Metta Hour With Sharon Salzberg

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.  

Sharon describes the spacious realm of equanimity and its role in cultivating and preserving an abiding sense of faith. When we can maintain a genuine presence with whatever comes our way, we open ourselves to the boundless compassion that stems from the deep knowing that we are a part of the larger fabric of the universe in which we exist.

Identifying and acknowledging our habitual thought patterns is the first step in developing a greater sense of awareness regarding our moment-to-moment existence. The meditative process is rooted in this recognition and subsequent experimentation with the methods that best align with where we are right now. We are asked to step out of the race for acquisition in order to begin the journey of cultivation. Our capacity to love, to connect, to share, and to see can be obscured but is never destroyed. In practice we are invited to return, abide, and dwell in the flourishing of our potential.

“It is the truth that liberates, not your efforts to be free” - J. Krishnamurti   Sharon helps us to appreciate the sense of clarity that naturally arises when our view is no longer distorted by our fears, biases, and judgments of the world around us. This truth is born of and sustained through the versatile wisdom that comes from the cultivation and subsequent embodiment of a genuine balance of the mind and heart. Meditation serves as a method of manifestation for the conditions necessary to promote and support this awakened state. Our capacity to open is innate and requires only that we uncover and nurture these qualities through our commitment to practice

How can we be passionate while remaining at ease, moving forward in our investigation without losing our center? Sharon describes meditation as a means for learning how to sit in the heart of the paradoxes that we encounter on our path. We have to remain whole-hearted, to be daring in our efforts to explore that longing we feel toward something deeper. Right-effort is crucial in maintaining the balance and avoiding the strain and self-judgment that can often accompany such endeavors. Our aspiration is both the challenge and the inspiration that we need to shift our energy and identity to something much greater than the roles we play.

Sharon discusses some of the qualities that often accompany Metta, and explains the synergistic and supportive relationship they promote. When brought together these forces generate a sense of balance that is both genuine and sustainable. Equanimity is essential in understanding the potential for these qualities to become boundless in nature. We begin to open to suffering through compassion, and discover joy in the understanding of our shared experience.

Raghu Markus returns to the Metta Hour to discuss a recent blog from Sharon regarding the role of proximity in understanding the ubiquitous nature of our lives. There is a capacity within us to see ourselves in one another as we begin to explore the intrinsic vulnerability under which we operate. The power of compassion is highlighted as a means for avoiding demonization, and enacting an energetic and compassionate response to the suffering that we encounter. Our ideas about one another are just that, ideas, and the more we are willing to investigate our pretenses through genuine interaction the more we find they are often misleading. The secret to success is found in paying attention.

Experiences come and go with a dreamlike flow that often leaves us wondering how we ever got so lost in the moment. The miracle of mindfulness comes through its ability to bring greater perspective to the full spectrum of emotions that will undoubtedly arise throughout our lives. Awareness has the power to provide refuge in every moment and we need only to remember this ever-present potential. Sharon reminds us that mindfulness can go anywhere and isn’t dependent upon circumstance

Delusion clouds our judgment and prevents us from seeing things as they truly are. It often carries with it a sense of apprehension or uncertainty, which strips us of the energy required to look deeply at our lives. One of the greatest dangers is its ability to block empathy, which can be viewed as the root of caring. If we can’t open to our own suffering, then we become incapable of opening to the suffering of others. Sharon discusses the ways that we can both recognize and dismantle delusion in an effort to gain clarity and confidence in where we chose to put our faith.

What is it that happens within certain individuals that allows an emergence from a place of suffering into a space of greater faith and trust in the world in which they navigate? This alchemical process seems to be born of an understanding and appreciation of the larger universe in which we exist. Perhaps this expansion of our very being provides a larger space in which to hold the suffering. We can’t always prevent painful experiences from occurring, but we can learn to be present with them, to merge with our suffering in a way that encourages balance and equanimity.

‘The mind is naturally radiant and pure. The mind is shining. It is because of visiting forces that we suffer’ - The Buddha Sharon identifies and thoroughly deconstructs some of the more common obstacles encountered in practice, emphasizing the non-local aspect of these intruding forces. The implications of this discovery, and continued remembrance through practice, help us to better understand the importance of knowing who we truly are. When we are at one with our true nature we no longer feel the pull toward identification with these frequent visitors. We can learn to skillfully acknowledge their presence and even invite them in, knowing and trusting that they are not to become permanent residents

Sharon outlines a few of the more powerful conditioned forces that can often motivate and form the basis for our intentions. Thankfully, she also provides some methodology for the purification of these mental states, and offers practical advice for integrating these fresh perspectives into our everyday lives. Not surprisingly, the power of practice is highlighted as a means for overcoming our more self-centered relationships to the world around us.

An exploration of the potential role of balance in bringing liberation from the tyranny of the form of practice, by looking beyond the various methods employed into the essence of our purpose in doing the work. All of our ‘skillful means’ are, in truth, toward some end, the discovery of which is the very balance we seek. The path itself is an unfolding of balance, where we create the conditions that allow us to be with absolutely anything.

Doubt is essentially a form of indecision, a crossroads at which we are hesitant to move in any specific direction. It can be truly seductive in its ability to habituate the mind, rendering us paralyzed to act in its presence. Sharon provides a revealing and inspiring dissection of this stagnant state, and explains the different ways that we can interpret and respond to the feelings that often accompany it. In putting our humility and patience into practice, we may find it preferable to discover the consequences for ourselves, rather than staying frozen in the fear of commitment.

There are so many events that occur completely unbeknownst to us throughout our day-to-day lives. Our understanding changes when we discover that the possibility exists to shift our perspective in a way that illuminates or clarifies our awareness. How and where we place our attention determines the nature of our own equanimity, and in retaining this sense of possibility, we have the power to choose an attitude of openness toward the overwhelming structure of our lives.