Love Your Enemies - by Sharon Salzberg & Robert Thurman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Coping with anger and pain is more challenging than ever in these times--and more necessary. Two acclaimed Buddhist teachers offer strategies and wisdom in a book that's been called "possibly the most inspiring and liberating meditation on love ever written."

When people and circumstances upset us, how do we deal with them? Often, we feel victimized. We become hurt, angry, and defensive. We end up seeing others as enemies, and when things don't go our way, we become enemies to ourselves.

But what if we could move past this pain, anger, and defensiveness?

Inspired by Buddhist philosophy, this book introduces us to the four kinds of enemies we encounter in life: the outer enemy, people, institutions, and situations that mean to harm us; the inner enemy, anger, hatred, fear, and other destructive emotions; the secret enemy, self-obsession that isolates us from others; and the super-secret enemy, deep-seated self-loathing that prevents us from finding inner freedom and true happiness.

In this practical guide, we learn not only how to identify our enemies, but more important, how to transform our relationship to them. Love Your Enemies teaches us how to . . .
- break free from the mode of "us" versus "them" thinking
- develop compassion, patience, and love
- accept what is beyond our control
- embrace lovingkindness, right speech, and other core concepts

First published in 2013, Love Your Enemies is, more than ever, required reading for navigating our world. Throughout, authors Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman draw from ancient spiritual wisdom and modern psychology to help you find peace within yourself and with the world.

* Includes new prefaces from both authors *

Review Quotes

"If life is a struggle, this book is your friend. Its whispered truths, like the first inklings of the dawn, bring both relief and recognition. Return to it time and again; its good humor and wise counsel are a balm for the soul."
--Mark Epstein, author of The Trauma of Everyday Life

"If there are two beings in the whole world whom I trust with my whole heart to give powerful, honest, kind, and deeply truthful teachings that can free us from burning in the mental anguish that is the 'new normal' in these anxious and fear-ridden times, it is Tenzin Bob Thurman and Sharon Salzberg. Having known both of them for many years, I can say that I am blessed that they are with me on this desert island called Earth."
--Krishna Das, musician and author of Chants of a Lifetime

"Brilliant! Love Your Enemies is possibly the most inspiring and liberating meditation on love ever written."
--Robert Holden, Ph.D., author of Shift Happens! and Loveability

About the Author

Sharon Salzberg (Author)
Sharon Salzberg is co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts. She has been a student of Buddhism since 1971, guiding meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Sharon's latest book is The Power of Meditation. She is also the author of The Kindness Handbook (Sounds True, 2008), The Force of Kindness (Sounds True, 2005), Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience (Riverhead, 2002) and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Shambhala, 2002). For more information about Sharon, please visit her website: www.SharonSalzberg.com.

Robert Thurman (Author)
Robert Thurman is Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the Department of Religion at Columbia University, President of Tibet House US, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Tibetan civilization, and President of the American Institute of Buddhist Studies. The New York Times recently hailed him as "the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism."