Mindfulness Meditation · Offering
This week’s meditation session is led by Rebecca Li and the theme is Offering. The guided meditation begins at 19:51.
Tall Offering Table; Tibet; 19th century; Wood, pigments; 28 1/2 × 35 1/4 × 16 1/4 in.; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Sandy Song Yan; C2012.5
In Tibetan Buddhist settings, tables like this one hold offerings and ritual implements for a lama or ritual specialist to use during ceremonies. The table is usually positioned to the right of the throne or seat of the lama performing the ritual. This tall example is deeply carved and painted. The central upper section shows the symbolic three jewels flanked by dragons and cloud motifs. Carvings imitating bamboo, a square knot, and textile designs decorate the rest. Offering tables are also used for altars and hold images or representations of the Buddha’s enlightened body, speech, and mind. Some objects displayed on an offering tables serve as teaching aids, including a glass of water, flowers, and fruits.
Dr. Rebecca Li, a dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. She teaches meditation and dharma classes, gives public lectures, and leads retreats in North America and Europe. Li is the author of Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times, and her book Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method was published by Shambhala Publications in 2023. She is a sociology professor and lives with her husband in New Jersey.
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