Mindfulness Meditation · Liberation Through Listening
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Liberation through Listening.
Mandala of Manjushri Dharmadhatu Vagishvara; Tibet; 16th century (ca. 1500); Pigments on cloth; 29 x 27 in. (73.7 x 68.6 cm); Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1996.15.2
Resting in the center of this magnificent mandala sits Manjushri, the glorious one with a melodious voice. He has eight arms and four heads and is surrounded by 219 other gods making up his retinue. One of a complex system of mandalas, this form of Manjushri is meant to be used as a yidam, a deity for meditation. When practitioners get advanced enough in their meditation, they can talk to the god and ask them questions. Listening to the god’s answers reveals the innate wisdom within a practitioner that we all have the potential to receive.
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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