Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

This is one of the best books that I have read in the area of Buddhism. Salzberg's writing style is warm and friendly but is nonetheless clear and to the point. While a teacher of meditation and Buddhism, she expresses great psychological understanding of emotion and writes with the acumen of a trained therapist. In this book, Salzberg describes meditations on the brahma viharas: lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. These are the "divine abodes," sometimes called the cardinal virtues of Buddhism. Salzberg provides a clear rationale as to why these types of meditation are beneficial and how to do them. The practice is deep, but can be started by any beginner through the means described in this book. The benefits of this type of meditation are nothing short of impressive. Within a few days of doing metta meditation (lovingkindness), I began to notice emotional changes in myself--feeling more happiness, warmth, and caring. This book is highly accessible to non-Buddhists. Practicing these techniques does not require a religious conversion. Anyone who values basic virtues such as kindness, compassion, and emotional balance will find these techniques agreeable. They are based on psychological principles and were designed to increase emotional well-being.

Loving-kindness meditation is unique to our Buddhist traditions, and in this book Sharon Salzburg presents us with an informative body of work on it's practice. She uses her understanding and know-how drawn from many years of practice to point each and every one of us to the realization that the light of love is already within us all. Loving-kindness must be aimed at two sources: ourselves and all beings.Sharon talks a bit about what holds us back from this realization, ranging from our attachments to antagonism. One of the first rules to breaking down these impediments is the act of giving, not just giving in a material sense but ultimately giving the breadth of our very being; compassionate action, not just loving-kindness thoughts. This book should speak to all of us, and for this reason alone I give it 5 stars.

Sharon Salzberg is such a capable, warm, and inspiring voice for Western Buddhism. This work beautifully weaves together Buddhist philosophy and practice, reality and practicality, compassion and joy. She fleshes out concepts of meditation and mindfulness using her own experiences, often amusing, without drawing attention to herself. Rather, she is a skilled teacher who guides the student on his/her own journey. Whether Buddhist or not, beginner mind or monk, most readers will celebrate this work.

This is one of the few books I would actually read over and over. It's incredibly down-to-earth and is full of great quotes you keep in mind all day long. It invites you to think about your perception of yourself and others in a very different light. There is so much common sense in the buddhist way of relating to each other, but we don't often use our common sense.