The Rubin is transforming. Read important updates from our Executive Director.
close-button

About the Meditation

Meditation session led by Rebecca Li.

The guided meditation begins at 17:50

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.

Presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and the Interdependence Project. This program is supported in part by the Hemera Foundation.

idp_two_logo

RELATED ARTWORK

Theme:Gratitude

Vasudhara, Goddess of Abundance; Nepal; 17th century; Gilt Copper Alloy; Rubin Museum of Art; C2007.27.2 (HAR 65795)
Vasudhara, Goddess of Abundance; Nepal; 17th century; gilt copper alloy; Rubin Museum of Art; C2007.27.2 (HAR 65795)

Vasudhara, a Buddhist goddess of wealth and harvest, is closely linked with Jambhala, another important god of wealth. Vasudhara has many forms and is also depicted as the consort of Jambhala.

Sitting in the lalitasana. or pose of royal ease, Vasudhara is a goddess associated with autumn in the Kathmandu Valley. Her name means “shower of wealth” and is worshiped after the rice harvest. Her lower right hand is open with her palm facing forward in a gesture of offering while her middle left hand holds a rice stalk. After the rice is harvested, her image is placed upon piles of rice stalks as a means of expressing gratitude for the abundance of the season. Her body appears yellow much like rice stalks, with yellow also being the color of generosity as well.

About the Speaker

Rebecca Li, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. She started practicing with Master Sheng Yen in the 1990s and served as his translator until his passing in 2009. She later trained with and received full Dharma transmission from one of his Dharma heirs, Dr. Simon Child, in 2016. Dr. Li teaches meditation and Dharma classes, gives public lectures, and leads retreats in North America and the United Kingdom. She is a sociology professor at The College of New Jersey, where she also serves as faculty director of the Alan Dawley Center for the Study of Social Justice. Her latest book is Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times. Find her talks and writings at www.rebeccali.org.

zoom