Ep. 166 - Kindness, Innocence, And Emotional Awareness: A Conversation with Sharon Salzberg

Jan 27, 2026

Sharon Salzberg, a leading meditation teacher and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society, discusses her new children’s book Kind Carl. They explore how lovingkindness links to childlike innocence. Short, lively conversations cover anger, self-judgment, creative non-sitting practices, and whether kids need formal meditation. Practical stories and classroom moments illustrate how kindness can be cultivated and rediscovered.

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INSIGHT

Practice Should Lead To Action

Sharon connects meditation and social engagement: practice should fuel action to help others, not only private solace.
She urges bringing mindfulness and compassion into collective political and community work.

ADVICE

Practice Wise Hope

When hope becomes attachment, reframe it as "wise hope" or "intelligent hope" to avoid reactive cycles.
Cultivate intention without insisting outcomes to respond rather than react to circumstances.

ANECDOTE

Birth Of Kind Carl

Sharon Salzberg describes how Kind Carl was commissioned and developed with an in-house author and a French illustrator who worked independently.
She insisted Carl's expression soften after his transformation, and the illustrator adjusted his snout and smile.

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What is the relationship between Metta (lovingkindness practice) and developing, or rediscovering, a childlike innocence? How can Buddhist meditation help both kids and adults with emotional regulation and resilience? Is there anything about the way kids meet thoughts and emotions that we grown-ups can learn from? And, as Ethan wonders, are all children Democratic Socialists? Ethan welcomes dear mentor and friend Sharon Salzberg—now author of a children's book called Kind Karl (and it's an excellent one)—for a discussion about kindness, mindfulness, and rediscovering our innocence.

Sharon Salzberg is one of America's leading spiritual teachers and authors. A practitioner of Buddhist meditation for over fifty years, she is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society.

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