Mindfulness Meditation · Illumination
This week’s meditation session is led by Jon Aaron and the theme is Illumination. The guided meditation begins at 16:50.
Manjushri; Tibet; 15th century; Bronze with traces of gold pigment; 3 7/8 × 3 × 1 7/8 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2006.23.2
Considered the embodiment of wisdom, Manjushri is one of the most important bodhisattvas in Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Manjushri is often recognized by his attributes, including a sword, with which he assists practitioners in separating truth from illusion. As we behold Manjushri, let us reflect on how we can harness the power of discernment in our own lives.
Jon Aaron teaches meditation, Buddhist dharma, and is a Somatic Experience Practitioner® in New York City. He is well known as a teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) as well as a trainer of new teachers of this seminal eight-week curriculum. Among his primary interests are the use of meditation and somatic work in healing trauma and working with individuals with chronic pain and grief. He has been teaching for the New York Police Department in an eight-hour intervention called Cultivating Mindfulness: expanding the capacity of mind and body to work with stress, anxiety, and trauma. He is a cofounder of the MBSR Teacher Collaborative of Greater New York and a founding member of the Global Mindfulness Collaborative, and is a long-time teacher at New York Insight Meditation Center. When the pandemic hit, along with his partner he cofounded Space2Meditate, an online community of meditators that is still going strong six days a week.
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