If you had only one year to live, what would you do?

Talks December 1, 2023 | 56 min 55 sec

How Wisdom Grows

Sylvia Boorstein

In this Dharma talk, Sylvia Boorstein explores the quiet, radical transformation that long-term practice invites—not through grand revelations, but through deepening kindness and attention. She shares stories from her life—of family, teaching, aging, and vulnerability—that illuminate how practice shapes the heart over time. “What’s changed about you?” her husband once asked. “I got kinder,” she replied. This, she says, is the fruit of practice: “habituating the heart to kindness, because it’s the wisest thing to do.”


Sylvia Boorstein

Sylvia Boorstein

Residential Retreat Teacher

Sylvia Boorstein, PhD, has taught Dharma and mindfulness meditation since 1985 and is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock. A psychologist as well as a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she emphasizes daily life, citizenship, and social activism as integral to practice. Her books include It’s Easier Than You Think, Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There, That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist, Pay Attention for Goodness’ Sake, and Happiness Is an Inside Job.


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