Mindfulness Meditation · Serenity
This week’s meditation session is led by Rebecca Li and the theme is Serenity. The guided meditation begins at 21:17.
Buddha Shakyamuni; Amdo Province, Eastern Tibet; 16th century; Pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.1.5
This painting conveys serenity through Shakyamuni Buddha’s meditative gaze. The Buddha is portrayed in an ascetic manner, to demonstrate how he renounced all attachment to the material world. His right hand is pointing downward, calling upon the earth as witness of his enlightenment.
The top register of the painting features the eminent 14th-century Buddhist teacher and founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, Lama Tsongkhapa and two of his esteemed students Khedrup and Gyaltsap. The bottom register of the painting features the wrathful protectors Begtse and Damchen Ganwai Nagpo.
The Buddha is seated in the vajra, or lotus posture. This was his pose when he attained enlightenment in that sacred spot under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, India. The Buddha’s calm presence suggests that serenity arises from an inner state of balance. As we gaze upon him, let us open our hearts to serenity.
Dr. Rebecca Li, a dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. She teaches meditation and dharma classes, gives public lectures, and leads retreats in North America and Europe. Li is the author of Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times, and her book Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method was published by Shambhala Publications in 2023. She is a sociology professor and lives with her husband in New Jersey.
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