ABOUT THE MEDITATION
This week’s meditation session is led by Elaine Retholtz and the theme is Rebirth.
The episode begins with an opening talk followed by a 20-minute meditation. In this episode, the guided meditation begins at 7:33.
RELATED ARTWORK
Butter lamps can be found in virtually any Tibetan Buddhist temple or sacred site. This ornate example of a butter lamp is made of silver and contains turquoise. Butter lamps have an important role in daily offerings.
Butter lamps are also intended to focus the mind during meditation. Traditionally yak butter was burned inside of butter lamps. Today, especially in parts of the world where yak butter isn’t readily available, vegetable oil or ghee is often used. The light itself serves as a metaphor for illuminating awareness, just as meditation practice dispels the darkness of ignorance and leads to rebirth.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Elaine Retholtz has been studying and practicing the Dharma since 1988. In addition to teaching Dharma at New York Insight, she is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and a certified MBSR teacher trainer. She is deeply interested in helping students integrate mindfulness into daily life. Elaine is committed to deepening her own understanding of issues of diversity and the way racial conditioning in the United States affects all of us—both as individuals and in relation to the institutions we are a part of, including New York Insight. She’s been involved in New York Insight’s diversity efforts for many years.
This program is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine and supported by the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism.
