This week’s meditation session is led by  Swami Chidananda and the theme is Wisdom. The guided meditation begins at 15:30.

Milarepa (1052–1135) is one of the most highly regarded poets and mystical teachers from Tibet. He lived a life of radical transformation. According to his life story, as a young man, he committed murder. He realized the error of his ways, purified his negative karma, and went on to become an elevated Buddhist teacher, guiding others on the path to awakening.

On his journey of transformation, Milarepa renounced his attachment to the physical world. He let go of all of his possessions of any value, with the exception of his cooking pot. One day, Milarepa fell and his pot went cascading down the mountainside and broke. Instead of lamenting the loss of his pot, Milarepa composed the song, “I once had a pot, now I do not.” The song ends: 

           The clay pot, so important, the whole of my wealth,

           Becomes my lama in the moment it breaks, 

           Teaching impermanence, how amazing! 

The story of Milarepa and the cooking pot illustrates how we can relinquish attachment and embrace change.