What do you think?
Rate this book
Trái Tim Thiền Tập
Từ những ngày đầu bước chân vào con đường tu học Phật, tôi đã cảm thấy chắc chắn rằng thế nào tôi cũng sẽ tìm được cho mình một lối sống chân thật và an lạc. Vào thời ấy, cuộc sống của tôi bị chi phối bởi nhiều rối ren và sợ hãi. Tôi cảm thấy xa lạ với tất cả mọi người, với thế giới chung quanh, và ngay cả với những kinh nghiệm của chính mình. Trong thế giới của tôi có một sự phân biệt rõ rệt: tôi và người, đúng và sai. Và tất nhiên, lối nhìn ấy chỉ làm tăng thêm nỗi sợ hãi và đau khổ của tôi mà thôi.
Khi bước chân vào con đường tu tập, tôi ý thức rằng ta có khả năng giải thoát ra khỏi cảm giác cách biệt ấy, rằng chúng ta có thể sống trong một sự nối liền không giới hạn, bằng một con tim bao la vô tận. Cuộc đời của Đức Phật đã thể hiện được điều ấy. Hành động của Đức Phật lúc nào cũng là một biểu hiện của tình thương và tuệ giác; dù ngài sống một mình hay ngồi yên thiền định, dù trong lúc tiếp xúc với người sùng mộ hay kẻ hủy báng ngài. Không một hoàn cảnh nào có thể giới hạn được lòng từ bi của Đức Phật. Trái tim của ngài rộng lớn và bao dung như thế giới này.
Tinh túy của đạo Phật là tất cả chúng ta, ai cũng đều có một khả năng từ bi và an lạc đó. Tiềm năng ấy không có gì là trừu tượng hoặc viển vông. Nó không phải để dành riêng cho những người sống trước ta mấy ngàn năm ở một nơi chốn xa xôi nào khác. Một cuộc sống nối liền và chân thật có thể là một hiện thực của chính ta, ngay bây giờ và ở đây. Nó thuộc về ta. Khám phá được rằng con tim ta có thể thật sự rộng lớn đủ để ôm trọn hết mọi kinh nghiệm trong cuộc đời này - khổ đau và hạnh phúc – chính là nền tảng của con đường tu tập. Từ đó ta sẽ tìm được một niềm an lạc và thảnh thơi trọn vẹn.
Lối sống ấy đã được nhà thơ Rilke diễn tả thật đẹp:
Tôi sống đời tôi giữa những vòng tròn nới rộng
Chúng vươn ra ôm trọn thế giới này
Có lẽ tôi sẽ không hoàn tất được vòng chót
Nhưng tôi sẽ hết lòng.
Tôi hy vọng quyển sách này sẽ khuyến khích được bạn đem chánh niệm, tình thương và tuệ giác vào cuộc sống bằng sự tu tập của mình. Và bạn sẽ khám phá ra rằng trái tim của mình có thể rộng lớn, bao la như thế giới. Hoặc như Rilke nói: chỉ cần ta hết lòng mình mà thôi.
Khi bước chân vào con đường tu tập, tôi ý thức rằng ta có khả năng giải thoát ra khỏi cảm giác cách biệt ấy, rằng chúng ta có thể sống trong một sự nối liền không giới hạn, bằng một con tim bao la vô tận. Cuộc đời của Đức Phật đã thể hiện được điều ấy. Hành động của Đức Phật lúc nào cũng là một biểu hiện của tình thương và tuệ giác; dù ngài sống một mình hay ngồi yên thiền định, dù trong lúc tiếp xúc với người sùng mộ hay kẻ hủy báng ngài. Không một hoàn cảnh nào có thể giới hạn được lòng từ bi của Đức Phật. Trái tim của ngài rộng lớn và bao dung như thế giới này.
Tinh túy của đạo Phật là tất cả chúng ta, ai cũng đều có một khả năng từ bi và an lạc đó. Tiềm năng ấy không có gì là trừu tượng hoặc viển vông. Nó không phải để dành riêng cho những người sống trước ta mấy ngàn năm ở một nơi chốn xa xôi nào khác. Một cuộc sống nối liền và chân thật có thể là một hiện thực của chính ta, ngay bây giờ và ở đây. Nó thuộc về ta. Khám phá được rằng con tim ta có thể thật sự rộng lớn đủ để ôm trọn hết mọi kinh nghiệm trong cuộc đời này - khổ đau và hạnh phúc – chính là nền tảng của con đường tu tập. Từ đó ta sẽ tìm được một niềm an lạc và thảnh thơi trọn vẹn.
Lối sống ấy đã được nhà thơ Rilke diễn tả thật đẹp:
Tôi sống đời tôi giữa những vòng tròn nới rộng
Chúng vươn ra ôm trọn thế giới này
Có lẽ tôi sẽ không hoàn tất được vòng chót
Nhưng tôi sẽ hết lòng.
Tôi hy vọng quyển sách này sẽ khuyến khích được bạn đem chánh niệm, tình thương và tuệ giác vào cuộc sống bằng sự tu tập của mình. Và bạn sẽ khám phá ra rằng trái tim của mình có thể rộng lớn, bao la như thế giới. Hoặc như Rilke nói: chỉ cần ta hết lòng mình mà thôi.
378 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
86 people are currently reading
1509 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Salzberg
80 books1,374 followersOne of America’s leading spiritual teachers and authors, Sharon Salzberg is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. She has played a crucial role in bringing Asian meditation practices to the West. The ancient Buddhist practices of vipassana (mindfulness) and metta (lovingkindness) are the foundations of her work.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 28 of 29 reviews
October 22, 2020
Salzberg gives a powerfully honest account of spiritual mirages pursued, and the homecoming she finds when really facing her present moment. Her stories of everyday insights are mixed with tales of travel around the world, and of being inspired by great teachers, so at times the book seems a report of great adventures rather than an ordinary life. But the places, the faces, and the adventures all convey one basic experience: the fullness of life she discovers when really connecting to the present moment.
November 7, 2009
I love this book and reread it periodically. I have it on my nightstand. I felt the need to revisit it's pages after losing my nephew and my high school friend. It was time for introspection and centering again. I recommend it to anyone open to Eastern thought.
April 6, 2019
A book to live by, day by day, moment by moment. This book was a gift, a kiss, an angel. An answer to prayer, even? What a blessing to have found it!
October 27, 2025
So much thought and experience is woven into this small book. I also appreciated Salzberg's clarity and economy of words.
October 9, 2021
The author is an American Buddhist; I’ve previously read and reviewed another of her books – Lovingkindness. I loved that one; and this one too, but found this one in places more difficult to grasp.
The book deals with mindfulness, wisdom and compassion.
Wisdom and compassion consistently guided the actions of the Buddha. Norhing seemed to limit his compassion; he had “a heart as wide as the world”.
The author tells us that the essence of the Buddha’s teaching is that we all have the same capacity for compassion and for peace; we can learn how our own heart can become as wide as the world.
She conveys her personal experiences, and tells us of her various teachers; this makes the book very readable.
When we practise meditation, we learn to let go of all the voices telling us what we need. We already have what we need, We should let the world go, and when we practise meditation we let go.
Sharon tells us that we can “discover the treasure of our original nature” and be free.
We practise meditation to be aware, no matter what we are doing.
Sharon went to India to learn meditation and to learn to love people the way the Buddha did. She found out she was seeking the ability to love herself “with clear seeing yet with undiminished compassion”.
We are told about her teacher, Dipa Ma, who endured a great deal of suffering, and it was this that led her to meditation practice. She transformed her personal grief into love for all beings. “As she meditated, she looked deeply at her suffering and found great compassion for herself and for all beings.”
We learn about Anapana, awareness of the breath; this is one of the most fundamental objects of concentration that the Buddha taught
The four Brahma Viharas are practices that inspire and deepen our connection to each other.
The first Brahma Vihara, lovingkindness, is the practice of friendship.
The second Brahma Vihara is compassion.
The third Brahma Vihara, sympathetic joy, is the practice of actively taking delight in the happiness of others.
“When the happiness of others is our own happiness, we are acknowledging our connection to each other, We become part of a community.
The fourth Brahma Vihara is equanimity; the predominant tone of equanimity is one of calm.
Sometimes when learning to meditate, we're told to sit like a mountain – this is an image of equanimity.
These four practices are accomplished by inclining the mind toward love and compassion. We begin with someone for whom it is easy for us to feel lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy or equanimity. Then we include others we care for, those to whom we are indifferent, those we dislike, and finally all beings everywhere.
“Mindfulness is a quality of awareness that sees directly whatever is happening in our experience and meets it face to face.”
I found the present book more difficult than “Lovingkindness”, but it too is wonderful and bears reading more than once.
If you are interested in mindfulness, lovingkindness, compassion, meditation or the like, I highly recommend that you read this and the other books by Sharon Salzberg. You will not be disappointed,
The book deals with mindfulness, wisdom and compassion.
Wisdom and compassion consistently guided the actions of the Buddha. Norhing seemed to limit his compassion; he had “a heart as wide as the world”.
The author tells us that the essence of the Buddha’s teaching is that we all have the same capacity for compassion and for peace; we can learn how our own heart can become as wide as the world.
She conveys her personal experiences, and tells us of her various teachers; this makes the book very readable.
When we practise meditation, we learn to let go of all the voices telling us what we need. We already have what we need, We should let the world go, and when we practise meditation we let go.
Sharon tells us that we can “discover the treasure of our original nature” and be free.
We practise meditation to be aware, no matter what we are doing.
Sharon went to India to learn meditation and to learn to love people the way the Buddha did. She found out she was seeking the ability to love herself “with clear seeing yet with undiminished compassion”.
We are told about her teacher, Dipa Ma, who endured a great deal of suffering, and it was this that led her to meditation practice. She transformed her personal grief into love for all beings. “As she meditated, she looked deeply at her suffering and found great compassion for herself and for all beings.”
We learn about Anapana, awareness of the breath; this is one of the most fundamental objects of concentration that the Buddha taught
The four Brahma Viharas are practices that inspire and deepen our connection to each other.
The first Brahma Vihara, lovingkindness, is the practice of friendship.
The second Brahma Vihara is compassion.
The third Brahma Vihara, sympathetic joy, is the practice of actively taking delight in the happiness of others.
“When the happiness of others is our own happiness, we are acknowledging our connection to each other, We become part of a community.
The fourth Brahma Vihara is equanimity; the predominant tone of equanimity is one of calm.
Sometimes when learning to meditate, we're told to sit like a mountain – this is an image of equanimity.
These four practices are accomplished by inclining the mind toward love and compassion. We begin with someone for whom it is easy for us to feel lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy or equanimity. Then we include others we care for, those to whom we are indifferent, those we dislike, and finally all beings everywhere.
“Mindfulness is a quality of awareness that sees directly whatever is happening in our experience and meets it face to face.”
I found the present book more difficult than “Lovingkindness”, but it too is wonderful and bears reading more than once.
If you are interested in mindfulness, lovingkindness, compassion, meditation or the like, I highly recommend that you read this and the other books by Sharon Salzberg. You will not be disappointed,
June 10, 2017
I have heard this author mentioned a lot so I was excited to read this book. I just could not get into it. For me, I think it is because I have already too many other books on the same topic or I just do not care for the author?
January 3, 2025
This is an amazing book that weaves together wisdom and compassion in as integrated and inspiring a fashion as any I've come across. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in reading just one book from among the many written by the first 60s' generation of US converts.
The one blindspot/disappointment (and given current events it is hard to ignore) is that while the author raises numerous specific instances of social suffering (including numerous non-US based examples) and even specifically describes some of her experiences in Israel (see Western Wall on p150 for example), the only mention of a Palestinian is of a man described as committing an act of terrorism. Other than that Palestinians are only referred to (if at all) as objects that Israelis should have compassion for (as part of their own journey to be free from suffering) but never as subjects in their own right and spending time in the West Bank or Occupied Jerusalem doesn't lead the author to engage with questions of how the Israeli state structures suffering vis a vis Palestine.
9. Devoted to practice, she transformed her personal grief into love for all beings.
26. These old habits cannot take root in our hearts in quite the same way. Even when they arise, there is a porous quality to them, so that we need not be afraid of them any longer, and we can choose not to follow their call.
30. The writer Wendell Berry says that, "the smallest unit of health is a community."
39. Many of us come to meditation practice specifically to find our real home.
56. Our task is to drop below the level of the repetitive thoughts and, mindfully and compassionately, experience what we are actually feeling.
59. But rather than hate ourselves or dwell in helpless shame, we can dramatically change the field in which our karmic seeds ripen by developing mindfulness and lovingkindness. This is the basis of a spiritual life.
63 We can remember that our chosen practice is a context in which we can allow the truth to reveal itself.
65. Steve Armstrong [...] "It is better to do nothing than to waste your time."
66. The movement that is uniquely helpful in meditation is to come back, to relax, to let go of leaning forward, to let go of grasping. We can relax even from the anticipation of our next breath. We settle back, return to the present, and return to ourselves. This is what is meant by nondoing.
106. This is the one teaching of the Buddha: the truth of suffering is also the path to the end of suffering.
109. Opening to the suffering of others may bring us uneasiness, but we, and potentially the world, are transformed by that opening.
133. The state of compassion is whole and sustaining; the compassionate mind is not broken or shattered by facing states of suffering. It is spacious and resilient. Compassion is nourished by the wisdom of our interconnectedness. [...] Wisdom of our interconnectedness arises hand in hand with learning to truly love ourselves. The Buddha said that if we truly loved ourselves, we would never harm another. [...]
By bringing awareness to the truth of the present moment, and also holding a vision of our heart's deepest wish to be loving toward all, we establish our dedication to compassion.
157-8. The feeling of compassion grows in us when we know how the energy of love is available all around us and yet how so many people are lonely. [...] Joyful compassion comes from knowing the wonderful capacity of the human heart to connect, and wishing that more of us felt connected to each other. [...] "Happiness is available ... please help yourself," says Thich Nhat Hanh.
169. This is the essence of the Buddha's practice: our heart's release from suffering, not the adoption of a sectarian identification.
171. The end of deluded attachment to all things, including the path, is the end of the path.
173. If we take care of others, others will take care of us, and "otherness" itself will drop away.
3-4 needs; deprivation
7-8. self-love
13-14 connection
15 capacity for freedom
20-1. letting go. "
22-25 concentration; happiness; self-respect
32-3 compassion; sympathetic joy
41. eyes unclouded by longing (vs tantra?)
45-8 working skillfully w/ attachment
49-51. anger
62. unuseful rx to teachers (see Michael Author on coaching)
82-3 acceptance; quality of awareness
88-9. positive aspect of hindrances/personality types
117. empathy as connection and freedom from suffering/disconnection
118. nirvana
132. guilt (as self-hatred and anger) & remorse (as guide to repair)
141-2, 161. ritual forgiveness as community hygeine
The one blindspot/disappointment (and given current events it is hard to ignore) is that while the author raises numerous specific instances of social suffering (including numerous non-US based examples) and even specifically describes some of her experiences in Israel (see Western Wall on p150 for example), the only mention of a Palestinian is of a man described as committing an act of terrorism. Other than that Palestinians are only referred to (if at all) as objects that Israelis should have compassion for (as part of their own journey to be free from suffering) but never as subjects in their own right and spending time in the West Bank or Occupied Jerusalem doesn't lead the author to engage with questions of how the Israeli state structures suffering vis a vis Palestine.
9. Devoted to practice, she transformed her personal grief into love for all beings.
26. These old habits cannot take root in our hearts in quite the same way. Even when they arise, there is a porous quality to them, so that we need not be afraid of them any longer, and we can choose not to follow their call.
30. The writer Wendell Berry says that, "the smallest unit of health is a community."
39. Many of us come to meditation practice specifically to find our real home.
56. Our task is to drop below the level of the repetitive thoughts and, mindfully and compassionately, experience what we are actually feeling.
59. But rather than hate ourselves or dwell in helpless shame, we can dramatically change the field in which our karmic seeds ripen by developing mindfulness and lovingkindness. This is the basis of a spiritual life.
63 We can remember that our chosen practice is a context in which we can allow the truth to reveal itself.
65. Steve Armstrong [...] "It is better to do nothing than to waste your time."
66. The movement that is uniquely helpful in meditation is to come back, to relax, to let go of leaning forward, to let go of grasping. We can relax even from the anticipation of our next breath. We settle back, return to the present, and return to ourselves. This is what is meant by nondoing.
106. This is the one teaching of the Buddha: the truth of suffering is also the path to the end of suffering.
109. Opening to the suffering of others may bring us uneasiness, but we, and potentially the world, are transformed by that opening.
133. The state of compassion is whole and sustaining; the compassionate mind is not broken or shattered by facing states of suffering. It is spacious and resilient. Compassion is nourished by the wisdom of our interconnectedness. [...] Wisdom of our interconnectedness arises hand in hand with learning to truly love ourselves. The Buddha said that if we truly loved ourselves, we would never harm another. [...]
By bringing awareness to the truth of the present moment, and also holding a vision of our heart's deepest wish to be loving toward all, we establish our dedication to compassion.
157-8. The feeling of compassion grows in us when we know how the energy of love is available all around us and yet how so many people are lonely. [...] Joyful compassion comes from knowing the wonderful capacity of the human heart to connect, and wishing that more of us felt connected to each other. [...] "Happiness is available ... please help yourself," says Thich Nhat Hanh.
169. This is the essence of the Buddha's practice: our heart's release from suffering, not the adoption of a sectarian identification.
171. The end of deluded attachment to all things, including the path, is the end of the path.
173. If we take care of others, others will take care of us, and "otherness" itself will drop away.
3-4 needs; deprivation
7-8. self-love
13-14 connection
15 capacity for freedom
20-1. letting go. "
22-25 concentration; happiness; self-respect
32-3 compassion; sympathetic joy
41. eyes unclouded by longing (vs tantra?)
45-8 working skillfully w/ attachment
49-51. anger
62. unuseful rx to teachers (see Michael Author on coaching)
82-3 acceptance; quality of awareness
88-9. positive aspect of hindrances/personality types
117. empathy as connection and freedom from suffering/disconnection
118. nirvana
132. guilt (as self-hatred and anger) & remorse (as guide to repair)
141-2, 161. ritual forgiveness as community hygeine
April 30, 2018
Not bad work for a nice, comfortable, middle class, professional Buddhist, but I've read better books on Buddhist philosophy and practice written by monks who didn't make a penny from their books' publication. Not life changing. She's a decent popularizer of Buddhist philosophy and practice. May she be blessed for that.
March 30, 2020
This book has been my morning companion for at least six weeks. I’ve been drinking it in little sips every day. When I turned the last page, I felt sadness, like saying goodbye to a wise and loving friend. I’m so glad this collection of essays is in the world and I can visit it again. So rich and real and comforting and challenging. Sharon Salzberg is a gift.
October 26, 2021
A timeless treasure. Spreading Compassion through her anecdotal vignettes as a meditation teacher and student of some of the most amazing teachers of our time, this book is a must read. As an 18 year old traveling to India in the 70's though her experiences as a teacher at the Insight Medication Society in Barre MA, this book is an inspiring read and is MUCH needed read these times.
August 5, 2017
Salzberg teaches with such clarity. This is a profound and pithy guide to both mindfulness and Metta meditation.
November 3, 2021
There were s lot of good nuggets in this book and her writing is very clear on complicated topics. I wish there had been more of a clear thread connecting each chapter.
February 3, 2022
Enjoyed it. A book that you have to take in pieces - you can't swallow it whole.
September 10, 2022
I loved this book. Sharon's stories really helped illustrate the concepts. Full of love as well as teachings. I savored every page toward the end.
December 19, 2022
Another fantastic Salzberg read. I love all her books! Lots of storytelling in here.
Want to read
May 31, 2024ملاحظة لي - لم اقرا الكتاب بعد
how giving and generosity help men and women to cross barriers and to create a better mutual world for themselves
how giving and generosity help men and women to cross barriers and to create a better mutual world for themselves
February 22, 2013
Reading this is a very mixed experience for me. I hate the writing. I find it quite banal, quotidian, and served up in toilet reading 1-2 page chapters. The reading experience is very aggravating. And yet after reading it for a bit later I find myself in a lovely post meditation state of being. Maybe it was the book, maybe not. But since one can find more interesting writing that also uplifts, why bother with this? Good for non compulsive readers, perhaps.
January 26, 2024
I really loved this book. It was part of my morning meditation ritual. Be patient with your mediation process, don't be lazy, chili peppers may be good for you and don't forget the charnel grounds.
01/2024 I kept thinking towards the end that I had read bits of this in another compilation. Nope, I read it before. It was good the 2nd time too!
01/2024 I kept thinking towards the end that I had read bits of this in another compilation. Nope, I read it before. It was good the 2nd time too!
May 6, 2008
This lovely collection of reflections by Sharon Salzberg covers many aspects of the Buddhist path which special but not exclusive reference to metta.The pieces are concise,warm and wise. Perfect retreat reading.
November 16, 2016
Beautiful and inspiring tales woven in with meditation practice. I throughly enjoyed this book. Salzberg's anecdotes allow you to feel connected and mindful of many situations as they are figuratively applicable in so many ways.
August 12, 2009
I just attended a meditation retreat with Sharon Salzburg, this book captures that retreat.
Lovingkindness towards every living being, including ourselves.
Lovingkindness towards every living being, including ourselves.
March 15, 2011
Another amazing Jew who is a Buddhist! Seriously amazing.
July 14, 2011
Good book, easy to read, helpful on the path.
March 13, 2012
As always, Sharon Salzberg provides us with grist for the mill. If you're interested in Buddhist meditation, you'd be hard pressed to find a better guide.
June 12, 2014
Was unable to finish - have not been the biggest fan of the two works I've read of Sharon Salzberg. She seems to talk a lot about herself and never arrive at any real point.
February 13, 2015
Short essays she makes about her world and experiences in a Buddhist framework.
Read
July 10, 2017Một cuốn sách hay về thiền tập và nhiều thứ khác nữa khiến tôi hiểu rõ về đạo phật và chánh niệm hơn. Một cuốn sách hay và bổ ích với mình. Quyển này có lẽ mình sẽ đọc lại nhiều lần.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 29 reviews