Buddhist Psychology and the Three Personality Types

Buddhist psychology describes three personality types based on how we wake up in the morning, how we eat, and what we first notice in a room (something pleasing, something displeasing, or nothing much at all). Although we all have all three tendencies, it’s fun and educational to see if one predominates and to locate oneself, one’s challenges, and ultimately one’s strengths through this schema.

The three in unpurified form are the grasping, aversive, and deluded types. Through mindfulness, each one is transformed—grasping into trust, aversion into penetrating intelligence, and delusion into equanimity. This workshop led by Sharon Salzberg will include discourse, discussion, and guided meditation. Suitable for new or experienced meditators.

About the Presenter

Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, has guided meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Sharon’s latest book is Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. She is a weekly columnist for On Being, a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and the author of several other books including the New York Times best-seller Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Sharon has been a regular participant in the Rubin’s many on-stage conversations.