Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Jon Aaron 05/16/2024

Episode Date: May 17, 2024

Theme: BalanceArtwork: Buddha Vajradhara; Nepal; 14th century; gilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones; Rubin Museum of Art;http://therubin.org/38fTeacher: Jon AaronThe Rubin Museum of Art presents a weekly meditation session led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area, with each session focusing on a specific work of art. This podcast is recorded in front of a live audience, and includes an opening talk, a 20-minute sitting session, and a closing discussion.The guided meditation begins at 13:02.This meditation is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg, teachers from the NY Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine.  If you would like to attend Mindfulness Meditation sessions in person or learn more, please visit our website at RubinMuseum.org/meditation.If you would like to support the Rubin Museum and this meditation series, we invite you to become a member and always attend for free.  Have a mindful day!

Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast presented by the Rubin Museum of Art. We are a museum in Chelsea, New York City that connects visitors to the art and ideas of the Himalayas and serves as a space for reflection and personal transformation. I'm your host, Tashi Chodron. Every Thursday, we present a meditation session inspired by a different artwork from the Rubin Museum's collection and led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of our weekly in-person practice. In the description for each episode, you will find information about the theme for that week's session, including an image of the

related artwork. Our mindfulness meditation Podcast is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and teachers from the New York Inside Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine, and supported by the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism. And now, please enjoy your practice. Good afternoon, everybody. Tashi Delek. And welcome.

Welcome to Mindfulness Meditation at the Rubin Museum of Art. I am Tashi Chodron, Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador. And I'm delighted to be your host today. We are a global hub for Himalayan art with a home base in New York City. And we're so glad to have all of you join us for this weekly program where we combine art and meditation. Inspired by our collection, we will first take a look at work of art. We will then hear a brief talk from our teacher, John Aaron, and then we will have a short sit, 15 to 20 minutes, for the meditation guided by him. Let's take a look at today's theme and artwork. The artwork for today's session is this beautiful Vajradhara sculpture. In Tibetan

he's known as Dorje Chang. Origin Tibet dated 16th century. It's a copper alloy. The dimension or the size of this is almost 11 into 7 and a half into 8 inch sculpture. The art connection for the theme is our theme for the month of May is balance or equanimity. This month we invite all of you to reflect on how we can create a greater sense of harmony in our lives through mindfulness practices. By cultivating balance, we move forward on the path towards peace and contentment. The name Vajradhara means the Vajra holder or the Vajra bearer. In Tibetan, Vajradhara is referred to as Dorje Chang. Vajradhara is the personification of the enlightened state. He is the primordial Buddha.

Vajradhara is typically seated in a cross-legged position as depicted here, with his two hands folded across his heart, holding a Vajra and a bell. The Vajra and bell signify the union of all dualities. The Vajra symbolizes compassion and the bell represents wisdom. Vajra symbolizes compassion and the bell represents wisdom. The Vajra is held in the right hand and the bell in the left. When the arms are crossed, it symbolizes that the two forces are united, representing enlightenment. As we gaze upon Vajradhara, may we be inspired to create a greater sense of balance between wisdom and compassion in our own lives. Now let's bring on our teacher for today. Our teacher is John Aaron.

John Aaron is well known as a teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR, mindfulness-based stress reduction, MBSR, as well as a trainer of new teachers of this seminal eight-week curriculum. Among his primary interests are the use of meditation and somatic work in healing trauma and working with individuals with chronic pain and grief. When the pandemic hit, along with his partner, he co-founded Space to Meditate, an online community of meditators that is still going strong six days a week. John, thank you so much for being here, and please help me in welcoming John Aaron. Thank you very much, Tashi. Thank you. So I was delayed by the subway and I never got around to getting it.

It always gives me a kick when we, when you talk about the living tradition, this is the living tradition. You are here, whether you know it or not, you're in part of a tradition of teachings and practice. And this mindfulness-based stress reduction, which you referred to, Tasha referred to, This mindfulness-based stress reduction, which you referred to, Tasha referred to, is merely a kind of relanguaging of the early Buddhist teachings. And I also spend a lot of time teaching. And so I understand the theme this month is balance or equanimity.

And I hear that as equanimity. And equanimity is a very, very vital part of our practice. It's actually incorporated into at least three parts of the early Buddhist teachings. Equanimity is one of the perfections of the heart. Equanimity is one of the four Brahma-Viharas, one of the four divine abodes. Equanimity is the last of the seven awakening factors. So it's clearly an important place to,

I wouldn't say it's a goal, but it's something we, as practitioners, whether we're beginners or we've been practicing for years, equanimity and balance is a kind of signpost. It's like, okay, how am I doing? You know, am I in balance? And the question is, what are we balancing? And there are many ways of looking at that. And I could spend hours talking about this, but I only have a few minutes. So one way I want to kind of address it is sort of the balance between the cognitive thinking mind and the heart mind. And the heart mind is really what we, when we talk about mindfulness, we talk about the heart mind.

We're talking about the mind that knows, the mind that knows that I'm thinking, the mind that knows that I'm hearing, the mind that knows that I'm seeing, etc. And, of course, when we're in meditation, these two things are, I wouldn't say, battling each other at all. But we all have very strong habits of mind. And one of our habits of mind, of course, is to plan, to worry, to fantasize, to daydream, to, you know, look back on fond memories. All of that is there and happening. And it's part of our thinking mind.

But there's the other aspect of mind, which is that part of the mind, that mind which knows what is happening. And that mind which knows what is happening, that mind which is the knowing mind, that mind that knows that this body is sitting here breathing, that this body is right now moving its hands, that's the mind that actually reminds us that we are human. The fact that we are born in this human realm means that we have the capacity to know what is happening moment to moment and recognizing that it's not necessarily something we have to take so personally,

although we do, and that's another habit of mine. And so there's this balancing act that we're constantly working with as we're in meditation, but also as we're living our lives, right? Obviously, we live our lives mostly in the cognitive mind, in the thinking mind. We could also see this as living our lives in the relative world of clock time and, you know, earning a living and reproducing, et cetera. I mean, all of that is part of how we get through the day, and we need that. At the same time, in time, through practice, we develop what could be often referred to

and sometimes referred to as this true nature or Buddha nature, which allows us to know this, but know it from a place of nonjudgmental awareness. Know it from a place of caring awareness. It's like, ah, so this is what's here right now. This is what's here right now. Can I hold this in a way that doesn't take me out of balance? So anger is here right now. in a way that doesn't take me out of balance, right? So anger is here right now. Is it possible to simply be with the anger

without having the anger take me out of balance and have me act in some unfortunate way? That's an extreme example. Hunger is here right now. Yeah, it is actually. Hunger is here right now. Yeah, it is actually. Hunger is here right now. And can I be with that hunger without having to run out the door and get something to eat? Or can I be with that hunger without worrying about it? So that's something that we start to learn. We start to

realize we can be with that on a much broader scale. There's the knowing of suffering. Individually, there's the knowing of suffering around the world. There is also the knowing of joy in this being, as well as joy in the world. We hold those things in balance and we can let, and this is certainly the case with people who are, who see themselves as activists, whether it's social justice activists

or activists around Gaza or activists around, you name it, we can get so wrapped up in that suffering that we're only acting from that place as opposed to this ability to say, yes, this is here and what else is here? What else is experienced? Can I hold these things in balance and then respond in the most appropriate way?

So this is a huge place of practice. And the lovely thing about formal meditation practice is that it puts us in our own little cauldron, even if it's just for 20 minutes or 15 minutes. It puts us in this cauldron where we start to see this very clearly in our own direct experience. So we see our mind going off into its habitual patterns. You know, maybe even after sitting for 30 seconds, the mind is already off to the races, the thinking mind, right? There's the knowing of that. It's like, oh, it's that happening. And there's this happening, this body sitting here breathing,

this mind, this heart mind, knowing that habitual pattern of thinking and not being carried away with it, not getting angry about it, not just recognizing it the same way I might recognize a sound outside. And so this is a major place of balance. And this quality of equanimity evolves over time. And when one is, I hear, I hear said that when one is fully awake, one is always in that place of equanimity, in that place of balance. So we're not thrown around. And I know we've all had that experience on one level or another. And the more we practice, the more we start to see it, the more moments of that equanimity arises.

So let's practice a bit. equanimity arises. So let's practice a bit. And one place to start, of course, in balance is a balanced posture. So we can feel the weight coming directly into our sit bones. You can find a firm back, but a soft front. So we balance firmness with ease. So the firm back doesn't mean a stiff or rigid back.

It just means a firm back. And then the body just kind of easily hangs from the spine. You can soften the belly, soften the face, soften the eyes. Feel free to close the eyes if you're comfortable with that. And just taking a few very deep and deliberate breaths. And not striving to achieve anything, but simply know this body sitting here breathing. And so there's a knowing of the in-breath and the knowing of the out-breath. We're not thinking about the breath, we're simply experiencing this breath, this breath

now. And in those moments where we experience the mind running off into its habitual patterns, which it will do, there's a knowing of that. And experience that knowing of the thinking mind as different than the thinking itself. We may feel ourselves being kind of leaning in to the thought and the thinking, and then there's the knowing of that, and there's a kind of releasing and letting go of that. And then there are just the thoughts happening.

We may notice body sensations arising. There can be a knowing of that sensation without having to name it, without having to create an opinion about it, but noticing how that happens so quickly. And there's the knowing of that. For any of you who are experienced, more experienced meditators, you'll hear my voice giving instructions and it'll just be sound perhaps.

No need to pay attention, no need to get involved with anything I'm saying. So again, you might observe opinions arising or thoughts arising. It's not how I do it. It could happen. There's just a knowing of that. Thank you. If it's helpful, you can think of the in-breath as a reminder just to wake up and know what's here. And the out-breath as a reminder to let go of whatever isn't needed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And just checking in and if the mind has wandered off, gently returning to what's here just now.

This breath, this body, these sounds. Just experience unfolding moment to moment, arising, fading away. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And just being aware if you are holding on to some expectation of how this should be, how you should be feeling just now. Letting go of that expectation and just recognize what's here right now. We often discover that the expectation itself is what's taking us out of balance. The desire for it to be a particular way. I will close this meditation with a poem by an Indian gentleman named Rajwagre.

When the Heart Speaks. The heart calls for me to pause and listen to it. It speaks a language that my mind finds hard to believe. Dismayed by the simplicity of the message, the mind wanders, seeking a more complex answer. Theories and philosophies abound, each taking me deeper and deeper into a quagmire. Nothing that satisfies the mind, nothing that satiates the mind. Exhausted, it returns back to embrace the simplicity of the heart's message that abounds with unbounded contentment. Unbounded contentment. So as we take our formal practice into our lives, how often do we get caught up in the complexity of the thinking mind when all that's really necessary is to drop into the simplicity of knowing what's here without needing to solve anything. I was thinking as I was guiding this practice that it's so quiet in here

that what's really needed is some disturbance. I almost felt like clapping just to sort of see how you would respond and see where we were. You can really get carried away in the acoustic nature of this space. I love it. Thank you. Thank you so much for that beautiful session, John. That concludes this week's practice.

To support the Rubin and this meditation series, we invite you to become a member at rubinmuseum.org membership. And to stay up to date with the Rubin Museum's virtual and in-person offerings, sign up for a monthly newsletter at rubinmuseum.org e-news. Thank you so much for listening. Have a mindful day.