Mindfulness Meditation Podcast · Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art

Mindfulness Meditation with Sharon Salzberg 07/03/2025

·31 min·2 clips

Sharon Salzberg reveals how jealousy over a friend's bestseller list spot can block our own happiness.

This episode features a guided meditation session from the Ruben Museum of Himalayan Art, hosted by Tashi Chodron and led by renowned teacher Sharon Salzberg. The session connects a specific artwork to the monthly theme of joy for a contemplative practice. Sharon Salzberg is introduced as a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and a prolific author on meditation. The chosen artwork is an 18th-19th century Tibetan Thangka depicting Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, in his Potala Pure Land. Host Tashi Chodron describes the figure's bejeweled ornaments, hand gestures holding a mala and lotus, and supporting figures like Green Tara. Salzberg's talk focuses on cultivating "sympathetic joy," which is finding happiness in the happiness of others. She contrasts this with the common reactions of jealousy or envy when witnessing another's success. Salzberg explains that envy often stems from false assumptions, like believing happiness is a limited commodity or that another's gain is our loss. She shares a personal anecdote about teaching on this topic while friends with best-selling books were present. She references His Holiness the Dalai Lama, quoting him as saying feeling happiness for others increases our odds of feeling happy "by eight billion to one." Salzberg notes sympathetic joy is considered one of the most difficult yet liberating of the heart qualities to develop. A key insight is that sympathetic joy does not require abandoning personal discernment or values. The practice can be strengthened by first cultivating gratitude for what one already has. The subsequent guided meditation instructs listeners to anchor attention on the natural breath, using gentle notation like "in, out." The practice emphasizes a kind recovery when the mind wanders, framing each return to the breath as a new beginning. The tone is instructional and gently encouraging, blending art historical description with Buddhist psychology. The style is a calm, spoken-word guide intended for direct participation. Listeners interested in integrating art with meditation or exploring Buddhist concepts like mudita will appreciate this episode. Those seeking a purely secular mindfulness exercise or a narrative-driven podcast might find it less engaging.

As heard by us

A quiet lesson in joy that keeps envy, discernment, and practice in view.

Mindfulness Meditation with Sharon Salzberg centers on sympathetic joy, treating happiness for others as a practice rather than a mood to admire.

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Why you'd press play

You want a kinder way to work with envy without losing discernment.

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