Mindfulness Meditation · Lasting Happiness
This week’s meditation session is led by Jon Aaron and the theme is Lasting Happiness. The guided meditation begins at 12:00.
Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–1682) with Episodes from His Life; U region, central Tibet; 18th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2003.9.2
This exquisite painting tells the life story of Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama, who is celebrated for unifying Tibet with Mongolian military backing in 1642. The Great Fifth, as he is known, was integral in the creation of a government led by the Dalai Lamas.
In the top left of the painting, we behold His Holiness’ miraculous descent, framed in radiant rainbow light, from the Potala Pure Land of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara into his mother’s womb in central Tibet.
All of the Dalai Lamas are considered to be emanations of Avalokiteshvara, a bodhisattva who has made a vow to remain in the cycle of rebirth through countless lifetimes to work for the benefit of other beings. Bodhisattvas vow not to pass into the blissful state of nirvana until all sentient beings have attained lasting happiness.
Jon Aaron is a Dharma and mindfulness teacher in New York, Chicago, and online. Since 2006 he has taught at the New York Insight Meditation Center, offering Dharma and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes. He regularly leads retreats around the US.
Jon is primarily grounded in the Theravada tradition, alongside non-dual and Mahayana approaches. His teaching emphasizes integrating Dharma and mindfulness into daily life to foster clarity in addressing personal and social challenges. His teachers include Matthew Flickstein and, more recently, Kittisaro and Thanissara through their Dharmapala program. Jon also studied contemplative care at the Zen Center for Contemplative Care and completed the Integrated Study and Practice program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. He is a certified MBSR teacher and teacher trainer and a Somatic Experience Practitioner®.
Since moving to Chicago in 2024, he has served as an advisor with the Spiritual Life Office at the University of Chicago and started an Insight Sangha in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Jon is a founding member of the Global Mindfulness Collective. With his partner, Upayadhi, he launched the Space2Meditate community, offering daily meditation since March 2020. Additionally, he co-hosts the podcast Diggin’ the Dharma with scholar Doug Smith.
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