Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Jon Aaron 12/05/24

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art presents a weekly meditation for beginners and skilled meditators alike. Each episode is inspired by a different work of art from the Museum’s collection and is led by a prominent meditation teacher.The episode begins with an opening talk followed by a 20-minute meditation. In this episode, the guided meditation begins at 16:50.Teacher: Jon Aaron Theme: Illumination Artwork: Manjushri; Tibet; 15th century; bronze with traces of gold pigment; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2006.23.2Learn more about the Rubin’s work around the world at rubinmuseum.org. 

Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast presented by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, a global museum dedicated to bringing greater awareness and understanding of Himalayan art to people around the world. I'm your host, Tashi Chodron. Every Thursday, we offer a meditation session at New York Inside Meditation Center that draws inspiration from an artwork from the Rubens Collection and is led by a prominent meditation teacher. This podcast is a recording of our weekly in-person practice. The description of each episode includes information about the theme for that week's session and 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. Hello everyone and welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts Mindfulness Meditation Program at the New York Insight Meditation Center. I'm Tim McHenry and I'm a deputy executive director at this global hub for Himalayan art that is global in the sense that we are all around the world at this point and really having a great time bringing Himalayan art to people who might not have experienced this art form. So what we do here is inspired by a collection, the teacher chooses a work of art and we take a deep look at that work of art to start with. And then we hear a brief talk from our teacher, who today is John Aaron. And then we'll have a short sit for just about 15, 20 minutes for a meditation guided by him.

guided by him. So our theme today is illumination and our artwork of choice is Manjushri, which is here seen in a just under four inch high bronze statue from the 15th century from Tibet. And who is Manjushri? Manjushri is one of the most represented and beloved figures in Tibetan art. And he's both a tantric bodhisattva and a deity associated with that ever elusive thing called wisdom. And he is mellifluous of tongue and is able to persuade us that we are capable of wielding the sword that he carries in his right hand

and cleave illusion into revealing the truth. That is his job, and it is our job to try and emulate him. So John will talk a little more about Manjushri, but that's our theme and that is our work of art. And it's a beautiful piece from the collection, and I'm glad to be able to show it to you. Let's come down a little closer to the foothills here in northern Chelsea and introduce our teacher, John Aron. John is no stranger to the New York Insight Meditation Center. Of course, he's been teaching here since 2006, but just know in the next year it's going to be rarer to find him here because he's not only moved to Chicago, but he's

also going to be traveling around India. So we envy him on both counts to some degree, maybe the latter rather than the former. He regularly leads retreats around the U.S. and he's primarily grounded in the Theravada tradition alongside non-dual and Mahayana approaches. And what makes his teaching style so valuable, I mean, we all, you know, are suffering from personal and social challenges, and his sort of rather unique combination and integration of dharma and mindfulness in order to foster clarity and addressing those challenges is really something we've come to admire and appreciate at the Rubin, and I'm sure you do at the Insight as well. I'm sure you do at the Insight as well.

So what you should know is that he's also a certified MBSR teacher and a teacher trainer and a somatic experience practitioner. In response to the pandemic, he and his partner launched the Space to Meditate community, offering daily meditation since March 2020, which is six steps up from what the Rubin offers, which is only weekly. But initially, he co-hosts the podcast Dig in the Dharma which is six steps up from what the Rubin offers, which is only weekly. But additionally, he co-hosts the podcast Digging the Dharma with scholar Doug Smith, now in its third season.

And if you want to stay in touch with John, he's at johnerrant.net. But you're in touch with him now, because here he is. John, thank you so much for leading the meditation today. I don't know. Chicago is beautiful just because it was 13 degrees there this morning. I don't see what the big deal is. So this is my last time here for a while. And I finally got my first choice of image, which we get sent to us like a month before we're supposed to teach here.

And I said, please, please give me Manjushri. And they did. Manjushri and Kuan Yin are really the kind of, at least for me and I suspect for many, the most important bodhisattvas. They represent the two wings of awakening, Kuan Yin, Avalokiteshvara as compassion and Manjushri as wisdom. And I love the sword that Manjushri wields. It just reminds me of various teachers that I've experienced who at least, well, definitely figuratively whack one on the head to wake one up, to just sort of say, what do you really see what you're,

see what's in the way here. And our practice, you know, we practice to sort of see through the delusions that we're carrying around all the time. And insight practice in particular is the insight that we are, what we are inciting into is, in fact, the delusions that were present all the time in our lives. That we basically, consciously or not, they've arisen as obstacles to our own freedom. And so this sword of wisdom is the one that cuts through those obstacles and allows us to see more clearly. And of course, those obstacles, until one is fully awakened, those obstacles continually arise.

And, you know, so we continually are cutting through them. And as Tim mentioned, he was known as being mellifluous of tongue. He had a way of speaking. But it's a paradox because he also recognized that language gets in the way completely. That as soon as we are speaking words, we are arising in the mind concepts. And as soon as we have concepts, we have objects. And as soon as we have objects, we have a subject needing to see those objects. So we need the words.

At the same time, we have to let go of the words. And it was coming up in the podcast I was recording this morning that Tim mentioned. We were talking about the quality, one of the factors of awakening, which is investigation. The second factor of awakening is mindfulness, investigation, energy, and then joy, and a few more after that. And so we find ourselves investigating a delusion, let's say. We start investigating it, we then name it, and then we say, oh, that's my problem.

I keep seeing this and this keeps getting in my way, right? And it's that subject object, which is actually the problem, but it takes us a lot of practice before we actually start to realize that. And we can see it in our own practice. It's like we're sitting here being aware of, say, our breath and it's like my breath is rough right now. My breath is not easy at the moment.

My breath is quiet at the moment. My breath is this. My breath is that. And it's just breath, right? But we always tend to put a possessive pronoun in front of it. And the moment we put a possessive pronoun, we identify with the one who's possessing that experience. And it's the way we live, obviously. It's not like the Buddha didn't answer to his name. He did. At the same time, when he was referring to the Buddha as he was speaking, he was always referring to the Tathagata,

the one thus come. So there's this kind of suchness of experience that was let go of. You know, there's just the suchness. There's not the one experiencing. There's just the suchness. And so there are all sorts of fun word plays that Manjushri would bring up,

but, and I don't have time to go through them here because they're numerous but they're in many of the big Mahayana suttas where he's just saying, well you can say that and there's no one experiencing it. You can say that I'm going to be enlightened, but there's no one to enlighten and there's no enlightenment. So basically all words are worthless when it comes to waking up, but we need the words in order to

at least have the conceptual understanding. But once there's the conceptual understanding, what is it like to actually let go of the words and just be directly with experience? And so when we are practicing, we talk about three levels of insight. We're talking about the level, the conceptual level of insight, that is, you can hear me say something and say, oh, of course, you know, words get in the way. That makes sense, right? Then there's the experiential level so we're practicing and we start to see as we are practicing

how i take credit for the fact that i am here sitting here meditating um so we try to let that go right so there's the experience of what is it like to just drop the notion that you are doing anything how does that feel in that moment? That's sort of the first experience of that. And then there's the more embodied, you know, the true embodiment of that, which is letting go of any identity, you know, and how do we do that?

So we were just talking about bios, biographies. Oh, there's a, I have to have a meditation biography, right? Which seems like a complete paradox, right? Because who's the I that's having the biography, right? And yet it's kind of needed at times. So we play with that and just kind of laugh at it in a way, at least I do, because it's kind of needed at times. So, you know, we play with that and just kind of laugh at it in a way, at least I do, because it's actually kind of hilarious how, you know, we are constantly getting trapped in this need to identify with or identify as. And, you know, yes, there is a need of that

in a relative sense, but in the absolute sense, or identify as, and yes, there is a need of that in a relative sense, but in the absolute sense, it's just a fabrication. So, one of the resources I use when I'm sort of wanting to learn about the Bodhisattvas is a wonderful book called Faces of Compassion by the teacher, taken Daniel Layton, a Zen teacher who's actually in Chicago. But this book is quite well known and well used. And as he's describing various bodhisattvas, he likes to bring in contemporary examples or at least recent examples of who might embody the nature

of this particular bodhisattva. And the one he points to for Manjushri is actually Albert Einstein, who through his, you know, obviously through his own genius, you know, saw through the nature of reality. And there's a quote he brings into this book, which I wanted to share with you, says, so this is Einstein speaking, the individual feels nothing of human desires and aims and the sublimity and marvelous order which reveals themselves in nature and in the world of thought. He looks upon individual existence as a sort of prison

and wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole. So sort of letting go of identifying as the one experiencing nature and just allowing nature to be and letting go of the one experiencing nature and just allowing nature to be and letting go of the thoughts about nature and just allowing nature to be and sort of really experiencing all experience as one whole that there is just the experiencing.

So how do we bring that into our practice? Right? And one way, as I said, is at some point, and I'll guide this, we just drop the idea that I am meditating. And we just allow meditation to happen. We drop the idea that I am breathing, the body is breathing. I don't do anything to breathe. right? The body is just breathing, right? I'm experiencing the breath. There's an experience of the breath, but it's just the experience of the breath. So can we just be with the experience of the breath

as opposed to be the one identifying as the one breathing and having the experience? So this may seem abstract, of course, but it's just the idea of letting go of the pronoun, the possessive pronoun right now. And you can do this, you know, throughout the day, of course. You can just notice as you're walking down the street, you know, obviously people are seeing and you are seeing, but there is really just the seeing. And this relates to a much earlier teaching called the Bahiya Sutta, where the Buddha tells Bahiya, in the seeing, there is just the seeing. There is no one seeing anything and there is no thing to see, there is just the seeing. So, we practice with dropping subject object this is you know real non-dual practice which is what manjushri was pointing

to with his sword just let it see through that delusion of self and other and and just kind of wake up to that and see what happens um and I'll just read one more thing before I guide us. This is a short poem by Ak-Ku-Gang-Gros-Jin. It's a Korean poet and translator who died a number of years ago. It's called Beauty Only. Taking a walk, I saw a wildflower. Not knowing its name, I saw the beauty only. What happens when we see the name? Oh, the name brings up a memory.

The name brings up all sorts of thoughts about that thing we are seeing, but when we drop the name, there is just the beauty. So let's sit for a bit. So finding a posture which is upright and alert, yet easeful. Another paradox. Upright, alert, yet easeful. Another paradox. Upright, alert, yet easeful. So, soften the face, soften the shoulders, soften the belly, soften the eyes. Aware of what's here just now, what's here in the sound realm. What's here in the quality of air. What's here in the quality of mind as it is just now. What's here in the body as it is just now.

And for now, just anchoring awareness, anchoring the attention on the breath, on the body, sitting here. Being with the simple knowing of this body, breathing. Thank you. And at some point as we're sitting here, of course, we notice that habitual or feelings of remorse, memories, In those moments, of course, we identify with the one having those thoughts. That's another habit. Habit of mind. It's also possible simply to recognize thoughts are happening, memories are arising, sensations are coming and going,

without needing to identify with them and not even needing to identify them. Thank you. We may of course find some time when we're pushing something away or hanging on to something that's arising in the mind, pushing away that which is unwanted and holding on to that which is wanted. What happens if we just let go of the clinging and resisting and just hold the experience with both a heart of wisdom and a heart of compassion? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And just letting go of the idea that you are here meditating. Meditating is simply happening. happening. Manifest at this moment in this body you call you. Or you call me, rather. Hearing is happening. Sound is happening. Thank you. And just imagining that sword of Manjushri as cutting through delusion Thank you. Another poem to close out this practice by Antonio Machado. Walker. Your footsteps are the road and nothing more.

Walker. There is no road. The road is made by walking. Walking, you make the road, and turning to look behind, you see the path you never again will step upon. Walker, there is no road, only foam trails on the sea. Thank you for your practice. That was so helpful. Thank you so much. That was so helpful. Thank you so much. That concludes this week's practice.

To support the Rubin and this meditation series, we invite you to become a friend of the Rubin at rubinmuseum.org slash friends. If you are looking for more inspiring content, please check out our other podcast, Awaken, which uses art to explore the dynamic paths to enlightenment and what it means to wake up. Season 4, hosted by Isabella Rossellini, delves into the Buddhist concept of attachment and explores how the practice of letting go can transform our experience of the world. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. And to learn more about the Rubin Museum's work around the world, visit rubinmuseum.org. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day.