This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Love.
Often described as a specific form of Avalokiteshvara, Amogapasha Lokesvhara sits in a pose of royal ease with his right hand extended in a gift-giving gesture and his left hand placed in front of his heart holding a lotus flower. The name Amogapasha means “unfailing lasso or noose” and refers to his endless love that actively lifts up beings and brings them closer to their enlightenment.
According to Sonam Tsemo, a 12th-century Tibetan Scholar, Amogpasha is the nirmankaya or “created body” of Avalokiteshvara that manifests itself in time and space. Amogpasha then is the form of Avalokiteshvara that beings can experience in this world and through his loving kindness can experience relief in their suffering.
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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