Mindfulness Meditation · Intentionality
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Intentionality. The guided meditation begins at 15:05.
Prayer Wheel; Tibet; 19th - 20th century; Wood, metal, and pigments; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Thomas Isenberg; SC2010.32a-h
In Tibetan Buddhist culture, followers are instructed to spin a prayer wheel filled with thousands of inscribed mantras, or mani, written on paper tightly wrapped around a central pole inside a cylinder that encases them. It is believed that turning the wheel has the same effect as reciting the prayers and mantras, leading to the accumulation of merit and wisdom while purifying negative karma for a practitioner; it also releases these mantras into the world, benefitting countless beings.
This stationery prayer wheel would have been placed outside of a temple or shrine so visitors could turn the wheel while circumambulating it or while walking into or out of the temple. This circumambulation, repetition of mantra, and wheel spinning are highly ritualized.
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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