Mindfulness Meditation · Intentionality
This week’s meditation session is led by Kyabgö Phakchok Rinpoche and the theme is Intentionality.
Padmasambhava; Central Tibet, possibly Bhutan; 18th century; pigments on cloth; Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.4
Padmasambhava is the teacher primarily responsible for bringing Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century. He holds a small blue container representing the thousands of terma, or treasure teachings, that he hid throughout the region for later discovery. Here he is presented holding a treasure casket in his hand.
He wears the garb of a Buddhist scholar (pandita) with a hat ornamented with golden stripes that represent his levels of knowledge. His intention to bring knowledge and enlightenment to Tibet prevails. During the fragmentation of their empire at the end of the ninth century, a time of uncertainty, Tibetans looked to their glorious imperial past as a frame of reference for the present and an aspirational model for the future. They considered the past and future similarly entwined within individual lives. Our intentions shape the future, demonstrating the fundamental fluidity of time.
Phakchok Rinpoche is a popular and beloved spiritual teacher with a style that is at once unique, dynamic, and engaging. Born in 1981 in Kathmandu, Nepal, Rinpoche was recognized soon after birth—at the early age of one—as the seventh Phakchok Rinpoche, the reincarnation of a great meditation master. He completed traditional Tibetan Buddhist education at age 23 and has taught Buddhist philosophy, theory, and practice in centers and universities worldwide. He also directs several monasteries and practice centers in Asia, North America, and South America. Rinpoche’s sharp insight into contemporary global culture makes his teachings accessible and relatable to our everyday lives and concerns. He works diligently to preserve Buddhist scholarship through the administration of Samye Translations (cofounded with his father, Tsikey Chokling Rinpoche) and oversees humanitarian projects that include running a free health clinic, offering education to monastics, and providing emergency relief for victims of natural disasters.
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