation. Sharon Salzberg generosity validation offering Whatever life presents us, our response can be an expression of our compassion. Sharon Salzberg response compassion expression You are capable of so much more than we usually dare to imagine Sharon Salzberg dare imagine running 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 quality suffering people With the practice of meditation we can develop this ability to more fully love ourselves and to more consistently love others. Sharon Salzberg ability meditation practice Faith is not a commodity we either have or don't have-it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience. Sharon Salzberg commodity quality spiritual The quality of mindfulness does not just know something is happening - e.g. there is an emotion, a sensation - but knows without clinging or condemning. Sharon Salzberg quality mindfulness doe To reteach a thing its loveliness is the nature of metta. Through lovingkindness, everyone & everything can flower again from within. Sharon Salzberg metta loving-kindness flower Restore your attention or bring it to a new level by dramatically slowing down whatever you're doing. Sharon Salzberg meditation mindfulness attention In contrast, compassion manifests in us as the offering of kindness rather than withdrawal. Because compassion is a state of mind that is itself open, abundant and inclusive, it allows us to meet pain more directly. With direct seeing, we know that we are not alone in our suffering and that no one need feel alone when in pain. Seeing our oneness is the beginning of compassion, and it allows us to reach beyond aversion and separation. Sharon Salzberg pain compassion kindness
