Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation 10/14/2015 with Rosemary Blake

Episode Date: October 13, 2015

Every Wednesday, the Rubin Museum of Art presents a meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of the weekly practice. If you would like to attend in person, please visit our website at RubinMuseum.org/meditation to learn more. We are proud to be partnering with Sharon Salzberg and the teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center. This week’s session will be led by Rosemary Blake. To view a related artwork from the Rubin Museum's permanent collection, please visit: http://rma.cm/i0

I'm your host, Dawn Eshelman. Every Wednesday at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, we present a meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of our weekly practice. If you would like to join us in person, please visit our website at rubinmuseum.org slash meditation to learn more. We are proud to be partnering with Sharon Salzberg and the teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center. In the description for each episode, you will find information about the theme

for that week's session, including an image of a related artwork chosen from the Rubin Museum's permanent collection. And now, please enjoy your practice. It is a delight, kind of, to be in the spotlight. I'll have to remember not to look up there. It is certainly a delight to be here in this exquisitely beautiful space filled with artwork from this part of the world.

artwork from this part of the world, and especially the one that you see behind you, because I've been contemplating that particular one for about the past week or so. The idea of compassion is one that's intrigued me for quite some time. And we're going to look a little bit today at compassion. What is it? Why would we even want to include it in our life?

What does it bring to a meditation practice. So I'm actually going to start this with a quotation from a book by Jack Kornfield and Christina Feldman, two renowned teachers called Soul Food in which they collected stories from across the world and throughout tradition that speaks a little bit to compassion here's what they have to say compassion is that singular quality of heart that has the power to transform resentment into forgiveness, hatred into friendliness, anger into loving-kindness. It is the most precious quality of our being that allows us to extend warmth, sensitivity, and openness to the world around us and to ourselves rather than be burdened by prejudice,

hostility, and resistance. It is a deep, heartfelt caring for the dignity, the well-being, and the integrity of every single life in our world. So what comes up for people often when we talk about compassion is something that looks like pity. And compassion is clearly not that.

Because pity actually comes from a space of one being looking at the other separate and distinct from them. And if you're coming from a place of heartfelt caring for the dignity, well-being, and integrity of every being in the world, you are not in the place of pity. Another way to think about compassion is that it's the heart-mind, the heart-mind,

the heart-mind's recognition of the suffering of another. And this suffering, this recognition, is that the suffering of another is the same as our own. That, in fact, suffering, loss, is a human condition. It's not particularly a personal condition it's one that comes with being a human being on this planet earth and loss which is often a cause that has suffering arise, is also something that occurs with all human beings. And we're talking about small losses such as losing your book to big losses like losing a loved one. All of those are circumstances or ones like that

that every human being experience. It's just part of being a human being. So, why would we meditate? Why would we even explore compassion? So this beautiful statue that we have behind us is an embodiment of compassion. Compassion in action. Because the bodhisattva is an enlightened being who is on the road to Buddhahood, but actually makes a choice,

a choice to stay in the realm of human beings out of a desire to see that everyone have the assistance to become enlightened themselves. That's an act of compassion. So he, in this particular, I think it's this one or the one before? No, we actually saw that the thousand hands to help us, help the humans attain their own enlightenment, contains an eye to see what is going on with us in this world. what is going on with us in this world.

The Chinese version, which is a Kuan Yin figure, is also known as the one who hears the sorrows of the world. Now, to be able to hear, to hear the sorrows to be able to relate to that and to see what is true is one of the reasons that we meditate because what meditation provides for us is an ability to see the truth an ability to see what is occurring with nothing added. Not our stories, not our perceptions, just to see what is there in front of us. And to be able to do that to be able to be with it as it is just be with it as it is so we look at what's available in meditation,

and we notice that it increases our ability and our willingness to be present in every moment. It sounds like a small thing, but how many of you are thinking about your shopping list or what you need to do back at the office or your appointment for later on today while I'm speaking. We live in the age where multitasking is considered a welcome skill, and it's certainly one that is valued in a city like New York, which is the center of finance, the center of business,

the center of people moving at hectic paces. So the ability to actually be present in the moment, just to what's occurring, present in the moment, just to what's occurring, can be a blessing. It can be an extraordinary thing to have occur. So we're going to meditate. and in order to do that I ask that you get comfortable if there's anything on on your lap put it on the floor or the seat next to you just have your feet planted on the ground your hands can be on your thighs they can be folded in front of you but the idea is for you to be both alert, since we're going to close our eyes, and that you also be relaxed. So the first thing I'm going to ask you to do is pay attention to what's occurring in your body. Starting with your head, the top of your head, your abdomen.

See the truth of what's happening in this body in this moment. Let your awareness touch your hips, your thighs, your knees, your legs, and your feet and notice the surface your connection to your breath, or in your abdomen. Just let your attention rest there. And notice the inflow and the outflow of your breath. of your breath. The thing that you do thousands of times each day, every day. That which sustains the body.

that which sustains the body. But for the next few minutes, we're going to do that with awareness. So breathe. And be witness to the breathing. Breathing. And as the mind settles, Notice if thoughts arise. Thought is not the enemy. God is the enemy. If it arises, just notice it. And bring your attention back to the breath.

We're going to take your attention off the breath. Notice that sensation. It is what's back to the breath. Thank you. Takk for watching! Breathe in. And know that you're breathing in. Breathe out. Bring your awareness fully to this moment. to what is sustain you, without thought, without direction. Thank you. Just breathe. Gullu Takk for watching! Thank you. If your attention has wandered away from the breath, just notice where it is, whether it's on the thought or a sound or a sensation. Notice that and very gently, very in a manner of being kind to yourself, bring your attention back to the breath. Bring yourself present. Takk for watching! Thank you. Takk for watching! Thank you. Breathe in. Breathe in. Breathe out with awareness. In this moment. Thank you. And now I'm going to ring the bell and you can open your eyes. Compassion is one of the Brahma-Bhaharas, which is the heart-opening path. the heart opening path. So the first one is loving-kindness and it is said that if we were kind to each other we couldn't we wouldn't do harm to each

other if we were kind to ourselves and kind to others. And I actually say that if we had compassion for ourselves and for others we could not do harm to another so here's here is a compassion exercise that we can take a minute or so to engage in there are some some phrases that you can repeat to yourself after I say it aloud. And we'll do it here, but you can do it anywhere, actually. You can do it when you're waiting for the train. So close your eyes if you choose. You don't have to.

You don't have to. So you choose a person in your mind's eye and then you say to yourself, just like me, this person has feelings sadness, illness, suffering, and pain. Just like me, this person to be free of pain loved, just like me. So you see the sense of what we're doing with these phrases. You can use any phrase that you choose, but the intention is to remind ourselves that we are not alone and singular in our experiences in life and our wishes for life. and our wishes for life. That each and every one of us experience illness, pain, and will experience death. There is no getting away from the truth of that one. And that as separate and distinct as we hold ourselves, we are all a part of humanity,

and that there's actually no getting away from that either. So compassion naturally arises when we're willing to let our heart open And be aware of not only our own pain and loss, not only our joys and delight, but also the pain and loss and joy and delight of those around us. So I thank you of your day today. So may you be happy and peaceful and live a life of ease. Thank you so much. That concludes this week's practice. If you'd like to attend in person, please check out our website, rubinmuseum.org slash meditation to learn more. Sessions are free to Rubin Museum members,

just one of the many benefits of membership. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day.