“Our Relationship with Pain and Suffering” | Sharon Salzberg

“World religions teach us that suffering is part of the human condition. Our attempts to avoid suffering prevent us from experiencing essential insights and awareness that lead to spiritual healing and growth. Individually and collectively, we must step into the shadows, sit with our fears, and embrace vulnerability. Spiritual teachings and practices help us transform the darkness into light, the fallow to the fertile, and awaken a deep level of awareness and accountability. Through these teachings, can we come to confront our shortcomings and broken behaviors? How can we face America’s most egregious acts, including genocide and slavery? How can feminine insight hold space for the darkness so that we can be transformed?”