Sharon Salzberg (born August 5, 1952) is a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' bestselling author and teacher of

Buddhist meditation Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are '' bhāvanā'' ("mental development") and '' jhāna/dhyāna'' (mental training resulting in a calm and ...

practices in the West. In 1974, she co-founded the

Insight Meditation Society The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) is a non-profit organization for study of Buddhism located in Barre, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1975, by Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and Joseph Goldstein and is rooted in the Theravada tradition. I ...

Barre, Massachusetts Barre ( ) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,530 at the 2020 census. History Originally called the Northwest District of Rutland, it was first settled by Europeans in 1720. The town was incorpora ...

, with

Jack Kornfield Jack Kornfield (born 1945) is an American writer and teacher in the Vipassana movement in American Theravada Buddhism. He trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India, first as a student of the Thai forest master Ajahn Chah and Maha ...

and Joseph Goldstein. Her emphasis is on

vipassanā ''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...

(insight) and mettā (loving-kindness) methods, and has been leading meditation retreats around the world for over three decades. All of these methods have their origins in the

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhist tradition. Her books include ''Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness'' (1995), ''A Heart as Wide as the World'' (1999), ''Real Happiness - The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program'' (2010), which was on

The New York Times Best Seller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

in 2011, and the follow-up ''Real Happiness at Work'' (2013). She runs a Metta Hour podcast, and contributes monthly to a column On Being.

Early life

Born in New York City to a Jewish family, Salzberg had a troubled early life after her parents divorced when she was four and her father abandoned the family. At nine, her mother died and she went to live with her father's parents. Though her father returned when she was eleven, he soon overdosed and was subsequently hospitalized. He was placed in the mental health system, where he remained until his death. By 16, Salzberg had lived with five different families. In her sophomore year at the State University of New York, Buffalo in 1969, Salzberg encountered Buddhism during a course in

Asian philosophy Eastern philosophy or Asian philosophy includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philosophy; which are dominant in East Asia, ...

. The following year, she took an independent study trip to India, and in January 1971 attended her first intensive meditation course at

Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...

. In the next several years, she engaged in intensive study with various Buddhist teachers including S.N. Goenka. After returning to US in 1974, she began teaching

vipassana ''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...

(insight) meditation. Salzberg had a health emergency in February 2019 of which details were not disclosed.

Career

Salzberg is a student of

Dipa Ma Nani Bala Barua (March 25, 1911 - September 1, 1989), better known as Dipa Ma, was an Indian meditation teacher of Theravada Buddhism and was of Barua descent. She was a prominent Buddhist master in Asia and also taught in the United States where ...

Anagarika Munindra Anagarika Shri Munindra (1915 – October 14, 2003), also called Munindraji by his disciples, was an Indian Vipassanā meditation teacher, who taught many notable meditation teachers including Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Sur ...

Sayadaw U Pandita Sayadaw U Paṇḍita ( my, ဆရာတော် ဦးပဏ္ဍိတ, ; also ''Ovādācariya Sayādo Ū Paṇḍitābhivaṁsa''; 28 July 1921 – 16 April 2016) was one of the foremost masters of Vipassanā. He trained in the Theravada ...

and other Asian masters. She,

and Joseph Goldstein founded the

, in 1974. She and Goldstein co-founded the

Barre Center for Buddhist Studies Barre or Barré may refer to: * Barre (name) or Barré, a surname and given name Places United States * Barre, Massachusetts, a New England town ** Barre (CDP), Massachusetts, the central village in the town * Barre, New York, a town * Barre ( ...

in 1989 and

The Forest Refuge The Insight Meditation Society (IMS) is a non-profit organization for study of Buddhism located in Barre, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1975, by Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, and Joseph Goldstein and is rooted in the Theravada tradition. Its ...

, a long-term meditation retreat center 9 years later. Today, she is a notable teacher of the

Vipassana movement The Vipassanā movement, also called (in the United States) the Insight Meditation Movement and American vipassana movement, refers to a branch of modern Burmese Theravāda Buddhism that promotes "bare insight" (''sukha-vipassana'') to attain s ...

. An in-depth interview with Salzberg appears in the book ''Meetings with Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America'', by Lenore Friedman. (Boston:Shambhala, Revised and Updated edition, 2000. )

Honors

Salzberg was honored by the New York Open Center in 1999 for her "Outstanding Contribution to the Mindfulness of the West"

Appointments

Mind and Life Institute The Mind & Life Institute is a US-registered, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1991 to establish the field of contemplative sciences. Based in Charlottesville, Va., the institute “brings science and contemplative wisdom togeth ...

''2005 Investigating the Mind Conference'', Panelist. *

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

’s ''

O Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation wa ...

'', Contributing Editor. *''

On Being ''On Being'' is a podcast and a former public radio program. Hosted by Krista Tippett, it examines what it calls the "animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?" Radio program and ...

'' with

Krista Tippett Krista Tippett ( née Weedman; born November 9, 1960) is an American journalist, author, and entrepreneur. She created and hosts the public radio program and podcast ''On Being''. In 2014, Tippett was awarded the National Humanities Medal by U.S. ...

, Weekly Columnist.

Books

*
Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness
' (1995) *''Heart as Wide as the World'' (1999) *''Voices of Insight'' (2001) *''Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience'' (2003) *''The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love and Compassion'' (2006) *''The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Campanion'' (2008) *''Real Happiness - The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program'' (2010) * ''Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace'' (2013) * ''Love Your Enemies: How to Break the Anger Habit & Be a Whole Lot Happier'', with

Robert Thurman Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born August 3, 1941) is an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at ...

(2014) * ''Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection'' (2017) ISBN 978-1250076502

Audio publications

*''Insight Meditation: A Step-By-Step Course on How to Meditate'' (2002), with Joseph Goldstein . *''Lovingkindness Meditation'' (2005) *''Guided Meditations For Love & Wisdom: 14 Essential Practices'' (2009) *''Unplug: An Interactive Kit for Giving Yourself a Break'' (2009)

Articles

A Teaching in Shambhala Sun Magazine

Life of One Piece, PBS The Buddha

How Silence Can Help Us Unplug, HuffingtonPost.com

* ttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sharon-salzberg/meditation-practice-paradigm-shift_b_820138.html/ Meditation Practice: A Paradigm Shift, HuffingtonPost.com
12 Tips on Exploring Spirituality, Blogher.com

Buddha Nature, RebelBuddha.com

Interviews

Under the Skin with Russell Brand: Will Spirituality Solve Our Global Problems?Interview with Sharon Salzberg
on CBS Religion & Culture.
Audio Interview Series
on Buddhist Geeks
Salzberg interview with Dan Harris for ABC NewsYoga and Buddhism's adaptation in the West: An interview with Ascent magazine.Salzberg discusses meditation, happiness & social media with Danny Fisher for Shambhala SunPBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Interview, 2/18/2011LA Times Interview 2/19/2011Healthy Radio Interview 2/23/2011

References

External links

* *
Sharon Salzberg audio
from the DIY Dharma site {{DEFAULTSORT:Salzberg, Sharon American Theravada Buddhists 1952 births Living people 20th-century American Jews Writers from New York City University at Buffalo alumni American Buddhists Theravada Buddhism writers Female Buddhist spiritual teachers Theravada Buddhist spiritual teachers Converts to Buddhism American spoken word artists Students of S. N. Goenka Students of Dipa Ma American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women educators 20th-century American educators 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators