“The practice of sympathetic joy is rooted in inner development. It’s not a matter of learning techniques to “make friends and influence people.” Instead, we build the foundations of our own happiness. When our own cup is full, we more easily share it with others.”

author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practice

Sharon Salzberg is an author and teacher of Buddhist meditation practice in the West. She co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, in 1974 with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. Her work centers on vipassanā, or insight, and mettā, or loving-kindness, and she has led meditation retreats around the world for several decades. She is known for writing and teaching in that tradition, with an emphasis on practice and attention to the mind.