Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Lama Aria Drolma 08/28/2025

Episode Date: September 5, 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  12:27.Teacher: Lama Aria Drolma Theme: SerenityMaitreya, the Future Buddha; Tibet; ca. second quarter 15th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1998.17.2Learn 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 Children. Every Thursday, we offer a meditation session at New York Inside 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 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, everyone, Tashi Deleg, and welcome. Welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts Mindfulness Meditation Program here at New York Inside Meditation Center.

I'm Tashi Chudun, Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador, and I'm delighted to be a host. today. So the Rubin is a global museum dedicated to presenting Himalayan art and its insights, and we're so glad to have all of you join us in person and online 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 we've chosen today. We will then hear a brief talk from our teacher, Lama Aria Doma. And then we will have a short set about 15 to 20 minutes for the meditation guided by her. Let's take a look at today's theme and artwork. The artwork for today's session

is this beautiful Thanka painting of Maitreya Buddha, known as the Future Buddha. Origin from Tibet dated mid-15th century, mineral pigment on cloth, and this is about 34-38th into 27-quarter into one one-eighth tanka painting. The theme for the month is serenity, and this beautiful tanka, it premieres serenity through the economy of this future Buddha, the Jetsun Chamba.

My tree sits in calm, stillness, radiating peace and harmony. So this painting is a remarkable example of 15th century Tibetan art, which was known as the golden age for Tibetan art, replacing the Indic styles. So I was looking at it earlier and we were talking about how it has the inspiration from the Nepalese art where you see the hoop-like earrings. So the touch is very sensitive. So hoop-like earrings is a very Nepalese art aesthetic, and it brings inspiration from that period to the Tibetan art.

So the large, stylized flowers that you see here, and the leaves are typical of this time period. And the painting includes an extensive array of teachers, as you can see on the surrounding. I can also see Shakyamuni Buddha here, And if you look on the other top left above the Jampa's shoulder, the blue one is Medicine Buddha. And you see a lot of figures, the teachers in Yellow Hat, so that could associate with the Gelukpa School of Tibetan Buddhism.

So this teaching lineage is featured in the five treaties of Maitreya. These commentaries on Shakimuni Buddha's teachings are attributed to Maitreya, the Jetsun Champa. So Maitria is both the Buddha of the future and the Bodhisattva of loving kindness. Now, in terms of iconography, you can identify that this is a bodhisattva is when you see the omelets, ankles, necklaces, crown. Maitreya, known as Jampa, in Tibetan word, which means the kind one or the loving one, represents our collective yearning for a harmonious world. So Maitria is depicted on his celestial throne, radiating light.

He is adorned with the princely jewels of the bodhisattva. It is prophesied that Maitreya will usher in a golden age of peace and harmony. Maitre is set to live currently in Tushita heaven and he will arrive on earth during an age when the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha have been largely forgotten and herald a new era for all sentient beings. So let's bring on our teacher for today. Our teacher is Lama Aria Doma.

And Lama Aria Doma is an ordained Buddhist teacher in the Karma Khadju tradition of Tibetan Buddhism who has completed over a decade of monastic study and meditation training. Lama Aria emphasizes Vajuriana 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.

Lamaria Doma, thank you so much for being here and please help me in welcoming Lamaria Doma. Thank you, Tashi. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you all for being here today. It's such a beautiful day, and I really am so happy to see you all. Thank you and welcome. Thank you, Tashi, for the introduction and talking about the Maitria Buddha

and the monastery that I come from today. I traveled all the way from Duchess County. It's only an hour and 20 minutes. But in the monastery that I live, it's Papung-Tubten. Choling. There's a 34-foot Maitya Buddha. Beautiful Buddha. You know, all the parts came from Nepal and it was like a jigsaw puzzle

and they threw off the book. You know, we had to put all the pieces together and thankfully our teacher Rimpuche was there. So it's really beautiful. It's magnificent. When people walk in, you know, From the outside, it doesn't look like there's a 34-foot Maitria Buddha, but when they walk in, it literally takes away everybody's breath. It's beautiful.

So, like Tashi mentioned, we believe Maitreya Buddha is going to be the future Buddha, and he is in the realm of Tushita and waiting for the correct time to come down to earth to give us all the teachings. And Maitria Buddha represents compassion. and unlike a lot of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and deities where they are sitting on the floor, perhaps cross-legged, you see Maitya Buddha, he's almost sitting in the chair with his feet down. And recently, I just thought he was going to be the modern Buddha, you know, sitting on the chair.

And then recently our teacher reminded us that he's sitting in that pose to get up as soon as someone calls for him. him. You know, he's like alert. You know, when you sit in the chair, you can easily get up. That is the reason he's sitting on the chair. So, the theme today is serenity. And in mindfulness meditation, serenity refers to a profound state of calm and peacefulness that arises when the mind is fully present, aware, and free from judgment, distraction, and reactivity. You know, know, most often, our mind is doing its own things, and it's doing all of the things except for being present here.

You know, it's going through a lot of things, you know, how did I get here, the things that happened, and, you know, as you sit, you're probably also thinking of my three or so many things. So what we'll do is we'll come back to this present moment here and now. and serenity in the mindfulness meditation sense is a steady unwavering peace that emerges when the mind rest completely in the present moment. So serenity arises when we also gently accept whatever is happening around us. You know, how often it's so hard for us to accept what is happening in the present moment.

Everybody knows this, you know. I got out of the train and there was hordes of people and I wanted to push through and my mind is like, oh, they're not moving, it's not a park, go fast, and all these thoughts that come to our mind, right? And so, and that's normal, that's okay. But here, in the mindfulness meditation sense, serenity is that calm acceptance. We cultivate, we practice.

for inner stillness from which automatically compassion and wisdom naturally emerge. So, when you have this moment of stillness, when you have this moment of calm acceptance, you know, just accepting what is happening right now, what is happening at this moment, your body aches, your thoughts for the day, just saying, okay, I accept all that, just giving that control away. You know, there's a calmness. There's a stillness to it.

And now you've also seen the wonderful Maitria Buddha, and there is many talks of some of the realized teachers, living teachers, like Thaisitur and Phae or Dalai Lama, they may return as the Maitria Buddha. Because, you know, in the Buddhist tradition, we believe in reincarnation, and they've all worked on this earth. Like, you know, if you take, for instance, Dalai Lama, how many people have heard of him? You know, probably this world has probably close to 8.8 billion people, and definitely about

4 billion I've heard of him. And he has done so much good, you know, when you see him, he arises, you know, in you arise that peace, that calm, and that reminder to be loving and compassionate when you see Dalai Lama's face. So imagine how magical it is, right? So we believe that these may be the future Maitria Buddha who will emerge when all the teachings have gone away when there's so much chaos in this world and suddenly Maitria Buddha will come and bring peace on this earth.

So it's a very positive way to think, correct? So today, since we have this wonderful Maitria Buddha as the artwork. We are also going to have the guided meditation on Maitria Buddha, his loving kindness and compassion. And in the Sanskrit word,

Maitria is Maitri, which means friendship, which means a friend. So that's what his name represents. So let's all get comfortable. And then you can sit up straight, as straight as you can. I'm loving your legwork.

You're sitting very beautifully and his eyes are closed. So it's amazing how well you're sitting. You've been a practitioner for a long time. Yes, wonderful. And all of you who are sitting on the chair, it's so graceful to see all all with straight backs. And so sit comfortably with your spine straight.

Hands can just gently rest on your lap. which could be, there are different traditions, and in the tradition that I learned, we put our palm facing down and just rest it wherever it comes on your knee. Fantastic. And there's a second one, where you put the right hand over the left,

touching the thumbs. You'll see most of the Buddha's posture like this, and that also falls on your lap wherever. Wherever it falls on your lap. So both positions are good. And if you're sitting, it's nice to have your legs parallel on the floor, not crossed, because it grounds you. And, you know, in fact, the truth is, when you have all these postures, meditation happens to you. Most often we'll say, let's meditate, right?

Like we are doing the meditation, but meditation happens to you when you sit in this right posture. So let us all be grounded. And if you want to close your eyes, that's totally fine. If you want to move, if you want to shift, if you want to cough, totally fine, okay, when you meditate. The most important thing is for you to be very calm, very at ease with your body and gentle. So you can close your eyes softly and now we will start with taking three deep breath. This is the only time we will breathe very deeply. And the example is like so.

You can see the example. Breathe in very deeply all the way to your abdomen, like so. And let go with a huge sigh. You're letting go with a huge sigh, getting rid of all your stress and anxiety that you're carrying. And then now lower your shoulders. where you carry a lot of stress and now breathe softly gently for a few moments before we take the second breath and now your second breath again will breathe

deeply, inhale deeply, and as you exhale, just do it with a huge sigh, letting go of all your stress and being here in the present moment. And now let's breathe gently at your own pace. and now the third breath very deeply all the way to your abdomen and breathe out with a huge sigh releasing all the tension in your shoulders the jaws your neck And being totally present at this moment, right here now. And now continue breathing at your own pace. Bring your attention to your natural breath.

Feel it gently breathing in and breathing out. And we'll sit for a few moments just paying attention to our breath. Thank you. Don't control. your breath, breathe naturally at your own pace. With each exhalation, breathe out all your worry and stress. Thank you. If you're

mind has wandered off, just label it as thinking and bring your mind's attention back to your breath, breathing in and breathing out at your own pace. And now, we will invoke Maitria's blessing. So this will be a visualization meditation. If your eyes are closed, in your mind's eye, imagine Maitria Buddha sitting before you

or you can refer to this image in front of you. You can keep your eyes closed or open and visualize from the image, in front of you, a warm, beautiful golden light fills you from your head all the way to your body, to your toes, radiating boundless loving kindness and compassion, and literally feel that warmth, that unconditional love, from your forehead the light that beautiful golden light fills your body completely

and every cell in your body is healed completely and sit with this visualization for a moment just breathing in and breathing out As you inhale, Again, visualize Maitreya's Buddha's Buddha in front of you or in the image in front of you. And visualize this beautiful golden light. Touch your forehead.

And it covers your whole entire body. And at that very moment, every single, cell in your body is healed. And visualize yourself so serene, so peaceful and happy. And now gently remind yourself with these affirmations, I am safe, I am happy.

I am free from suffering, and I'm healthy, and I'm at peace. And now, we'll extend this loving, kindness, and compassion to our friends, to our family, and to the whole universe. So again, visualize this beautiful. beautiful golden light from the image of Maitria Buddha, touching your forehead and filling your whole body with that beautiful golden light and every cell in your body

is accepting this love, kindness and compassion. and you are completely healed and from your heart center this beautiful light, golden light filled with loving kindness and compassion goes to this whole universe in a moment touches your family, your friends, the whole universe, all the people in the whole country

and you see them happy and at peace. And we'll sit for a few moments feeling this for others. Expanding that golden light from your body to the whole universe. And now you can say, may you be safe, may you be happy, may you be free from suffering, may you be healthy, and may you be at peace. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Again, Inhale and exhale, and as you exhale, let go of all the stress and anxiety you carry within. And just rest your mind in that present moment of experience. And now relax, I'll ring the gong. I'll ring the gong. You'll gently open your eyes.

your head gently and your shoulders and come back to this room, to your body. Thank you so much, Lamaya. That concludes this week's practice. and this meditation series, we invite you to become a friend of the Rubin at Rubin Museum.org slash friends. If you are looking for more inspiring content, please check out our other podcasts, Awaken,

which uses art to explore the dynamic paths to enlightenment and what it means to wake up, available wherever you listen to podcasts. And to learn more about the Rubin Museum's work around the world, visit rubin museum.org. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day.