Mindfulness Meditation · Community
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Community. The guided meditation begins at 14:20.
Fourteenth Karmapa Tekchog Dorje; Four Arhats; Kham Province, Eastern Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2012.7.22
This 19th-century thangka painting depicts Four Arhats. The word arhat means “worthy one” in Sanskrit and serves as a title for those who have achieved awakening and will pass into nirvana upon their death. According to tradition, the Buddha selected 16 arhats to remain in the world to protect his teachings until Maitreya, the buddha of the future, can return to continue what the Buddha started. Along with being a focus of veneration particularly in East Asia, the 16 arhats also serve as ideals for moral behavior within the community. This work was either created by the Fourteenth Karmapa Tekchok Dorje (1797–1845) or made under his supervision in his workshop.
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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