Theme: Care
About the Meditation
Meditation session led by Sharon Salzberg.
The guided meditation begins at 13:21.
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 with thanks to our presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project and Parabola Magazine.
Related Artwork
This small painting most likely comes from Ladakh in the western Himalayas, where a number of monuments are decorated with similar naive paintings. This red buddha with his left hand in the gesture of giving is one of the Eight Medicine Buddhas, most likely Abhijnaraja, who occupies the northeastern direction in the mandala. Not only do the figure’s color and gesture conform to the representation of Abhijnaraja, but many of the other figures shown in this painting are associated with the northeast. The buddha is flanked by two white bodhisattvas, one holding a vase, the other a lotus. In the bottom row from left to right are the directional guardians Yaksha and Ishana, the Earth Goddess, and the Four Great Kings. In the top corners are Maitreya and an Indian scholar.
About the Speaker
Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, has guided meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Sharon’s latest book is Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. She is a weekly columnist for On Being, a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and the author of several other books including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Sharon has been a regular participant in many onstage conversations at the Rubin.