Mindfulness Meditation · Care
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Care. The guided meditation begins at 17:44.
The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso (1617-1682) with Previous Incarnations; Central Tibet; 18th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1996.29.3
The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngagwang Lobzang Gyatso, depicted here holding a lotus and a vase of longevity, was the first theocratic ruler of a unified Tibet. His status is expressed through a language of divine inheritance, the succession of past glorious empires through reincarnation. The Fifth Dalai Lama identified himself as an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, depicted in this painting at top center. Avalokiteshvara was not only the patron deity of Tibet but also the founder of the Tibetan Empire, Songtsen Gampo (r. 617–650), was considered his emanation. By asserting himself as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the Dalai Lama was symbolically declaring that his was a divine kingship and more specifically that he was in the lineage of the Tibetan emperor who first united Tibet and thus positioned himself as the rightful inheritor of the old Tibetan Empire.
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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