Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Kimberly Brown 11/07/2024

Episode Date: November 15, 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 13:54. Teacher: Kimberly Brown Theme: GratitudeArtwork Queen of the World, Sipai Gyelmo; China; 20th century; embroidery; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; C2003.51.2 (HAR 65269)Learn 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. Good afternoon, everybody. Tashi Delik and welcome. Welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts, Mindfulness Meditation here at the New York Insight Meditation Center. I'm Tashi Chodron, Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador, and I'm delighted to be your host today. I'm like, should I say delighted today, or how are we all feeling? So what we all went through it's in a very interesting situation

but the Rubin is a global hub for Himalayan art and we are so glad to have all of you join us for this weekly program where we combine art and meditation. And days like this, we're so thankful to have a space where we could all come together and be with each other. So thank you so much to New York Insight for this wonderful space. Inspired by our collection, we will first take a look at work of art.

We will hear a brief talk from our teacher, Kimberly Brown. And then we will have a short sit, about 15 to 20 minutes, for the meditation guided by her. And this month's theme, so this is November, and the theme is gratitude. And gratitude in whatever little or however way that we have to do our best, right? And the artwork that is handpicked by our teacher is this beautiful textile of this special work of Sipe Gelmo in Tibetan. That is Sipe Gelmo translated as the queen of the world. Origin China dated 20th century embroidery and it's about 24 and a half into 19 and quarter inches

and this is a beautiful textile. The connection to the theme the queen of the world embodies wisdom and compassion guiding practitioners to cultivate a deeper sense of gratitude. a deeper sense of gratitude. Now, this is a striking depiction of the queen of the world, Siphe Jalmo. This is the Pern religion. The queen of the world is the most fierce, wrathful manifestation of the peaceful deity, the loving mother of wisdom,

that is Sherab Chama in Tibetan word. She's fierce in appearance, dark in color. She has three faces here and six arms, as you can see, holding different ritual to help us purify the negative forces and also to get rid of the dhocha shedang timu, the greed, the desire, the anger, the ignorance. And we need that. So the queen of the world is both Yidam which means meditational deity and a protector she is one of the most frequently portrayed figures

in the Ben religion and extends her protection to religious practitioners as well as common lay people although this textile was made in China, embroidered works such as this one were often commissioned by Tibetans. While the queen of the world is fierce and wrathful in form, sitting atop a flayed human skill symbolizing impermanence, atop a flayed human skill, symbolizing impermanence. Remember, impermanence, that this too shall pass.

So with the flames of wisdom burning around her, she embodies the qualities of love and compassion. Now, let's pray to awaken the feminine energy, which is the wisdom that is within each of us. And it's time to bring our teacher now. Our teacher is Kimberly Brown. Kimberly Brown is a meditation teacher and author. She leads classes and retreats that emphasize the power of compassion and kindness meditation to reconnect us to ourselves and others. She studies in both the Tibetan and Insight schools of Buddhism and is a certified mindfulness instructor. Her latest book, Happy Relationships, 25 Buddhist Practices to Transform Your Connection with Your Partner, Family and Friends was released

in February. You can learn more about Kimberly on her website meditationwithheart.com. Kimberly, thank you so much for being here and please help me in welcoming Kimberly Brown. Thank you, Tashi. And hello, everyone. I teach here sometimes at New York Insight, but this is the first time I've been here as a Rubin Museum teacher. And I loved the space at the Rubin, and it was, you know, really beautiful. And I love that we're meeting here, too.

It's a little more intimate. And sometimes that's good to create community. So welcome, everyone. So gratitude. Okay, the psychologists tell us So welcome, everyone. So gratitude. The psychologists tell us that people who practice gratitude, it's the quickest and easiest way to feel happy. Gratitude is also, from a Buddhist view, it's considered the doorway to the perfections, the perfections, the paramis, that's the Pali word,

or the paramitas, which is the Sanskrit word. And these are qualities we all have, and we can all perfect or develop. They include generosity and good sense. They include patience, concentration, practicing wisdom, practicing loving kindness. And gratitude's not in that list, And gratitude's not in that list, but it's necessary in order to practice these parmitas, because that first one on the list was generosity.

Very hard to be generous if you don't feel you have something to give. So I've noticed in my life, gratitude is easy when you're feeling good. Gratitude is easy when things are pleasant, right? Gratitude's a little harder when you're struggling, when life is hard, when someone you love is sick, when circumstances aren't going your way. And I guess five or six years ago, I was with my sister in Chicago. She lives a very lovely suburban life, and with all of its joys and sorrows. And I was visiting her on a very busy holiday season. She was hosting a lot of people and her daughter forgot her jacket somewhere. And then the dishwasher broke and these small modern life problems. And she said, oh, fuck my life. Oh my God,

my eyes almost fell out of my head that this could possibly be, you know, I found out it's a common expression. And it just sort of means like, oh, I don't like what's going on. I don't like what's going on. If in Buddhism there was a sin, that would be the sin, to not recognize all that you have in every moment. Okay. And also to be able to have gratitude for things that you might not like and people you might not like. that you might not like and people you might not like. If you study with the Tibetans, they'll tell you, first of all, everybody's your teacher. And second of all, I've heard quite a few rinpoches say,

oh, well, if you don't like that person or that person's difficult or that person's hard, well, that's an opportunity. First of all, it lets you see you also have anger. You also have jealousy, desire, greed, aversion, all of those things that we can see in other people so clearly. And so it gives us an opportunity to be grateful for them. There is this very famous story about a teacher named Atisha. And Atisha is said to have brought the Dharma. He was an Indian teacher, the Dharma from India to Tibet,

one of the teachers who did that. And among his entourage when he got to Tibet was someone who made the tea, who was really annoying. Everybody found this young man very annoying. And finally, Atisha's students said to him, why did you bring this guy with you from India? And he said, because he's my greatest teacher. Okay. So you probably have someone like that in your life, you know, in the world or personally, you know, there are people like this.

I just want to be clear though, when these teachers say this, it doesn't mean, Buddhism is not an everything-goes discipline. The Buddha himself said that one of the most important things to know is what is wholesome and what is not wholesome, right? And to refrain from things that don't benefit and cause harm, right? And to do your power to stop people from causing harm, okay? So this idea of everyone is my teacher, yes, it's true. It doesn't mean you have to agree with everything they're doing or see them as beneficial when they're not, okay? What it means is this is an opportunity for you to practice compassion, patience, kindness, good sense, even when it's hard. Okay? Even when it might be hard for you.

Even when your mom, who has always been so naggy, does it again. Okay? when your mom, who has always been so naggy, does it again. Even when your boss is really berating someone in the office. It doesn't mean that you say, oh, that's okay, you're my teacher. It means I'm not going to let my good sense, my steady mind, going to let my good sense, my steady mind, my clear seeing, and my love, I am not going to let go of that because it's valuable. Okay. And that's what we need in the world. In my opinion, more people with good sense, more people with loving hearts, more people able to see clearly what is beneficial and what is not, and even what that means, right? So today we'll do a little practice to remind us of what we have, to get in touch with our good hearts, our good sense, and we'll use a little gratitude for ourselves to appreciate who we are.

The fact that you're here today is already evidence of your wisdom and your good sense and your kindness. So find a seat where you could be comfortable. I know you're all sitting. Find a seat where you could be comfortable. I know you're all sitting. You're welcome to lie down. We have lots of mats in the back. See, we can do these fun things now that we've moved to this space. You can lie down.

You can stand up. If you are really anxious, you might want to quietly do walking meditation just here. You can go back and forth. All right? So go ahead and start to turn your attention toward yourself. You are welcome to close your eyes. You are also welcome to allow your gaze to simply lower. And notice your body. See if you're leaning forward or your chin is jutting out. That happens to me, for most of us that are on computers a lot.

So pull your head back in space. Bring your ears above your shoulders. You could tuck your chin a little bit. Notice if your shoulders are above your hips. And however you choose to sit, keeping your hands still and your eyes still. Thank you. And noticing where did your mind go? Where did your attention wander off to? As you get in touch with yourself, you might see thoughts arising. You might notice tightness,

contraction in parts of your body, warmth or heat. Images might be coming up, plans. Oh, I have to remember to do. And see if you can not grab onto anything, not capture anything right now. See if you can come back to the sensations that are happening now. Those sensations include the light that's entering through your eyelids,

the weight of your body, your ears right now. Thank you. And I'm going to ask you just to place your attention on the sensations of your body, your right eye, your left eye, your upper lip, upper lip, lower lip, the place where your lips meet, the place where your lips meet. Bringing your attention to your right thumb, your right hand thumb, forefinger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky finger, your right hand, your your right hand your whole right hand the whole right hand moving your attention to your left thumb, your left hand thumb,

your left forefinger, middle finger, left ring finger, and left pinky finger your left hand your whole left hand your right hand left hand, both hands. your right leg,

the thigh, the knee, the lower leg, and the right foot. Experiencing your right foot, the toes, the ball of the foot, the arch of the foot and the heel, the right foot, the whole right foot, and the left foot. The left toes.

The ball of the foot. The arch. The heel. The heel. Your left foot. The whole left foot. Both feet. Both hands.

Bringing your attention to your ears. And I'd like you just for 30 seconds to only notice and allow the sound in this space to enter your ears. Only noticing the sound in this space. The New York City sounds. Maybe you don't hear them. Maybe it's quiet. Thank you. And bringing your attention to your seat, your belly, and resting your hand on your heart. Resting your hand on your heart.

Maybe if you'd like, you can put both hands on your heart. Feeling your presence, receiving your breath and your life in this moment. Each one of us here in this room share certain conditions. share certain conditions. They include that all of us here have enough health to practice meditation and develop compassion and wisdom. We have enough intelligence to do this. We have enough intelligence to do this. We live in a place that is not in the midst of natural disaster or war,

which enables us to practice in this way. We all have different financial circumstances. None of us have to dig our water out of a well. None of us have to toil for our basic needs. We live in a time and a place where there are opportunities to do this. There are teachers, there are books, there are teachings, there are communities, not just Buddhism, that are working to develop, to evolve, working to develop, to evolve,

to create mind states of harmony, of goodness, of know, from a Buddhist view, we've all been born human, and this is very auspicious, very auspicious. That we were born human and we have all these special conditions is very rare. And you certainly can think of many people in the world who do not share those conditions right now, and many people throughout history who did not enjoy these precious circumstances. And so this is called enjoying a precious human birth. We are well favored. And so the way to show our gratitude for that is to not squander it. To share our gifts with ourselves and each other.

To have discipline in our words and our deeds, to recognize when we have greed and hatred and let go of it. So just taking a moment to take that in. You might say to yourself, I have gratitude for the life I've been given. I have gratitude for my relationships. I have gratitude for my relationships. I have gratitude for my good sense. I have gratitude for the food that I eat and the people who grow it. I have gratitude that I have electricity and a place to live.

Just taking a moment to name one or two things. Thank you. And I'd like you just to take a moment to check in with your motivation for being here today. Okay. Something brought you to spend your time practicing meditation, learning about wisdom and compassion, coming together in a community. Take a moment to clarify your intention.

And recognize how valuable it is. Everyone in here has a beneficial intention. I'm 100% sure none of you came in here to learn more greed or violence. You're in the wrong room. All of you came here to take care of yourself, to want to benefit the world, to understand. That's beautiful. You can say I thank you to yourself. You can just feel appreciation.

My teachers would tell you to rejoice and I just like you to remember you can come to that intention any time when you feel very disconnected from yourself, off in anxiety, worry, catastrophizing, when you're angry at your kids, at the world, just pause and remember this intention. Just pause and remember this intention. Let it guide your speech and your thoughts and your deeds.

Bringing your attention to your feet, your belly, your breath. I have tremendous gratitude for all of you and your willingness to be here, to begin again and again. And you can conclude the meditation. You can stretch or move, whatever feels appropriate for you today. Thank you so much, Kimberly, for that beautiful teaching on gratitude and reminding us all about being thankful for precious human rebirth. 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 four, 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 on November 12th, 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.