How can we keep walking forward, and even find renewal along the way, in this year of things blown apart? How can we hold to our sense of what is whole and true and undamaged, even in the face of loss? These are some of the questions the renowned Buddhist meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg has been taking up in virtual retreats which have helped ground many — including Krista — through this year’s many hard days. She teaches how to stay present to the world while learning kindness toward yourself.

Sharon Salzberg is one of the most esteemed teachers of meditation in the world. And she’s credited as one of the founding three who introduced Buddhist practices to mainstream Western culture in the 1970s — its psychological acuity, contemplative depths, and practical tools for living. Sharon helps far-flung people apply these in everyday life and at extreme edges of reality; she’s had a sustained presence to the families of Parkland, Florida since the school shooting there. 

Sharon Salzberg is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. Find her upcoming virtual retreat offerings with Joseph Goldstein, her co-founder and another wonderful teacher, at Dharma.org. Her newest book is Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World.

This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Sharon Salzberg — Shelter for the Heart and Mind." Find the transcript for that show at onbeing.org.