Mindfulness Meditation · Rebirth
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Rebirth. The guided meditation begins at 22:02.
Stories of the Previous Lives of the Buddha (Jataka); Eastern Tibet; Late 17th-18th century; Pigments on cloth; 37 × 26 in. (estimated); Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2004.20.1
Tales of Buddha Shakyamuni’s past lives (jataka) are some of the most well-known narratives in Himalayan cultures and are often presented in a series of paintings, with each painting depicting a part of the collection of stories. Presented as small vignettes, these narrative scenes are usually arranged around a central image of the Buddha and visually separated by landscape elements.
The traditional set of 34 tales, which was later expanded to 108, includes the stories of the Buddha’s previous lives as a bodhisattva, king, merchant, and animal. For example, the scenes in the upper-right corner of this painting depict the story of when the Buddha, in his life as an elephant, saved a group of starving wanderers in the forest by sacrificing his body, hurling himself over a ledge for his sustenance.
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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