Mindfulness Meditation · Liberation Through Listening
This week’s meditation session is led by Kate Johnson and the theme is Liberation through Listening.
Kunzang Akor; Nepal, 14th century; metal; private collection of Walter Arader; AIMS. 1044.1; 57039.
From the Yungdrung Bon tradition, this sculpture depicts Kungzang Akor, a meditational form of the supreme Bon deity Shenla Okar. He sits with his hands resting in meditation, wearing a crown with the Tibetan syllable Ah inscribed on his heart. While Om serves as the primordial syllable in Buddhism, Ah represents the primordial in the Bon tradition. Much like Buddhism, Bon also teaches practices to achieve liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth as well as from the ignorance of our own minds.
Kate Johnson works at the intersections of spiritual practice, social action, and creativity. She has been practicing Buddhist meditation in the Western Insight/Theravada tradition since her early twenties and is empowered to teach through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She holds a BFA in dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University, and MA in performance studies from NYU.
Kate is a core faculty member of MIT’s Presencing Institute, and has trained hundreds of leaders and change-makers in using Social Presencing Theater, a mindfulness and dance improvisation methodology used to inform strategic planning and systems change in our complex world.
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