Mindfulness Meditation · Compassion
This week’s meditation session is led by Lama Aria Drolma and the theme is Compassion. The guided meditation begins at 12:12.
Buddha Amitabha in the Pure Realm of Sukhavati; Central Tibet; 19th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.6.3
Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Boundless Light, is revered for his infinite compassion and for his vow to guide sentient beings to liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Amitabha is depicted in a similar fashion as Shakyamuni Buddha; simply dressed and holding a monk’s bowl.
Amitabha is known for his role educating bodhisattvas. In this painting, he is portrayed instructing the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, including Avalokiteshvara, Maitreya, and Manjushri.
Amitabha resides in the Pure Land of Sukhavati, meaning the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Practitioners aspire to be reborn in this land to learn dharma. In this celestial realm, transcending time, space, and motion, Buddha Amitabha is free to meditate without distraction on the liberation of all sentient beings. His supernal light emanates from his Pure Land throughout the entire cosmos.
Lama Aria Drolma is an ordained Buddhist teacher in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, who has completed over a decade of monastic study and meditation training. She is a graduate of the traditional Tibetan Buddhist retreat program spanning three years and three months, an advanced cloistered meditation training program at Palpung Thubten Choling Monastery, New York.
Lama teaches worldwide, leading retreats, workshops, and corporate meditation programs and is a popular guest speaker at universities and organizations. She emphasizes Vajrayana Buddhism and Buddhist principles, making them relevant in our everyday lives, helping us to cultivate loving kindness and compassion, and bringing about a transformation of contentment and a genuine sense of well-being.
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