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About the Meditation

Meditation session led by Rebecca Li

The guided meditation begins at 19:44.

For centuries Himalayan practitioners have used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase focus. Now Western scientists, business leaders, and the secular world have embraced meditation as a vital tool for brain health.

Whether you’re a beginner, a dabbler, or a skilled meditator seeking the company of others, join expert teachers in a forty-five-minute weekly program designed to fit into your lunch break. Each session will be inspired by a different work of art from the Rubin Museum’s collection and will include an opening talk, and a twenty-minute sitting session.

This program is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project and Parabola Magazine.

Related Artwork

Manjushri; Nepal; 17th century; Gilt copper alloy; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Ralph Redford; C2008.25 (HAR 57008)
Manjushri; Nepal; 17th century; Gilt copper alloy; Rubin Museum of Art; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Ralph Redford; C2008.25 (HAR 57008)

Theme:Awareness

Manjushri

Manjushri is one of the most important figures in Mahayana Buddhism and is known as the Bodhisattva of Great Wisdom. In this sculpture he sits on a lotus pedestal and has four arms. The slim proportions of the body and the well-articulated arms and torso convey an impression of youthfulness. The scrolling motif on the halo, the openwork of lotus pedestal, and the articulate rendering of the face suggest an alignment with Nepalese aesthetic conventions. The sculpture may have been produced for a Tibetan patron in a Nepalese workshop.

About the Speaker

Rebecca Li, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. She started practicing with Master Sheng Yen in the 1990s and served as his translator until his passing in 2009. She later trained with and received full Dharma transmission from one of his Dharma heirs, Dr. Simon Child, in 2016. Dr. Li teaches meditation and Dharma classes, gives public lectures, and leads retreats in North America and the UK. She is a sociology professor at The College of New Jersey, where she also serves as faculty director of the Alan Dawley Center for the Study of Social Justice. Her latest book is Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times. Find her talks and writings at www.rebeccali.org.

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