Mindfulness Meditation · Generosity
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Generosity.
Buddha Shakyamuni and Stories of his Previous Lives; Tibet; mid-late 14th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2003.50.4
This thankga features Buddha Shakyamuni flanked by Manjushri and Maitreya and surrounded by the 16 great aharts. Farther out in the perimeter are cells depicting scenes of the Buddha’s previous lives before he attained awakening. Known as the jataka tales, these stories present the Buddha in many different forms. Each one of the tales extolls a particular virtue that the Buddha perfected in order to become enlightened.
Many jataka tales focus on generosity, but one of the most powerful stories tells of how the Buddha found a starving tigress who was so hungry that she was on the verge of eating her cubs. In order to feed the tigress, he sacrificed his body by jumping off a cliff, letting the tigress feed on him instead of her cubs. The painting depicts this scene on the second row from the bottom, in the fifth square from the left.
Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She was among the first to bring mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation to mainstream American culture over 50 years ago, inspiring generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon is cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and the author of 14 books, including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness, now in its second edition, and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. Sharon’s podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed eight million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.
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