Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She is among the first to bring mindfulness & lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over fifty years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers.

A co-founder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, Sharon is the author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller, Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindess.

Sharon’s first children’s book, Kind Karl: A Little Crocodile with Big Feelings, co-authored with Jason Gruhl, is set for release in late 2025 from Shambhala Publications. 

Sharon’s popular podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed over eight million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.

Born in New York City in 1952, Sharon Salzberg experienced considerable loss and turmoil as a child coming of age in the late fifties and early sixties. At the age of 16, she graduated from George Washington High School in Washington Heights, going on to graduate summa cum laude from the State University of New York, Buffalo, with a Bachelor of Arts in 1972.

full biography

Sharon first encountered Buddhism in 1969 in an Asian philosophy course at SUNY Buffalo. The class sparked an interest that, in 1970, took her to India for an independent study program. Her travel was motivated by "an intuition that the methods of meditation would bring me some clarity and peace." And by January 1971, Sharon attended her first intensive meditation course in Bodh Gaya, India. That retreat sparked an early realization of the power of meditation to overcome her deep personal suffering– it also determined her life direction. She spent the next years intensively studying meditation and Buddhist Philosophy with a handful of highly respected meditation teachers in India and Burma. By 1974, Sharon returned to America to begin a lifelong passion for teaching meditation.

After several years of teaching in casual settings in the United States, there was a growing impetus amongst Sharon and her colleagues to establish their own meditation retreat center to meet the growing interest. That dream was realized in 1976 with the founding of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, by Sharon, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield. In 1989, this vision expanded with the co-founding of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies and, in 1998, the Forest Refuge, a long-term retreat center on IMS property. Today these centers serve as a few of the West's most renowned and active meditation centers.

Outside of her teaching and leadership at the IMS, Sharon has emerged as a featured speaker and teacher worldwide, from working with 9/11 first responders to domestic violence shelter workers. She has spoken on panels alongside HH The Dalai Lama, addressed audiences at the State of the World Forum, offered keynotes at health and wellness conferences, and dialogues on spiritual life. She aims to empower folks with the tools to navigate life in an engaged and connected way, offering non-sectarian retreats and study opportunities for all, especially those who face oppression and injustice. 

Central to Sharon's teaching and studies is the written word. She is the author of fourteen books, including the New York Times bestseller “Real Happiness” and the seminal, “Lovingkindness.” Her published books include:

"Lovingkindness" – Shambhala 1995

"A Heart As Wide As The World" – Shambhala 1997

“Voices of Insight” – Shambhala 1999 (Editor)

"Faith" – Riverhead Books 2002

"The Force of Kindness" – Sounds True 2005

"The Kindness Handbook" – Sounds True 2008 

"Real Happiness" – Workman 2010 & 19 

"Love Your Enemies" w/ Robert Thurman – Hay House 2013 & 23

"Real Happiness at Work" – Workman 2013

"Real Love" – Flatiron Books 2017

"Real Change" – Flatiron Books 2021

"Real Life" – Flatiron Books 2023

"Finding Your Way" – Workman 2023

“Kind Karl” w/ Jason Gruhl – Shambhala 2025

Sharon's short-form writing can also be found on Medium, the Maria Shriver blog, and Huffington Post. She was a weekly columnist for On Being from 2015 to 2018 and a contributing editor of Oprah's O Magazine for several years. She has appeared in Time Magazine, The New York Times, Yoga Journal, Spirituality and Health, Lion's Roar Magazine, Tricycle, Mashable, GQ, Forbes, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Bustle, USA Today, Mindful, Thrive Global, Women's Health, Real Simple, Body & Soul, Good Housekeeping, Psychology Today, Selff, Buddhadharma, and Shambhala Sun.

Sharon's podcast, the Metta Hour, has amassed over eight million downloads and features hundreds of interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond. Guests include John O'Donohue, H.H. Dalai Lama, Alanis Morrissette, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ram Dass, Gabor Maté, Parker Palmer, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, bell hooks, Yung Pueblo, Roseanne Cash, Joseph Goldstein, Tara Brach, and Jack Kornfield. New episodes are available bi-monthly.

Sharon has also appeared on a variety of podcasts, including The Moth Radio Hour, On Being, Lifehackers, Big Think Podcast, KCRW, Tim Ferris, Meditative Story, Rich Roll, Duncan Trussell Family Hour, You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, Under the Skin with Russell Brand, Ten Percent Happier, and Elephant Journal.

Today, Sharon resides in Barre, Massachusetts and New York City. Her teachings are available online through her online store as well as IMS Online, Ten Percent Happier App, Insight Timer App, Soundstrue, Maloka (VR), and Twill.

Press Kit