Mindfulness Meditation · Awakening
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Awakening. The guided meditation begins at 11:59.
Stories of the Previous Lives of the Buddha (Jataka); Eastern Tibet; Late 17th-18th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2004.20.1
Tales of Buddha Shakyamuni’s past lives (jataka) are some of the most well-known narratives in Himalayan cultures and are often presented in a series of paintings, with each painting depicting a part of the collection of stories. Presented as small vignettes, these narrative scenes are usually arranged around a central image of the Buddha and visually separated by landscape elements. The traditional set of 34 tales, which was later expanded to 108, includes stories of the Buddha’s previous lives as a bodhisattva, king, merchant, and animal.
Tracy Cochran has taught meditation and spiritual practice for many years. She is a speaker and author whose most recent book, Presence: The Art of Being At Home in Yourself, was published by Shambhala Publications in 2024. Tracy is the founder and leading teacher of the Hudson River Sangha and has taught mindfulness and mindful writing at New York Insight, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, and many other venues. In addition to serving as the editorial director of the acclaimed spiritual quarterly Parabola, her writings have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, The Best Spiritual Writing series, Parabola, and many other publications and anthologies. For more about Tracy, please visit tracycochran.org and parabola.org.
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