Mindfulness Meditation · Resilience
This week’s meditation session is led by Rebecca Li and the theme is Resilience. The guided meditation begins at 18:11.
Guhyasamaja Akshobhyavajra; Central Tibet; early 17th century (ca. 1604); Pigments on cloth; 30 1/8 × 24 1/8 in. (estimated); Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.31.13
The meditation deity Akshobhyavajra, described in the Secret Assembly (Guhyasamaja) Tantra, symbolically unites the five buddha families. Three-headed, six-armed, holding a vajra and bell, and embracing a consort, he represents the ultimate form of Buddha Akshobhya and the unification of method and wisdom that allows one to overcome duality. The enlightened qualities and wisdom of the five constituents (skandhas) of the human body and mind are developed through the resilient practices of visualization, meditation, and ritual.
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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