Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Lavina Shamdasani

Episode Date: April 10, 2026

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 11:00.Teacher: Lavina Shamdasani Theme: Open-MindednessAtisha (982-1054);  Tibet; ca. 18th- 19th century; wood, pigments, lacquer; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2013.12.6Learn 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 week, we offer a meditation session that draws inspiration from an artwork from the Rubin's collection and is led by a prominent meditation teacher. You can find more information about the related artwork in the episode description. Our Mindfulness Meditation podcast is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and supported by the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism. And now, please enjoy your practice.

Hello, everybody. Good afternoon and Tashi Delak. Welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts Mindfulness Meditation Program. I'm Tashi Children, Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador, and I'm delighted to be a host today. The Rubin is a global museum dedicated to presenting Himalayan art and its insights, and we are so glad to have all of you join us for our weekly program, where we combine art and meditation. Inspired by our collection, we will find out.

first take a deep look at the work of art we have chosen for today. We will then hear a brief talk from our teacher, Lavinah Sham Dasani, and then we will have a short sit, 15 to 20 minutes for the meditation guided by her. The artwork for today's session is this beautiful sculpture of Atisha, Dipamkara. Tibetan, he's often referred to as Chau Atisha, Chau means legend, dated 18th to 19th century, and this is a sculpture made out of wood mineral pigments and lacquer. This is about 12, 3, 4th into 9 into 5 quarter inches. The theme for the month of April is open-mindedness.

Atisha was born in India to a royal family. He relinquished his noble lifestyle because of his deep spiritual curiosity. He searched far and wide to find spiritual mentors. Atisha demonstrated open-mindedness by embracing a new path. Eventually, he became a pivotal figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Atisha Dipamkara was born to a royal family in Bengal region of India. He trained at renowned Indian monasteries like Vikramashila and Nalanda, a well-respected master.

He was invited to share his wisdom by the king. kings of Western Tibet. Attisha spent close to two decades in Tibet. He distilled Tibetan Buddhist teachings, making them even more practical and accessible. His teachings are encapsulated in the Bodhipata Pradipa, lamp for the path to enlightenment known as Chanchup Lamki Drama in Tibetan language. This sculpture depicts Atisha wearing his signature attribute the hat of a scholar known as Pandita's hat. As a monk, he has a monk, he wore the garb of a renunciate. The expression on Atisha's face, painted in golden pigment, symbolized merit-making and devotion.

For devotees painting a deity's face in gold is a profound act of devotion known as Shalzel in Tibetan, symbolizing an offering that brings blessings increases merit and aids in purifying negative karma. something that I grew up witnessing on statues and thankas by my parents in our shrine room. I most recently had the great fortune to offer gold paints on Guru Rumpurhach's statues in Bodhaya, dedicating for world peace as well. So this statue of Atisha is gazing forward, apt for a teacher giving a discourse as indicated by his hands held in a teaching gesture known as Dharma Chakra, Mudra. This example of Tibetan wooden sculpture was made with a combined method of solid wood carving and composite construction similar to its pair, a sculpture of Atisha's principal disciple,

Tram Thunthana. Both have the same size and painted decoration and were probably part of a larger set that represented the teachers of the Galupah School of Tibetan Buddhism. Now let's bring on our teacher for today, our teacher is Lavinah Sham Tasani. Laveena is a certified compassion teacher through the Compassion Institute and Stanford University. She has taught programs focused on mindfulness, compassion, joy and gratitude, and let book club discussions and meditations for over half a decade. Lavinah studied positive psychology coaching at the Holbein Institute and helps clients transform their lives and meet their personal and professional goals. Find Lavinah at Souljoy by lavena.com. Lavinah thank you so much for being here. Thank you Tashi for the warm welcome

and thank you to the Rubin Museum for having me join Mindfulness Podcast and thank you to all of you for tuning in today. The teachings of Atisha, a great Buddhist master, invite us to train the mind and heart, not by controlling life, but by changing how we meet it. In contemplative practice, openness doesn't mean passivity or indifference. It means creating space within ourselves so that we are not immediately reacting, reacting, tightening, or pushing away what arises. It's the capacity to stay present with experience, with a sense of curiosity, steadiness, and allowing.

And from that openness, we begin to see more clearly. We're less caught in our immediate reactions, and more able to respond with intention. Here we allow ourselves some freedom of choice in this small moment of openness. Let me share with you a very relatable story to bring this concept into fruition. Imagine you are stuck in traffic.

You're late. Something matters and your mind starts to tighten. This shouldn't be happening. I need this to move. Notice what happens in that moment. The body contracts. The mind narrows. Everything feels more pressured.

From this vantage point, possibilities are narrow. Now, imagine a small shift. The traffic is still there, but instead of resisting it, you allow it. You accept it. Not that you like it,

not that you're giving up, but just a softening. and from that openness, something interesting happens. Your mind begins to open to possibilities. Maybe you realize there's another route. Maybe you listen to some music and actually enjoy the extra time. Maybe the urgency softens just enough that your whole system settles.

And so when you finally arrive, nothing about the external situation may have changed, but you have. You arrive more relaxed, more present, more available to what's in front of you. And this is what openness offers us. It doesn't remove the traffic in our lives,

but it changes how we move through it. And from that, new possibilities begin to emerge. And this is what openness allows us, the ability to think clearly, to open up, to all the gifts, that the universe is offering. With openness, our perspective widens. We are more open to receive.

And so let's practice together with openness as our central theme. For the next few minutes, we'll explore this directly, what it feels like to create a little more space within our sense. so that instead of meeting life with contraction, we begin to meet it with openness.

Begin by gently closing your eyes or lowering your gaze, whatever feels most comfortable to you, and finding a position that supports alertness and awakeness and comfort, resting your hands on your thighs or clasping them together and planting your feet firmly on the ground if you're seated. Begin simply by bringing your attention to your breath. Just as it is. Noticing the sensations of the breath, the gentle rise, and drop of your chest, of your abdomen,

and letting the breath flow naturally, noticing the air entering the nostrils on the inhale and letting go ever so gently as the breath leaves our nostrils on the exhale, simply being with the breath. no need to change it. And notice what arises as you tune in to the body breathing. Perhaps you're holding some tightness in parts of your body,

noticing your jaw, your heart center, your fingers, your legs and your toes, really trying to relax any tightness. And with every exhale, seeing if there can be just a little softening, just a little more openness, creating a bit more space inside to whatever is.

as thoughts arise as they do. Instead of resisting or pushing them away, see if you can simply let them move through. Simply notice. With unconditional love, wherever your mind goes. With this accepting of whatever arises, we can also,

gently release. And so seeing if you can notice, accept, open, and release, bringing your attention to your breath. If something arises that feels uncomfortable, again, don't fix or resist. simply make a little room for it, accept, and open. Remembering that you are larger than any single experience, remembering that nothing is permanent, everything comes and goes. Remembering that experience leads to wisdom and strength, remembering that you are still you and you are still loved.

As we settle in and open to whatever arises, we notice that the intensity of the energy begins to settle, begins to slowly dissipate like ripples on a pond as a stone is thrown in. And as the energy dissipates, we open to clarity and possibility, seeing if you can tune in to this knowing. And if something else arises, that feels uncomfortable, simply lean into this practice of making a little room for it. Openness is not something we achieve once, but something we return to again and again, creating space and acceptance so that life can move through us with a little more ease And we can choose our responses from a place of clarity and wisdom.

And now, for the last few minutes, simply resting in the sense of openness, the sense of spaciousness, with every breath really easing in to this openness and spaciousness. Remembering that this practice is not about changing what we meet in life, but changing how we meet it, choosing how we respond from wisdom and intuition.

Now, tuning in to any. felt sensations in the mind, in the heart center, and in the body that this practice might have welcomed. Seeing if you can really connect with any shifts of spaciousness, remembering how this feels in the mind, heart center, and body and tuning into it, carrying it with you for the rest of your day and week ahead. And now gently open your eyes and carry the spaciousness with you for the moments to come. Thank you for practicing with us today.

And thank you so much for that, Lavinah, and thank you all for joining. That concludes this week's practice. If you enjoyed this podcast or are a weekly listener, we invite you to support this series by donating and becoming a friend of the Rubin at Ruben Museum.org slash friends. The Rubin is a nonprofit that relies on the generous support of donors like you to create meaningful experiences with Himalayan art around the world. If you are looking for more inspiring content,

check out our other podcast, Awaken, which uses art to explore the dynamic path 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, sign up for our newsletter at rubinmuseum.org slash newsletter. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day.