Mindfulness Meditation · Light and Dark
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Light and Dark. The guided meditation begins at 14:20.
Wheel of Life; Tibet; early 20th century; Pigments on cloth; 65 5/8 × 40 3/4 × 1 1/2 in.; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2004.21.1
The Wheel of Life depicts Yama, the god of death, holding within his grasp the five realms where all beings exist. The realms (from the top, moving clockwise) are home to gods, humans, hungry ghosts, hell beings, and animals. The three poisons—ignorance, hatred, and desire, symbolized by the boar, snake, and rooster—cause continuous rebirths among the realms. While the wheel represents the endless suffering that defines existence, the Buddha stands outside of the circle pointing towards a moon and wheel, suggesting that ultimately there is a way out of the Wheel of Life.
Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, has guided meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Her latest book is Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World. 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, 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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