Mindfulness Meditation · Seeking Refuge
This week’s meditation session is led by Tracy Cochran and the theme is Seeking Refuge. The guided meditation begins at 14:20.
Green Tara as Protectress from the Eight Fears; Central Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.389
Resting in her celestial abode, Green Tara sits on a lotus throne surrounded by blooming flowers. As a goddess, Green Tara represents enlightened activity and is believed to intercede frequently in daily affairs. For travelers, she offers a sense of refuge as she protects from the Eight Great Fears that they might encounter on their journeys. These fears are drowning, thieves, lions, snakes, fire, spirits and flesh-eating demons, captivity or imprisonment, and elephants. Each one of these fears can be literal but can also symbolize negative mental states (craving, wrong or false views, pride, envy, hatred, doubt, avarice, and ignorance). Green Tara thus provides refuge from both external and internal struggles.
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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