A Conversation with Sylvia Boorstein
2008 Commencement Speaker
By Tracy Byars
Sylvia Boorstein, author, psychotherapist, meditation teacher and co-founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, previews her commencement speech on spiritual growth and a life of service. The speech can be viewed in its entirety in our Audio/Visual section.
Does your commencement speech "Connecting to the World as the Cause of Happiness," propose that helping to alleviate the suffering of others will bring happiness?
It does. I believe that the desire to be of service in the world is inherent in spiritual practice. I was born into a family of social activists who believed that every person is responsible for establishing a just society. In my 30s, I would have said that social activism was my spiritual practice. When I began my meditative practice 30 years ago, I sometimes heard the critique that meditation is self-centered. I never believed it. It has never been my experience. In fact, the more I personally know what leads to happiness and relief of suffering, the more committed I am to service. Indeed, the more I experience the suffering I feel when I am self-absorbed and the freedom and happiness I feel when I experience myself in caring connection with others, the more I am committed to serve.
When my mind is reasonably focused and at ease, my best wisdom presents itself and my natural compassion and kindness becomes available. I believe that is true for everyone. Growing spiritually for me means acknowledging how much suffering there is in the world and how much—by lessening ignorance and increasing wisdom—suffering could be alleviated. My dedication to cultivating a peaceful and passionate mind is inspired by my faith that I'm contributing to making a better world.
Most ITP students want to grow spiritually, and at the same time to be of service to others. What advice do you have for them?
I believe that spiritual growth and service to others go together. When my mind is held captive by my own suffering I can't be of service to others. To stay motivated, to notice the needs of others, to be of service to them, requires that I keep my own mind relaxed and appreciative. To the degree that I have been able to keep my mind clear—through meditation, prayer, teaching, studying, working on my personal relationships—I have become more confirmed than ever in my belief that everything that I or anybody else does has wide-ranging effects. I want my practice to be on behalf of all beings.
Sylvia Boorstein is a co-founding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA and a Senior Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She has been a psychotherapist since 1967, a Behavioral Sciences faculty member at College of Marin from 1970-1984, a regular panelist at American Psychiatric Association conferences discussing the interface of psychotherapy and meditation, and has had a number of articles published in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology.
In 1996, she was part of the 26-member delegation of American Buddhist teachers meeting the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala to discuss issues of teaching Buddhism in the West. She has spoken at many Jewish meditation conferences about the integration of mindfulness and loving-kindness practice into Jewish religious practice. She helped design the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, was a member of its first faculty, and co-leads an annual training retreat for rabbis who teach mindfulness.
Dr. Boorstein has written five books on meditation and Buddhism, the most recent being Happiness Is An Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life. She was honored as Noted Humanist Scholar by Saybrook Institute and most recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Since 1991, she has taught an ongoing weekly class at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, and she has written a column for The Shambhala Sun magazine since 2002.
