Mindfulness Meditation · Compassion
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Compassion. The guided meditation begins at 18:30.
Tara as Protectress from the Eight Fears; Eastern Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; 27 1/8 × 22 1/2 in. (estimated); Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.17.7
Tara is the principal example of a female Buddha—someone who actually lived and achieved enlightenment. Tara was able to choose what form she would take when she attained enlightenment. She vowed to appear in female form in order to emphasize the importance of the feminine principle, particularly the wisdom to realize the true nature of reality, to other beings seeking enlightenment. Her name means “star,” but Buddhists prefer to use the term “saviouress.” Tara is both: If wandering travelers or merchants can find the North Star, they are saved from being lost. Revered in all schools of Himalayan and Central Asian Buddhism, Tara is second in popularity only to the All-Seeing Lord Avalokiteshvara, the patron deity of Tibet.
Sharon Salzberg, Cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, has guided meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Her latest books are Real Life: The Journey from Isolation to Openness and Freedom and Finding Your Way: Meditations, Thoughts, and Wisdom for Living an Authentic Life. She is a weekly columnist for On Being, a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, and the author of several other books, including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, and Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Ms. Salzberg has been a regular participant in the Rubin’s many on-stage conversations and regards the Rubin as a supplemental office.
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