Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Khangser Rinpoche Repost from 05/22/2019

Episode Date: June 10, 2020

Theme: Compassion Artwork: Bodhisattva Maitreya; [http://therubin.org/2zp] Teacher: Khangser Rinpoche While the Rubin Museum of Art is temporarily closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, we want to stay connected with you. We are sharing a previously recorded meditation session with you and hope that it will provide support during this uncertain time. The Rubin Museum 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 in Chelsea, New York City, and includes an opening talk and 20-minute sitting session. The guided meditation begins at 19:46. This meditation is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg, teachers from the NY Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine. To attend a Mindfulness Meditation sessions in the future 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 attend in person for free. Have a mindful day!

Welcome, and hello. My name is Dawn Eshelman, and I'm Head of Programs at the Rubin Museum of Art in Chelsea, New York City. While our museum is temporarily closed, and during these uncertain times, we want to stay connected with you. So we will be sharing previously recorded meditation sessions. For more resources and inspiring content, head to rubenmuseum.org slash care package. We hope you enjoy, and we look forward to returning to our regular mindfulness meditation program as soon as we can. Take care. Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast, presented by the Ruben Museum of Art. We are a museum in Chelsea,

New York that connects visitors to the art and ideas of the Himalayas and serves as a space for reflection and transformation. I'm your host, Dawn Eshelman. Every Monday, we present a meditation session inspired by a different artwork from the Rubin's collection and led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of our weekly 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 Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine. If you'd like to join us in person, please visit our website at rubinmuseum.org slash meditation. And now, please enjoy your practice.

Good afternoon and welcome, Tashi Delek. Welcome to our weekly mindfulness meditation here at the Rubin Museum. Presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, Interdependence Project and Parabola Magazine. My name is Tashi Chodron. I'm the Assistant Manager to Himalayan Cultural Programs and Partnership. I host a monthly program called Himalayan Heritage, which is every first Wednesday of each month. And so the next one is June 5th, and we'll be celebrating the holy month Sakadava with a treasure revealer reincarnate master in the shrine room, very limited seating. And so this month's theme is compassion.

And let me give you the art connection for this. As we have been exploring on compassion the last couple of weeks, so today the image for today's meditation is this really beautiful, intricate Maitreya Buddha, often addressed as Jetsun Champa in Tibetan word. Maitreya Buddha, often addressed as Jetsun Champa in Tibetan word. Fine metal sculpture from this period, such as inlay covers the figure. It's a beautiful, about 750-ish to the 11th century Pala period from Indian aesthetic. And Maitreya Buddha is sitting in royal ease position. So our guest speaker will say more on this. So for today, we are very, very honored to have our eighth Kang Sir Rumpuche back, actually. Rumpuche was here a couple of years ago. Kang Sir Rumpuche

Tultim Palden was born in Kathmandu, Nepal. At the age of five, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the seventh Kamsa Rinpoche, who was one of the three high lamas responsible for searching for the current 14th incarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Kamsa Rinpoche started basic study of Buddhist philosophy and completed advanced Buddhist studies on sutra and tantra in Serajaya Monastery and Jyotir Tantric Monastic University in India, where he obtained Geshe Larampa,

which is equivalent to a PhD and a doctorate degree in tantra, both with highest honors among the top division. Rinpoche's ancestors followed the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhist sects for many centuries, and since Rinpoche's line of reincarnations is affiliated with the Gelugpa tradition, he possesses both precious heritages. Rinpoche has directly received a wealth of teachings on both Tantra and Sutra from many great Tibetan yogis and from spiritual teachers from the four major Tibetan Buddhist sects. One of his teachers include His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Jabje Dilgo Chenche Rinpoche, Lati Rinpoche, Kensul Lopsang Tsering, Ketun Zangpo Rinpoche,

and Choje Trichin Rinpoche, to name a few. Rinpoche is a great scholar who has achieved monasteries in both Gyalug and Nyingma Buddhist traditions. Rinpoche currently serves as a professor teaching Buddhist philosophy at Sarah J. Monastic University. And in 2012, Rambuche established the Dipankara Buddhist Organization to convey the practice of mind training all over the world. So please help me in welcoming Keng Sir Surabhuchey.

First of all, my greetings and Tashi Delek to all. Today, as you all know that today's the topic, it's regarding about compassion and I always believe that love and compassion is is not something only related with religious issue as we are born as a human it's very important to cultivate the love and cultivate

the compassion toward the other if you look at the animal world they don't have any religion they don't have any religion. They don't have any language, but still they're required. They need love. Because when we look at in this special in this 21st century, humans are becoming more selfish. Couple of the years back,

one gentleman told me that he's going to marry his fiancee and asked me to bless his marriage. Then I asked him that, why you are going to marry your fiancée? He told me that if he marries his fiancée, he will become more happy. Then I told him, you are thinking very wrong.

You should think, if you marry your fiancée, she will become more happy. Because he was marrying his fiancée, because he felt he will become more happy. That means he will become quite selfish. become more happy. That means he'll become quite selfish. So that's why that practicing the compassion, generating the compassion and love, it is the best antidote to reduce the self-jerishing attitude. Because as I mentioned before, we become too selfish. Plus we have a very strong ego. I always used to give the one example. In case, in case if we take a group picture, in case if you take a group picture after this session,

and once you get that picture in your hand, to whom you will look first? To whom? I'm sure if you look good in that picture, you will keep that. If you don't look good in that picture, you will delete that. It doesn't matter how your husband looks in that picture or your wife looks in that picture or your boyfriend looks in that picture or your girlfriend looks in that picture. It doesn't matter at all. So we are too selfish. So that's why when we are talking about love, and when we are talking about practicing the compassion, it is to help us to reduce our selfishness, reduce our self-jerishing attitude.

Because lots of people used to ask me the one question that, what is the purpose of our life? I always used to say the one thing, live happily. of our life. I always used to say the one thing, live happily. So now here's the second question comes how, what is the way, what is the best way to achieve the happiness in our life? That is the compassion, the love and compassion is a key to achieve the happiness. Compassion, the love and compassion is a key to achieve the happiness. In our monastery, when I was a kid, I heard the one story that our master was teaching about the compassion,

practicing the compassion. So he told us the one story. I like that story very much. Stories goes like that. There is a one person. He started to practice the compassion. He started to practice the love and kindness toward the all sentient beings. Then his friend asked him, I heard that now you all started to practice the compassion. You started to practice the

love and kindness toward all of the sentient beings. So, in case if you have two yak, do you know yak? Yak is a Tibetan animal. In case if you have a true yak, will you give one yak to the person who don't have yak? He said, sure. I'm practicing the compassion. In case if I have a true yak, I will give one yak to the person who do not have a yak. Then he friend raised the second question.

In case if you have a two cow, will you give a one cow to the person who do not have the cow? Then he said, absolutely. Because I'm practicing compassion. Because I'm practicing love and kindness to whole humans and whole sentient beings. Sure, I will give, in case if I have a true cow, I will give one cow to the person who do not have a cow.

Then his friend raised third question. In case if you have a two donkey, will you give one donkey to the person who do not have a donkey? In this point, he said, absolutely no. So, if I have two donkeys, I won't give one donkey to the person who does not have the donkey. His friend was quite surprised. So he asked, what makes the difference? The logic is the same.

The logic is the same. You are practicing compassion. You are practicing love and kindness. In case if you have two love and kindness in case if you are if you are if you have a two cow and the two yeah you are willing to give the one cow and the one yeah to the person who do not have a cow and yeah but you are not willing to give the donkey if you have a two donkey. Then the person told him that the logic is not the same at all. Because I don't have a two yak, I don't have a two cow, but I have a two donkey.

Okay. So when we talk about the compassion and the love, sometimes it's become a little bit tricky. Sometimes it's become tricky. So that's why the compassion and love, sometimes you might feel that you are practicing compassion. Sometimes you feel that you love someone very much, but it will be sometimes, it can be tricky. So that's why when we practice the compassion, when we practice the compassion, or when we generate the love towards others, the First key point is that the understanding the sufferings of the other, understanding, understand the suffering of the others. That is the one key point. Understand

then the feel the sufferings. Understand and the feels the difficulty of the others. Understand and the feels the other challenges. When you understand and feel the other's suffering and the difficulties, then you can generate the Jnan love, Jnan compassion toward others. So that's why when the Buddha, he teach the first session, he taught the suffering. He taught the truth of the suffering. Because he wanted to let the people to understand the suffering, know the suffering. Because right now,

I'm sure you will think that you understand and you know the suffering. I'm sure you will think that you know the difficulties. But you don't understand and you don't feel the suffering for the others very properly so that's why the to practice the compassion first step you have to understand you have to feel the difficulties or the sufferings of the other. That's the most the key point. Then the second point is that when you generate that love, when you generate the

love toward the other, you should not expect something back. Don't expect any result. What I mean, don't expect when you say, when you say, I love you to someone, what you expect? You expect something back. If that person doesn't say anything, you will not feel very comfortable. Even if you love the dog, when you care the dog, you expect the reaction from the dog. Once you go on expecting the something, whenever you give the love to the other, then the love

won't be the pure. When you love, don't expect. Then it will become a genuine love. So that's why in the practice, when we try to generate the love and compassion toward the hell beings,

generate the love and compassion toward the beings which live in another universe, in the Buddhist practice, when you practice the love and compassion toward the beings which live in another universe in the Buddhist practice. When you practice the love toward some person whom you cannot see, then you cannot expect anything back. So that's why when you love and you generate the compassion, you should not expect. That's one most important key point when you're practicing the love or when you're practicing compassion. Okay?

So, now we will come to how we have to meditate, how we can meditate on love and compassion. It's a very important meditation. It's a very important meditation. So that's why the first when we start with the meditation dating on the compassion so you have to keep your back upright. If you feel uncomfortable then you don't have to back upright. Then your hand position should be keep your right palm on the top of the left palm touch your thumb because there is a secret in this hand position because when you keep your two thumbs each other the our inner energy body energy will move very smoothly. So that's why you have to keep this two thumb touch and like this position to keep your hand position just

front of your navel, like this way. Then first thing is that when we meditate the first step is to recall that the claiming the mind. So that's what I mean is that calming the mind. Because mind is like a monkey. So there's one very famous story about one great master. One student came to see that great master and asked that great master that can he teach him the meditation. So then the great master told that student that

meditation is a very simple, very easy. You just go and close your eye and think anything, whatever you like. Meditate whatever you like. But only one thing you should not think while you are meditating. That is monkey. You should not think monkey when you meditate. Then the student feels that's very easy, very simple. He can think anything, except the monkey.

Then he went back and tried to meditate. Now you will know what comes in his mind. Then he feels so difficult to meditate. Whenever he tried to meditate monkey comes so that's why the first thing is called that calming the mind so that's why the what you have to do is just inhale or exhale the breath just focus on your breath okay when you still when you are focusing on the breath when you are getting distracted then started to count the breath okay inhale or

exhale the breath count one inhale or exhale the count then count two okay you start to the counting once you can focus quite well on your breath then don't count once you cannot in case if the monkey comes in your mind then start counting the breath okay. Then I will leave for the few minutes okay. Inhale or exhale and you just focus on your breath okay. Once you could not focus on your breath when you are getting distracted then count the breath up till 20, 21. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, now we will come to the meditation, meditation on compassion. So this meditation, what you have to do is you have to visualize someone whom you love. Someone just in front of you. You can visualize your parents, your kids,

and all your family members. Visualize them while you are visualizing them in front of you, then when you inhale your breath, when you inhale your breath, you should visualize things that you are taking, the suffering of your family member or your dear one, when you inhale the breath. When you inhale the breath, visualize that their suffering, form of the black ray or the black light comes from them and which enters into your body through your left nostril when you inhale the breath.

When you exhale the breath, think that you are giving your own happiness to whom you loved. own happiness to whom you loved with the form of the white light the happiness in the form of the white light which comes out of your body from your right nostril. This practice we call the tong len in Tibetan that means giving and taking meditation. You are taking the suffering of your dear one and you are giving the happiness to your dear one. So when you inhale, visualize that you are taking the suffering of your dear one. Exhale, visualize that you are giving your own happiness to your dear one.

Just visualize the someone whom you really love. Okay? So that is the one meditation that I quite often do because in my life, lots of people send me the message and send me the mails and ask me to pray for them so whenever Reese is the message whenever get the males for asking me for pray for them I always do this

meditation visualizing the person and the visualizing the person whom who asked me to pray, then I inhale the breath, I visualize the taking the suffering of them. When I exhale the breath, I visualize that I'm giving my happiness to those people. Okay? So now I was just wondering that, did you understand what you have to meditate? Hmm?

Great, that's important. If you understand what you have to meditate, very good. If you don't understand it, very good. Because when the Buddha was giving the teaching, this Pranayama Sutra, that is one teaching, it contains 100,000 verses. When he was giving that teaching, it said that the gathering is among 1,000 people.

But interesting thing is that only few people understand what he was talking only few people did not understand him only few people, gathering might be more than thousands, only few people understand him and the only few people did not understand him

most of the students, most of the people, they misunderstand in Buddha. So once you understand, very good. When you don't understand, very good. You should not misunderstand the meditation step, okay? So, okay, so what will we do is that, okay? So we will meditate, okay? Inhale or exhale the breath and you just visualize that someone, okay, whom you really love.

And inhale and you just visualize they are taking the suffering of that your dear one. Okay, then when you exhale, think that you are giving your own happiness. Okay, but the one thing after you did the meditation, you don't have to call the person and you don't have to tell them that you took the suffering of the day or love one okay you don't have to do that okay I'll leave you minutes okay Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes this week's practice. If you would like to support the Rubin Museum

in this meditation series, we invite you to become a member and attend in person for free. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day. you