Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Lama Aria Drolma 05/29/2025

Episode Date: June 6, 2025

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 12:12.Teacher: Lama Aria Drolma Theme: Compassion Buddha Amitabha in the Pure Realm of Sukhavati; Central Tibet; 19th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.6.3Learn 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 Churden. Every Thursday, we offer a meditation session at New York Insight Meditation Center that draws inspiration from an artwork from the Rubin's 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 Insight 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 everybody, Tashi Delek and welcome. Welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts Mindfulness Meditation Program here at this beautiful place called New York Insight Meditation Center. I am Tashi

Chodron, Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador, and I'm delighted to be your host today. So the Rubin is a global museum dedicated to presenting Himalayan arts and its insights, 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 deep look at the work of art that our teacher has chosen. And our teacher is Lama Ariya Doma, and so wonderful to have Lama Ariya Doma back.

We will hear a brief talk from our teacher, and then we will have a short sit, about 15 to 20 minutes, for the meditation guided by her. So I want to wish everyone a Happy Sakha Dhawa. Some of you who have been attending the Himalayan Heritage programs at the Rubin Museum physical space before the closing in October 2024, you might be familiar, we used to have this big celebration of Sakadawa. And what that is, is the most sacred month in Tibetan Buddhist calendar. This is the month that Buddha was born on the 15th day of the Tibetan lunar calendar, although it is May end, but in the Tibetan calendar,

it is the fourth month. And on the fifteenth day is when Buddha was born almost 2600 years ago. And then on the same fifteenth day, of course, another time Buddha also reached awakening enlightenment under Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. Also on the same 15th day, Buddha Mahaparinirvana, which means Buddha passed away. So it is considered very very auspicious and Tibetans, Buddhist practitioners all over the world will visit sacred space, monasteries, Dharma centers here in New York. And so it is so wonderful to come here together on this auspicious second day of Sakadawa.

So let's take a look at the art connection for today's session. It is this beautiful thangka of Buddha Amitabha in the pure realm of Sukhavati. This is origin from Tibet, central Tibet, in fact, a 19th century mineral pigment on cloth, about 39 into 27 inches. The connection to the theme,

as we are exploring on the theme of compassion, so it's the last session for this month, Amitabha Buddha is revered for his infinite compassion and for his vow to guide sentient beings to enlightenment and liberate them from the cycle of suffering or ocean of suffering, birth and death. The name Amitabha Buddha is known as Opa Me in Tibetan word, which is the Buddha of boundless light. Amitabha Buddha is depicted in the similar fashion as Shakyamuni Buddha as you see here. He's dressed in the very simple ordained monk robe, red in color as you see here, sitting in a Vajra lotus position on a pink lotus throne, two hands in the lap

in a meditative posture, holding the treasure vase filled with nectar. Amitabha Buddha resides in Deva Chen, which is the pure land of Sukhavati, meaning the land of ultimate bliss. Practitioners aspire to be reborn in this land to learn Dharma. And in this celestial realm, you can see all the bodhisattvas receiving blessings and teachings. Also, you can see these beautiful ornaments and flowers. The gods and goddesses above are making offerings. So here you see the Manjushri of Lokateshvara, the Bodhisattvas actually on this side of the Buddha on the bottom scene. So this is a beautiful Thangka painting depicting the Pure Land, Sukhavati. And so let's bring on our teacher for today. Our teacher is Lama Arya Doma. Lama

Arya Doma is an ordained Buddhist teacher in the Karmakarju tradition of Tibetan Buddhism who has completed over a decade of monastic study and meditation training. She emphasizes Vajrayana Buddhism and Buddhist principles making them relevant in our everyday lives, helping us to cultivate loving kindness and compassion, and bringing about a transformation of contentment and a genuine sense of well-being. Lama Arya Dromala, thank you so much for being here. Please help me in welcoming Lama Arya Dromala. APPLAUSE

Hello, good afternoon everyone. I'm so happy to be here today and thank you Tashi for the introduction. Thank you so much for showing us all the living tradition. So I came today from the monastery from upstate New York. And since Tashi has explained that it's such a holy month of Sakadava, where we are practicing a nunni practice, which is fasting for eight sessions, which means that you will have a very small breakfast with a huge lunch and then just liquids and the next day you will fast the whole day.

You won't have any water as well, no liquids and so on. And this is like a purification practice and the aspiration is to be a Bodhisattva. So as you see, I chose this wonderful Thangka because the aspiration of all Buddhist monks, nuns and people who are following the Buddhist tradition, their aspiration is to be a Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva is a person who is extremely kind and compassionate because that is innately who we are. That is within us, that Buddha nature. And then the Man's theme is compassion. So, you know, Tashi spoke about this Amitabha.

This is the text that I brought from the monastery. This is the long Amitabha text that we chant, and there are about three texts like this. So the idea is when somebody passes away, we chant this text after 49 days, so the aspiration for the person who has passed away is to go to this realm, this realm called Sukhavati, where Amitabha resides. And this realm is supposed to be so wonderful. There is no suffering, there is not even one bad word spoken. And apparently this realm is so beautiful because it's only Dharma people are practicing to be from Bodhisattva, the steps to become fully awakened.

And apparently when you want water, a stream will just appear. And if you want shade, a tree will just, with ornaments will just shade you. So whatever your wish is will magically appear. So it's such a magical realm. And the name Sukhavati, Sukha is the opposite of Dukkha. Sukha means happiness.

So this is the opposite of Dukkha. Sukha means happiness. So this is the aspiration. And there is a huge long prayer, the dedication to be born in Sukhavati. So every prayer, we conclude with this long prayers. But I also chose the, you know, according to this month's theme of compassion, I just wanted to recite the level of compassion that your heart needs to be. The level of compassion your heart needs to be

is really upping your compassion level to 100%. So I'm going to read a little prayer. Perhaps I may not have all the time to do it in the Tibetan, but I shall try. So here's the prayer. Ma na ka dang nam pe sem shen tam she lama sanje rimpu che la soa dep so. All sentient beings, my mothers, whose numbers equal the expanse of space, supplicate the Lama, precious Buddha. Manakada nampe semshen tamse Lama kunche cho chi kula sola sova devso.

All sentient beings, my mothers, whose numbers equal the expanse of space, supplicate the Lama, the all-pervading Dharmakaya. Manankada, Nimbay, Sampshen, Tamshay, Lama, Dechen, Lancho, Zope, Kula, Sova, Depso, all sentient beings, my mothers, whose numbers equal the expanse of space, supplicate the Lama, the great bliss, Sambokaya. Manam kadanam pesyamsen tamse Lama tujye trupi kule sova depso.

All sentient beings, my mothers, whose numbers equal the expanse of space, supplicate the Lama, the compassionate nirmanakaya. So what it really means is the level of compassionate. This prayer is a prayer that all sentient beings has been our mothers at one time or the other because we have lived several lifetimes. So in the Western world, perhaps, the term mother could also be your father who's taken care of you.

It could also be your grandparents who have taken care of you, someone who truly loved you unconditionally. So you perhaps feel that endless compassion for that person. So when we meditate, we bring that to the heart source, that feeling of compassion. So now I will a guided mindfulness meditation and there are two essential points when you meditate. And the first point, the essential point is your body posture.

So there are seven body postures that it would be wonderful if you could follow and I'll go through it briefly The first is having your back straight It's very nice to have your back as straight as possible and if you have any pain Just relax into your back. It's also nice to kind of not lean too much into your chair You know to be a little further away from that, from the back of your seat. And since all of you all are seated on the chair and you're on the cushion, the posture that you are in, if that's comfortable, you know, which is a fully lotus position or a bodhisattva position, that's wonderful. And if you're sitting on the chair,

keep your legs parallel to the floor and perhaps not crossed like this, but parallel to the floor and your knees apart a slight bit and wonderful. And your hands can be palms down and just put it on your knees wherever it falls like this. Or the other position is the right hand or your left. And this is the Buddha's posture. You'll see in the Buddha statues sometimes it's the left hand or the right with your thumbs touching and you'll just place it on your on your lap like this so either of it you know with your palms down on your knees or touching this and you'll sit very comfortably your shoulders are a little squared not very close to your body and your chin kind of tucked into your towards your neck and you're gazing gently on the floor or you can gaze gently straight up

and in this tradition we keep our eyes open but if you want to keep your eyes closed that's fine as well. So let's all sit upright. And as we start this mindfulness meditation, let's be here in the present moment. So we will take first three breaths just to feel that breath, just to be in the present moment. And this is how you do it. Here's an example. You will take a deep breath like so. And breathe out with a huge sigh, letting go of all the stress you've been carrying today. So let's start with the first breath like so, inhaling deeply through your nose letting go of all your

stress and being in the present moment and let's sit for a few moments like this before we take our next breath. And now the second breath again, let's take a deep breath through your nose. Breathe out all your stress. breathing normally at your own pace. And now the third breath, breathing in very deeply, all the way to your abdomen. And letting go with a big sigh and letting off all your stress. And then coming back to the present moment, here and now. And now continue to breathe normally. We'll sit for a few moments, breathing in through your nose and breathing out comfortably at your own pace... Inhale and exhale.

Keep your mind's attention on your breath. And if your mind wanders off, that's okay. If you catch your mind going on towards a thought, just say thinking, drop that thought and bring your mind's attention back to your breath.. Bring to mind this deep compassion, that unconditional love you feel for someone you care, and think that all the sentient beings have been our mothers at one time or the other. And have that genuine sense of compassion for yourself and for everybody around you.. Have this feeling of deep compassion for all the people who's in your life, whom you love, your siblings, your parents, your friends. And have that appreciation and gratitude, the feeling.. Now bring to mind the people whom you may not be very fond of. They also need compassion. So have that genuine sense of compassion for yourself

and for the people who you may not really like. They also need a compassion, so we are giving endless compassion, the feeling of endless compassion. Inhale and exhale. Breathe normally at your own pace. Bring your mind's attention to your breath.. You are the one who is the source of all the happiness. You are the one who is the source of all the happiness. You are the one who is the source of all the happiness. You are the one who is the source of all the happiness. You are the one who is the source of all the happiness. and send forth that feeling of absolute compassion, gratitude to every sentient being... Inhale and exhale. And as you exhale, let that breath fill this entire space in front of you and rest in that present moment of awareness. Okay, relax now. Thank you so much, Lamar Ejoma, for that wonderful session.

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.