Mindfulness Meditation · Compassion
This week’s meditation session is led by Elaine Retholtz and the theme is Compassion. The guided meditation begins at 10:12.
Buchung Nubgya; Life Story of Nangsa Wobum; New York City; 2020; Mineral pigments on cloth; Overall: 72 1/2 x 54 x 2 5/8 in.Image: 36 x 25 1/2 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; SC2020.2.1
The story of Nangsa, who comes back to life after death, begins with the wondrous birth of a girl to a childless couple. The Tibetan girl wants to pursue a religious path but is forced to marry and have a child. Brutally mistreated by her husband for giving alms to Buddhist ascetics, she dies and faces the judgment of the Lord of Death who sends her back to continue her virtuous life.
Alive again, Nangsa describes seeing the beings suffering in hell due to their actions in this and past lives, as well as the salvation of others thanks to their compassionate acts and religious devotion. Her story affects the lives of people around her who change their ways of behavior to avoid unfortunate rebirths.
Elaine Retholtz has been studying and practicing the Dharma since 1988. In addition to teaching dharma at New York Insight, she is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and a certified MBSR teacher trainer. She is deeply interested in helping students integrate mindfulness into daily life. Elaine is committed to deepening her own understanding of issues of diversity and the way racial conditioning in the United States affects all of us—both as individuals and in relation to the institutions we are a part of, including New York Insight.
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