Mindfulness Meditation · Love
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Love. The guided meditation begins at 15:13.
Green Tara; Tibet; 13th century; Brass with inlays of silver; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.30
The goddess Tara epitomizes loving kindness. She is known as a protector who helps travelers combat the eight great fears: drowning, lions, fire, snakes, rampaging elephants, marauding thieves, false imprisonment, and demons. These fears can be taken literally and also represent negative emotions that must be wiped out to achieve enlightenment: craving, false views, pride, envy, hatred, doubt, avarice, and ignorance. This sculpture has a strong Indic aesthetic and a finely modeled face. The proportionally large head with a tall hair knot, large simple hoop earrings, dark metal patina, and subtle sense of motion suggest it is an early sculpture from central Tibet.
Tracy Cochran has taught meditation and spiritual practice for many years. She is a speaker and author whose most recent book, Presence: The Art of Being At Home in Yourself, was published by Shambhala Publications in 2024. Tracy is the founder and leading teacher of the Hudson River Sangha and has taught mindfulness and mindful writing at New York Insight, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, and many other venues. In addition to serving as the editorial director of the acclaimed spiritual quarterly Parabola, her writings have appeared in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, The Best Spiritual Writing series, Parabola, and many other publications and anthologies. For more about Tracy, please visit tracycochran.org and parabola.org.
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