The Game of Life

Puzzled by life? This might be the experience for you.

The Buddhist Wheel of Life is an allegorical representation of the ever-changing nature of existence. It depicts how we get trapped in habits that consume and overwhelm us, and how we can liberate ourselves from those distressing patterns. In this Museum-wide experiment and experience, the galleries will become a real-life board game in which the snakes-and-ladders of karma are spurred by your state of mind.

Guided by contemplative psychotherapist Dr. Miles Neale,participants will navigate some moral dilemmas, psychological hurdles, and a few tempting stray-from-the-path red herrings in an attempt to reach the goal: a greater awareness of our state of mind. This is the first run of The Game of Life pilot program. Be the first to try the experience and share your feedback

This image is a contemporary reimagining of the traditional Wheel of Becoming. The Rubin commissioned it from eight graphic artists: Molly Crabapple, Sanya Glisic, Ben Granoff, Rodney Greenblatt, Steven Guarnaccia, Michael Kupperman, Josh Neufeld, and Katie Skelly.

About the speaker

Dr. Miles Neale, PsyD, is a Buddhist psychotherapist in private practice and founder of the two-year online Contemplative Studies Program. Author of Gradual Awakening (2018) and co-editor of Advances in Contemplative Psychotherapy (2017), Miles is a faculty member of Tibet House, United States, and Weill Cornell Medical College. With more than twenty years integrating the mind science and meditative practices of Tibetan Buddhism with psychotherapy, trauma research and neuroscience, Miles is a forerunner in the emerging field of contemplative psychotherapy, and he leads pilgrimages around the Buddhist world.

Lead support for Brainwave is provided byScience Sandbox, an initiative of Simons Foundation, and by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Major support is provided by Gerry Ohrstrom, Rasika and Girish Reddy, and Noah P. Dorsky.

Program support is provided by Eileen Caulfield Schwab, Eva and Yoel Haller, Cheryl Henson, and Heather Beth Henson.