Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Michel Pascal 03/07/2024

Episode Date: March 15, 2024

Theme: Reawaken Artwork: Tibetan Shrine Cabinet (Chosham); New York, New York; 2012-2013; Wood, pigments and varnish; Rubin Museum of Art; http://therubin.org/382 Teacher: Michel PascalThe Rubin Museum of Art 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, and includes an opening talk, a 20-minute sitting session, and a closing discussion.The guided meditation begins at 16:59. This meditation is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg, teachers from the NY Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine.  If you would like to attend Mindfulness Meditation sessions in person 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 always attend for free.  Have a mindful day!

Welcome to the Mindfulness Meditation Podcast presented by the Rubin Museum of Art. We are a museum in Chelsea, New York City that connects visitors to the art and ideas of the Himalayas and serves as a space for reflection and personal transformation. I'm your host, Tashi Chodron. Every Thursday, we present a meditation session inspired by a different artwork from the Rubin Museum's collection and led by a prominent meditation teacher from the New York area. This podcast is a recording of our weekly in-person 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 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. Welcome to Mindfulness Meditation at the Rubin Museum of Art. I'm Jacqueline Smith, Manager of Programs and Education, and I'm delighted to be your host today.

We are a global hub for Himalayan art with a home base here in New York City, 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 first take a look at a work of art. We will then hear a brief talk from our teacher, Michelle Pascal, and then we will have a short sit, 15 to 20 minutes, for the meditation guided by him. Now let's take a look at today's theme and artwork. Our theme for the month of March is Reawaken, and the artwork that we have chosen for today is this Tibetan shrine cabinet, which is on view in the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room on the fourth floor of the museum.

This intricately carved shrine cabinet, adorned with auspicious symbols of enlightenment, cultivates a spiritual atmosphere in a private space. Having such a sacred space within one's home helps us to reflect on our inner self and guides us towards reawakening. These shrine cabinets are also known as dharma displays. They are meant to house deities. They usually resemble small temples. Shrine cabinets can be relatively simple in design or ornately carved and painted. This elaborate example was specifically commissioned for the Tibetan Buddhist shrine room at the Ruben. It has three niches framed by decorative carvings of foliage. The crown of

the cabinet is carved with symbols representing the three jewels of the Dharma, Buddha, Teacher, Dharma, Teachings, and Sangha, the Community of Pract of practitioners. The crown also contains the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism. The outer columns of the shrine cabinet feature the elephant, monkey, rabbit, and bird from the tale of the four harmonious friends. Beholding the shrine cabinet is a powerful visual reminder to adhere to the teachings and integrate them into our essence. Now let's bring on our teacher for today, Michel Pascal.

Michel Pascal, a meditation teacher for 25 years, has led successful programs for prisoners which help prevent suicides and reduce re-offending. He's written 20 books on spirituality, including Meditation for Daily Stress, 10 Practices for Immediate Well-Being. Known as the Medicine Voice, he performed at Carnegie Hall on multiple occasions and played at the Peace Day concert in Times Square this past September. This December, he presented his methods at the United Nations. Michel, thank you so much for being here and for leading us in today's practice. Thank you to the Rubin Museum. Thank you to each of you

to take care of the sanctuary of the Rubin Museum. Thank you. Tachidere. Let's pray. Let's sing. Oh, my dear. Oh, my dear. O MADRE PÊMEO Omani Omani Omani pemeo

Omani, omani pemeo O mani temeu O mani temeu me oh... Donc aujourd'hui, notre sujet est l'awakening. L'awakening commence quand nous calmes notre esprit. C'est la différence entre parler de l'Auvergne et vivre l'Auvergne. Intellectuellement, nous pouvons tous comprendre le concept de l'Aakening. On peut lire beaucoup de livres, on peut écouter beaucoup d'exceptionnels, Rinpoche, Haïlama,

pour parler de l'awakening et on peut comprendre. Mais ce n'est pas parce que nous comprenons intellectuellement que nous vivons pratiquement. C'est totalement différent.

La plupart des fois, nous pensons en Amérique que plus nous comprenons, plus nous vivons. Mais c'est totalement différent. Nous pouvons comprendre intellectuellement, nous pouvons étudier pendant de nombreuses années, mais on ne peut jamais quitter l'éveil. Donc,

pour moi, en vivant à New York et en travaillant avec les prisonniers de Los Angeles, l'éveil commence quand nous calmes notre esprit, spécialement à New York City. L'awakening commence quand, par exemple, dans le subway, dans le train, nous sommes calmes.

Nous sommes assis à l'heure de la chute, mais calmes. Nous nous asseyons à la chambre de la roche, mais en calme. Notre esprit est clair, comme un lac pure. Et nous sentons qu'en train de New York City, nous sommes grandis.

Nous sommes stables. Nous ne sommes pas occupés, nous sommes en éternité. L'awakening commence dans le lieu de travail, quand nous arrivons face à nos collègues, quand nous sommes face à notre ordinateur, et soudain, nous nous sentons grandis, stables, pas occupés, mais en éternité. L'éveil commence quand nous prenons un café.

Nous allons dans un magasin de café. Nous nous asseyons. Nous appréhendons votre café. Mon café d'aujourd'hui, mon cappuccino, est mon awakening. Nous sommes dans le trafic, mais nous sommes grandis dans notre voiture. Nous sommes stables. Nous ne sommes pas occupés.

Nous sommes dans l'éternité. C'est donc l'expérience de l'éveil. L'expérience de l'éveil, c'est que soudain, nous réalisons que la vie est au-delà des émotions. Il n'y a pas de vie sans problèmes. Il n'y a pas d'océan sans émissions. Life without problems. There is no ocean without waves. Everyone will receive a lot of waves, a lot of emotions, a lot of perturbations. Especially when we live in a big city like New York City. But when we calm the mind, in the middle of the chaos,

we realize there is something beyond the wave. There is the horizon beyond the waves. There is the awakening beyond the emotions. It's like we arrive in a pure land suddenly. It's not we don't care of the emotion. We see the emotion. We take care. We need also to manage our life. Nous devons aussi gérer notre vie, nous devons prendre soin de notre monnaie, de notre santé, de notre nutrition, de notre corps.

Mais nous réalisons que ce n'est pas suffisant. Il y a quelque chose de plus. Et c'est aussi ce que nous apprenons dans le Sutra de l'Art. Et c'est aussi ce que nous apprenons dans le Sutra de l'Art, quand nous réalisons que tout ce que nous voyons, tout ce que nous pensons, tout est une illusion. La forme est l'éloignement, et l'éloignement est la forme. Donc, comment développer l'éveil? C'est notre question.

Comment vivre dans notre vie quelque chose qui ne meurt jamais? La nature pure de notre esprit, la nature pure du Bouddha, à l'intérieur de nous et autour de nous. Quand j'étais avec mon Rinpoche, un jour, j'ai demandé à lui, Rinpoche, qu'est-ce que la méditation signifie? Peux-tu m'expliquer?

Et je veux partager avec vous son réponse. Donc, Chepa Dorje Rinpoché, qui vivait à Paris, je l'ai rencontré à Paris, et il était aussi le dernier descendant de Marpa. Vous savez Marpa, le premier disciple qui a écrit ce enseignement. Donc je dis à Rinpoche, qu'est-ce que la méditation signifie? Comment pouvons-nous ressentir l'éveil

dans le chaos de notre monde? Et je ne vais jamais oublier l'antwort de Chepa Dorje. C'est une très énigme d'answers. Rinpoche say Michel meditation doesn't exist nothing exists

he said just sit down like a mountain and you will feel all in your heart. Sit down like a mountain and you will feel all in your heart. Ces mots résonnent dans mon cœur, 20 ans après, et j'ai adapté à méditer comme'Union des Nations avec un équipe du maire de New York City et nous parlons entre interfaiths. et nous parlons entre interfaiths.

Et c'est fascinant de savoir que dans la christianité, dans la christianité orthodoxe, il y a une manière de méditer. Et la première pratique, c'est de se asseoir comme une montagne. C'est fascinant de voir que, dans la christianité orthodoxe, comme Myrin Poche m'a dit en Nygma, il m'a dit, Michel, de se asseoir comme une montagne, et vous vous ressentez tout dans votre cœur. like a mountain and you will feel all in your heart so I invite you to meditate with me

like a mountain in the middle of New York City and you can keep this podcast with you like an audio guidance to practice with me in the train avec vous. Comme une guidance audio pour pratiquer avec moi dans le train,

pour pratiquer dans un magasin de café, pour pratiquer au travail, dans n'importe quel endroit stressant. Et si vous voulez, vous pouvez aussi pratiquer dans Times Square.

C'est le lieu où je donne beaucoup de sessions pour entraîner les gens à vivre l'éveil dans le monde, le symbole du chaos, la square de temps. Alors, méditons comme une montagne. méditer comme une montagne. Nous nous asseyons comme une montagne. Nous ne faisons rien. Nous nous asseyons

comme une montagne. Just we are sitting down like a mountain. And we visualize a mountain, a huge mountain. The mountain is grounded, stable. The mountain is grounded, stable. And in New York City, we need to be grounded, stable, like a mountain. So we visualize a mountain. We see the mountain is stable. nous visualisons une montagne, nous voyons que la montagne est stable et nous allons respirer mentalement

la stabilité de la montagne et quand nous exhalerons, nous diffuserons mentalement la stabilité de la montagne dans notre corps. Alors, pratiquons. Nous visualisons la montagne. Nous voyons la stabilité de la montagne et nous respirons mentalement la stabilité de la montagne ensemble, comme ça.

Diffusez la stabilité. diffused stability again breathing stability diffused stability diffuse stability and immediately we feel grounded, stable, like a mountain. Let's go deeper in the practice. Every day we say, I am busy, I am busy. But when we meditate like a mountain, we are not busy.

We are in eternity. donc nous visualisons une montagne nous voyons la montagne est en éternité et nous respirons mentalement l'éternité

de la montagne comme ça the eternity of the mountain like that. Diffuse eternity. You feel Vous ressentez l'éternité de la montagne dans votre corps. Vous ressentez l'éternité de la montagne dans votre corps. You feel the peace of the mountain in your body. Let's do it again. We visualize a mountain. We see the eternity of the mountain. And we breathe in mentally

the eternity like that. Diffuse eternity. You feel Vous ressentez la paix de la montagne dans votre corps. Et nous restons comme ça, comme une montagne. Trois secondes. like mountains. Three seconds. Three seconds in eternity. One.

Two. Three. You feel Trois. Vous ressentez l'éternité, la stabilité de la montagne à l'intérieur de nous. Ce n'est pas que je médite,

mais la montagne médite dans nous. Dans le train, dans le bâtiment, dans le trafic, dans un magasin de café, dans un supermarché, dans la rue. Quand nous méditons comme une montagne, nous devenons une montagne. Like a mountain, we become a mountain. And this is the awakening. Thank you so much for leading us in that meditation, Michel. We are most grateful to you. Thank you, Jacqueline.

And let's finish our class singing, crying. Et finissons notre classe en chantant, en pleurant. Omani Pemeu Satsang with Mooji Oh Oh Oh, my knee, pay me oh Oh, my knee, pay me oh Uma liberdade Merci beaucoup. Merci beaucoup de m'avoir rencontré. Ça veut dire beaucoup pour moi d'arriver au Musée Rubin parce que, beaucoup de fois, avant de donner des classes, to come at the Rubin Museum because many times before to give classes

I was coming just to pray in the shrine room because the shrine room for me it's a sanctuary of peace. To travel in the time when we enter at the Rubin Museum, we are in another time. And if we calm our mind,

we can feel the energy through any sculpture, any tanka painting, because it's a sacred place. It's more than a museum. It's a sanctuary. So many times in the shrine room or just

when I was walking in the museum, I will say I enter in a sort of dialogue with the divine world. It's like we feel that the masters teach us in the silence, soul to soul.

It means that the energy of the masters, since many centuries, are at the Rubin Museum. And when we calm the mind, when we spend time, not when we walk fast, but when we spend time facing a statue, a tanka painting, I invite you to leave the moment you receive the teaching, you receive the blessing. The blessings at the Rubin Museum are very active. The blessings at the Rubin Museum are very active. It's like we are facing some Rinpoche. When I go in the shrine room, the first time I was shocked. I close my eyes and I say, there is a presence.

They are. The High Lama, the Rinpoche are present. So to come at the Rubin for me, it's a spiritual experience when we receive the blessings of the Masters. Thank you for sharing with all of us what a meaningful place that the Rubin holds in your heart. It means so much to know that. Thank you, Michelle, for your practice. Thank you.

And I want to finish with an amazing news that I want to share with you. A few days ago, Los Angeles Time has published the last data of our work with the prisoners of Los Angeles. or work with the prisoners of Los Angeles, 92% of the prisoners never go back to jail. This is the highest result of America.

It's not only me, it's not only meditation, it's an holistic approach with Amity Foundation, what we name the Therapeutic Community Program. But the result is the result. In New York, for example, around 60-70% of prisoners returned to jail two, three months after. In Los Angeles, 80% of prisoners return to jail. But with the programs that we developed, 92% never return to jail. That is astounding.

It really shows the power of meditation that you're able to transform. We can change our minds. This is what you say, Jacqueline, the awakening. We need to awake. We are born to wake up. Absolutely, we're born to reawaken. Thank you again, Michel, for being here.

Thank you to everyone at the Rubin. Tashi delek, all my love. Tashi delek to you. That concludes this week's practice. To support the Rubin and this meditation series, we invite you to become a member at rubinmuseum.org membership. And to stay up to date with the Rubin Museum's virtual and in-person offerings, sign up for a monthly newsletter at rubinmuseum.org e-news.

I am Tashi Chodron. Thank you so much for listening. Have a mindful day.