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Theme: Perspectives

About the Meditation Podcast

Meditation session led by Kimberly Brown.

The guided meditation begins at 14:45.

For centuries Himalayan practitioners have used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase focus. Now Western scientists, business leaders, and the secular world have embraced meditation as a vital tool for brain health.

Whether you’re a beginner, a dabbler, or a skilled meditator seeking the company of others, join expert teachers in a forty-five-minute weekly program designed to fit into your lunch break. Each session will be inspired by a different work of art from the Rubin Museum’s collection and will include an opening talk, a twenty-minute meditation session, and a closing discussion.

This program is supported in part by the Hemera Foundation with thanks to our presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine.

Related Artwork

White Tara With Long Life Deities; Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth;Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; F1996.32.5
White Tara with Long Life Deities; Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art; gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation; F1996.32.5

According to Buddhist belief, at the moment of death we have an opportunity to attain an enlightened state of mind. But our own karma brings up various visions, including terrifying ones. If we do not recognize them as projections of our own mind, we cannot reach the enlightened state or a good rebirth. This painting depicts the deities described in a 14th-century text, “The Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: The Profound Teachings of Self-Liberated Wisdom Mind,” as well as the famous “Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State.” The teachings of this text allow practitioners to prepare and train their minds for this future eventuality. Often ritual specialists read these instructions to the deceased as the means of guiding them through the difficult process of transitioning to a future existence.

About the Speaker

Kimberly Brown

Kimberly Brown is a meditation teacher and author. She leads classes and retreats that emphasize the power of compassion and kindness meditation to reconnect us to ourselves and others. Her teachings provide an approachable pathway to personal and collective well-being through effective and modern techniques based on traditional practices. She studies in both the Tibetan and Insight schools of Buddhism and is a certified mindfulness instructor. Her new book, Navigating Grief And Loss: 25 Buddhist Practices to Keep Your Heart Open to Yourself and Others, will be published in November, and an updated edition of Steady, Calm, and Brave will be released in January 2023. Both are published by Prometheus Books. You can learn more about Kimberly on her website.

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