Mindfulness Meditation · Love
This week’s meditation session is led by Geshe Lhakdor and the theme is Love. The guided meditation begins at 18:29.
Maitreya (or Buddha Shakyamuni); Tibet; 14th century; Brass with copper alloy, silver and copper inlay; 9 3/4 × 6 × 4 7/8 in.; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.33
Maitreya is the buddha of the future who will usher in a golden age of peace and harmony, and is said to currently reside in the Tushita Heaven. It is prophesied that he will arrive on earth during an age when the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni have been largely forgotten, and herald a new era for all sentient beings.
Maitreya is typically depicted as a bodhisattva or in buddha form, as he appears here. He has the ushnisha, cranial protuberance and elongated earlobes, which are iconographically associated with the Buddha.
Geshe Lhakdor has served His Holiness the Dalai Lama as his translator and religious assistant since 1989. A distinguished Buddhist scholar, Geshe was the English translator for His Holiness from 1989 to 2005. He has co- translated and co-produced several books by the Dalai Lama. As director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, Geshe facilitates the Science for Monks program and shares his own expertise as a scholar of science and philosophy.
Geshe is a trustee of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility, established by His Holiness. He is also the director of the Central Archive of His Holiness and a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Tibetan Classics in Montreal, Canada. He is now the director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamshala India, and head of the Science Education Project.
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