ABOUT THE MEDITATION
This week’s meditation session is led by Michel Pascal and the theme is: Liberation.
The guided meditation begins at 13:47.
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.
RELATED ARTWORK
Amitayus Buddha is the subtle body of the limitless form of Amitabha Buddha. Amitabha Buddha appears in the apparitional form of Amitayus Buddha in order to teach bodhisattvas through visionary experiences.
The name Amitayus Buddha means “The Enlightened One of Immeasurable Life.” He is also known as the Lord of Limitless Life and Pristine Awareness.
Both Amitabha Buddha and Amitayus Buddha are portrayed with red bodies. Amitabha Buddha is depicted in a similar fashion as Shakyamuni Buddha. He is dressed with simplicity and holds a monk’s bowl. Whereas Amitayus Buddha has the adornments of a Bodhisattva. Amitayus Buddha holds a long-life vase filled with the nectar of immortality. His gently smiling face gazes with compassion at all beings.
Amitayus Buddha resides in a Pure Land. In this celestial realm, transcending time, space, and motion, he is free to meditate without distraction on the liberation of all sentient beings. His supernal light emanates from his Pure Land throughout the entire cosmos.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michel Pascal, a meditation teacher for 25 years, has led successful programs for prisoners, which help prevent suicides and reduce reoffending. He’s written 20 books on spirituality, including Meditation for Daily Stress: 10 Practices for Immediate Well-being. Known as “The Medicine Voice,” he’s performed at Carnegie Hall and at the 2023 Peace Day concert in Times Square. He will present his methods at the United Nations on December 10.
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.