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Sharon Salzberg Quotes about Pain

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One of the primary conditions for suffering is denial. Shutting our mind to pain, whether in ourselves or others, only ensures that it will continue. We must have the strength to face it without turning away. By opening

One of the primary conditions for suffering is denial. Shutting our mind to pain, whether in ourselves or others, only ensures that it will continue. We must have the strength to face it without turning away. By opening to the pain we see around us with wisdom and compassion, we start to experience the intimate connection of our relationship with all beings.

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Compassion, Mind

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

Sharon Salzberg
Hurt, Pain, Thinking

There are many times when I have to remind myself that people who harm others are coming from a place of profound disconnection. It is not easy to recognize the pain such a person is in, especially because they may not be conscious of it themselves. They may present themselves to the world as just fine. If you believe human beings have a potential for deep connection, wisdom and love; the limitation in those peoples' lives becomes clearer.

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Believe, People
"A conversation with meditation teacher and co-founder of Insight Meditation Society: Sharon Salzberg". Interview with Nancy Alder, www.marandapleasantmedia.com.

It's easy for us to feel separate from other people and from other forms of life, especially if we don't have a reliable connection to our own inner world. Without insight into our internal cycles of pleasure and pain, desires and fears, there is a strong sense of being removed, apart or disconnected. When we do have an understanding of our inner lives, it provides an intuitive opening, even without words, to the ties that exist between ourselves and others.

Sharon Salzberg
Strong, Pain, Ties
Sharon Salzberg (2012). “The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love & Compassion”, p.32, Sounds True

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, Kindness, Compassion
Sharon Salzberg (2008). “The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Companion”, p.24, Sounds True

Compassion allows us to use our own pain and the pain of others as a vehicle for connection. This is a delicate and profound path. We may be adverse to seeing our own suffering because it tends to ignite a blaze of self-blame and regret. And we may be adverse to seeing suffering in others because we find it unbearable or distasteful, or we find it threatening to our own happiness. All of these possible reactions to the suffering in the word make us want to turn away from life.

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Regret, Compassion
Sharon Salzberg (2008). “The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Companion”, p.24, Sounds True

Mindfulness can play a big role in transforming our experience with pain & other difficulties; it allows us to recognize the authenticity of the distress & yet not be overwhelmed by it.

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Play, Meditation
Sharon Salzberg (2010). “Real Happiness - Enhanced Ebook Edition: The Power of Meditation: A 28-Day Program”, p.83, Workman Publishing

Throughout our lives we long to love ourselves more deeply and to feel connected with others. Instead, we often contract, fear intimacy, and suffer a bewildering sense of separation. We crave love, and yet we are lonely. Our delusion of being separate from one another, of being apart from all that is around us, gives rise to all of this pain.

Sharon Salzberg
Lonely, Emo, Pain
"Lovingkindness". Book by Sharon Salzberg, July 14, 2014.

What you learn about pain in formal meditation can help you relate to it in your daily life.

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Meditation, Helping
FaceBook post by Sharon Salzberg from Dec 07, 2016

Love as a power can go anywhere. It isn't sentimental. It doesn't have to be pretty, yet it doesn't deny pain.

Sharon Salzberg
Love, Pain, Sentimental

In a single moment we can understand we are not just facing a knee pain, or our discouragement and our wishing the sitting would end, but that right in the moment of seeing that knee pain, we're able to explore the teachings of the Buddha. What does it mean to have a painful experience? What does it mean to hate it, and to fear it?

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Hate, Teaching
"The Buddha’s Five Protections - Part 1" by Sharon Salzberg, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 29, 2010.

In our own lives and in our communities, we need to find a way to include others rather than exclude them. We need to find a way to allow our pain and suffering, individually and collectively.

Sharon Salzberg
Pain, Community, Suffering
"Taking a Shot at Peace" by Suna Senman, www.huffingtonpost.com. April 9, 2013.

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