Mindfulness Meditation · Intention
This week’s meditation session is led by Elaine Retholtz and the theme is Intention. The guided meditation begins at 13:25.
Page of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) Sutra Manuscript; Tibet; ca. 13th-14th century; Pigments, Gold and Silver Inks on paper; 27 3/4 x 36 1/4 x 2 1/4 in. (70.5 x 92.1 x 5.7 cm); Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.669
The Buddha’s oral teachings were recorded as sutras and envisioned as images. The practice of reciting sutras helps practitioners foster a stronger mindset of intention.
At the time of their writing, the sutras represented the latest development in Buddhist philosophy and practice. The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra is one of the earliest recorded and most important sutras. It presents the means to comprehend and perfect the essential Buddhist wisdom—namely that the self is a construct. The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra developed concepts that later became known as the Greater Vehicle, or Mahayana movement.
With the intention of generating merit, wealthy patrons commissioned artists and scribes to create decorative manuscripts such as this one. These remarkable works serve as objects of devotion. Reciting sutras is associated with purifying spaces, and generating well-being and prosperity. Most importantly, hearing the sutras is said to deepen one’s connection with the teachings.
Elaine Retholtz has been studying and practicing the Dharma since 1988. In addition to teaching dharma at New York Insight, she is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and a certified MBSR teacher trainer. She is deeply interested in helping students integrate mindfulness into daily life. Elaine is committed to deepening her own understanding of issues of diversity and the way racial conditioning in the United States affects all of us—both as individuals and in relation to the institutions we are a part of, including New York Insight.
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