Mindfulness Meditation · Aspiration
This week’s meditation session is led by Kimberly Brown and the theme is Aspiration.
Reliquary, Stupa; Tibet; 14th century; Copper alloy; 28 × 10 1/2 × 10 3/4 in.; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2003.12.2
This reliquary chamber, known as a stupa, possibly held the possessions and remains of a prominent teacher. Dating to the earliest stages of Buddhism, stupas can range in size from a few inches to several stories high. Traditionally Buddhists walk clockwise around stupas in order to receive good merit. While not a contemplative practice like meditation, this type of circumambulation expresses a practitioner’s aspiration to gain enough merit to be reborn in a position where they can fully commit to becoming enlightened.
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 book Navigating Grief and Loss: 25 Buddhist Practices to Keep Your Heart Open to Yourself and Others was published in 2022, and an updated edition of Steady, Calm, and Brave was released in 2023. Both are published by Prometheus Books.
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