Suffering Quotes by Sharon Salzberg

“The heart contracts when our bodies are overcome by shame.”

— Sharon Salzberg

“Real love allows for failure and suffering.”

— Sharon Salzberg

“Never feel ashamed of your longing for happiness.”

— Sharon Salzberg

“We exercise kindness in any moment when we recognize our shared humanity—with all the hopes, dreams, joys, disappointments, vulnerability, and suffering that…

— Sharon Salzberg

“Pain & suffering requires time, awareness, and an intentional practice of self-love to disentangle.”

— Sharon Salzberg

“Letting go of the belief that we’re powerless to help relieve our own suffering enhances our ability not only to heal but…

— Sharon Salzberg

“A particularly difficult line to navigate is the one between fear and love, especially for parents, who want more than anything to…

— Sharon Salzberg

Some things hurt, you know, and there's pain. But we magnify the suffering of it often, I think, by our reactions.

— Sharon Salzberg

All beings want to be happy, yet so very few know how. It is out of ignorance that any of us cause…

— Sharon Salzberg

“Shame weakens us. It can make us frightened to take on something new. We start to withdraw from whatever might give us…

— Sharon Salzberg

In order to do anything about the suffering of the world we must have the strength to face it without turning away.

— Sharon Salzberg

In our own lives and in our communities, we need to find a way to include others rather than exclude them. We…

— Sharon Salzberg

As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time.…

— Sharon Salzberg

By engaging in a delusive quest for happiness, we bring only suffering upon ourselves. In our frantic search for something to quench…

— Sharon Salzberg

Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and to feel connected with others. Instead, we often contract, fear intimacy,…

— Sharon Salzberg

If we have a very strong commitment, so that we can trust ourselves and be beacons of trust for others no matter…

— Sharon Salzberg

“Seeking happiness is not the problem. The problem is that we often do not know where and how to find genuine happiness…

— Sharon Salzberg

“When we respond to our pain and suffering with love, understanding, and acceptance—for ourselves, as well as others— over time, we can…

— Sharon Salzberg

To remember non-attachment is to remember what freedom is all about. If we get attached, even to a beautiful state of being,…

— Sharon Salzberg

One of the primary conditions for suffering is denial. Shutting our mind to pain, whether in ourselves or others, only ensures that…

— Sharon Salzberg

In contrast, compassion manifests in us as the offering of kindness rather than withdrawal. Because compassion is a state of mind that…

— Sharon Salzberg

Compassion allows us to use our own pain and the pain of others as a vehicle for connection. This is a delicate…

— Sharon Salzberg

“What happens in our hearts is our field of freedom. As long as we carry old wounds and anger in our hearts,…

— Sharon Salzberg

The first of the four noble truths of Buddhism, that there is suffering in life, was enormously important to me. No one…

— Sharon Salzberg

We come to meditation to learn how not to act out the habitual tendencies we generally live by - those actions that…

— Sharon Salzberg

It's a rare and precious thing to be close to suffering because our society - in many ways - tells us that…

— Sharon Salzberg

It's difficult to admit to ourselves that we suffer. We feel humiliated, like we should have been able to control our pain.…

— Sharon Salzberg

We need the compassion and the courage to change the conditions that support our suffering. Those conditions are things like ignorance, bitterness,…

— Sharon Salzberg

Compassion allows us to bear witness to suffering, whether it is in ourselves or others, without fear; it allows us to name…

— Sharon Salzberg

“Once we are honest about our feelings, we can invite ourselves to consider alternative modes of viewing our pain and can see…

— Sharon Salzberg