For the third week of The Rubin Daily Offering, meditation teacher and sustainability coach Kate Johnson joins the Rubin’s Chief Experience Officer Jamie Lawyer to explore how the gestures, mudras, and postures seen in artworks at the Rubin Museum can inspire us to be present in our bodies during challenging times.
In this episode, Jamie Lawyer introduces us to a painting of Buddha Ratnasambhava and the generosity mudra. Then Kate Johnson leads a meditation to explore how Ratnasambhava can inspire us to feel and spread a sense of generosity and abundance in our lives.
Buddha Ratnasambhava with Wealth Deities; Tibet; early to mid-14th century; Mineral pigments on cloth; 32 × 26 in. (estimated); Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.39
Pratisara, one of the Five Protector Goddesses; Central Tibet, possibly Densatil Monastery; mid-14th to mid-15th century; Gilt copper alloy; 11 3/4 × 9 3/4 × 7 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2005.16.21
Shiva Vishavarupa, Universal form with Consort; Nepal; mid-19th century; Pigments on cotton; 63 1/2 × 38 3/8 in. (estimated); Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2003.20.2
Ganesha; Nepal; 17th century; Copper alloy; 8 7/8 × 6 1/8 × 2 3/4 in.; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2004.22.2
Kate Johnson works at the intersections of spiritual practice, social action, and creativity. She has been practicing Buddhist meditation in the Western Insight/Theravada tradition since her early twenties and is empowered to teach through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She holds a BFA in dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University, and MA in performance studies from NYU.
Kate is a core faculty member of MIT’s Presencing Institute, and has trained hundreds of leaders and change-makers in using Social Presencing Theater, a mindfulness and dance improvisation methodology used to inform strategic planning and systems change in our complex world.
Jamie Lawyer is the deputy executive director at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art. She previously served as the chief experience officer at the Rubin and the head of interpretation, digital learning, and evaluation for the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.
Get the latest news and stories from the Rubin, plus occasional information on how to support our work.