Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Tracy Cochran 09/04/2025

Episode Date: September 12, 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 15:41.Teacher: Tracy CochranTheme: ChangeWheel of Life; Tibet; 18th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art; gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation; F1997.40.10Learn 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, and Tashi Deleg, welcome. Welcome to the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Arts Mindfulness Meditation Program at this beautiful place at New York Insight Meditation Center.

I am Tashi Chudun, Himalayan Programs and Communities. 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 are so glad to have all of you join us both 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 have chosen today. And I often say it is handpicked by our teacher amongst selection of art that we sent in. And I was so thrilled to have Tracy Cochran back. Tracy will lead us meditation with a 10 to 15

minutes of instruction, a guided meditation. And then we'll have a short sit. So we have selected the theme change. And the art connection for today's session is Wheel of Life, origin from Tibet dated 18th century mineral pigments on cloth and this is about 25 into 17 into 5 eighth inches and this is a thanka which is a scroll painting and the connection to the theme is strongly emblematic of change and it is a captivating visual reminder of cyclical existence the wheel of life is featured at the entry of main temples in a monastery setting. The Wheel of Life is known as Bavana Chakra in the ancient Sanskrit language. And in Tibetan, it is called SIPA Khorlo. So the Wheel of Life is a visual teaching and a meditation tool symbolically representing the samsara, which means the cyclic existence,

where it's a circle, birth, death, and rebirth. Based on our own action, we believe that we return based on our own action from this life to next. So what you're looking at here is, you know, many circles at the hub. In the innermost circle is these three animals. They are often known as the three poisons or mental poisons in the Buddhist teaching. And the animals associate with docha, Shedang Timu, in Tibetan word, which are docha is desire. So the rooster associates or symbolize desire,

which leads to clinging attachment, which brings so much suffering. And the snake associates or symbolizes anger, hatred, jealousy. So when we look around the world, all the suffering is caused from these afflictive emotions. And then on the bottom, the very stylish pig, it's a pig which associates or symbolizes ignorance, which is considered the root cause of all the suffering. And then surrounding the hub, you see three upper section

and three lower section, which is in the clear kind of white color and then in the dark. So the clear path is meritorious deed. If you do good date, there's good merit, and then negative energy or negative afflictive emotion, then it's this path. And then beyond that is the six realms, and the upper realms are the god, demigod, and the human. Lower realms are hungry ghosts, which is called preta, and then animal and hell realm that we all know, like every religion talks about.

The best realm in the teaching is considered the human realm, the realm that we are all in. It often says we may have done something really, really good in many past lifetime to be born as a human. Because in the human form, we know what's good, we know what's bad. So often I've heard great masters and elders saying it's up to you in your hand where you want to go next. but each realm, each being, every being, we are born with the seed of awakening. And because of these three afflictive emotions, that the seed is obscured. So the session that we do every week is to sit, meditate, contemplate to not suppress, but to subdue, to lessen the afflictive emotions so we could give rise to the true nature,

the bliss that is within each of us. So let's bring on our teacher for today. Our teacher is Tracy Cochran. Tracy has taught meditation and spiritual practice for many years. She's a speaker and author whose most recent book, Presence, The Art of Being at Home in Yourself, was published by Shambala Publications in 2024. Tracy is the founder and leading teacher of the Hudson River Sanga and has taught mindfulness and mindful writing at New York Insight, the Rubin Museum and many other venues, in addition to serving as the editorial director of the Acclaimed Spiritual Quarterly Magazine Parabola, has writings have appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Psychology Today, the best spiritual writing series, Parabola, and many other publications and anthologies. For more about Tracy, please check our website, Tracycochran.org. Tracy, thank you so much for being here. and please help me in welcoming Tracy Cochran.

I'm glad to be back. You never know with change. I picked the wheel of life because what's interesting about it is as gorgeously and memorably as it's depicted in this tradition and as Tashi illuminated, it's not something that belongs to Buddhism alone.

It's something that's written in our bones. It's written in our hearts that things change. Every single one of us sitting here today and everyone listening has gone through some kind of strategy just to get here today, some kind of story you told yourself about how it would be good for you. There's something inside that innately knows that life isn't quite under our control or not at all.

in 1954 the great american poet robert frost was interviewed and with all great artists or great thinkers they always ask people like this what they know about life and he said in three words i will sum up everything everything i have learned about life it goes on it goes on and and sometimes we learn this in a wake of a broken heart and again it's really relaxing and warming to realize that everybody here

and everyone listening has had a heartbreak they did not think they could go on on from every one of us. How will I go on in the wake of this loss or in the wake of this turn of events? In the way we are conditioned to deal with this reality of the wheel of life, the reality that we are born, we will thrive, we will decline and get sick, we will grow old and we will die. The way we deal with this is with our thinking, a lot of the time, with our stories, with our beliefs, things that we cling to, to give us a sense of security and stability.

And the great gift of this practice, which was preserved by the Buddha and by Buddha's tradition is to give us another way to be with change. In the ancient tradition, they go through all these steps of our arising. And there is one place, one place that they call unconditioned, one place that isn't determined by all the influences inside and outside that make us the way we are. That place is the space between feeling when it arises. And in Buddhism, feeling is something very close to sensation. It's a feeling that this is good or pleasant or this is bad.

and unsafe, unpleasant, or something that we miss completely because it seems boring or neutral. It's that primal with the arising of that feeling, with practice, we have a choice about how we will respond, how we will be with that feeling. with that condition. There's practice isn't about being perfect. It's not about having a perfect life, perfect conditions, perfect voice. It's about being present with.

Being present with. When we sit, we take an action that's the foundation of our identity. That's really wild to think about. In Latin, the word identity comes from two words. One that means being, and the other that means repetition, what we repeat, our sense of continuous being. So in that space, that's unconditioned, that's potentially free, we have a feeling. we have a feeling, and the feeling that's coming up

might be attached to a story that brings anxiety or fear or sorrow. We have an opportunity to be with that feeling, with kind acceptance. This is arising. It's not about banishing it or rejecting it or fixing it. It's about creating a new micro-environment around what hurts moment by moment by moment.

And I see this is a moment when I feel contracted or I feel embarrassed or ashamed or afraid or embracing myself because these people might not be my friends. they've hurt me can I be with that feeling and shift my attention from the story to presence can I be present with this and moment by a moment by a moment then we're still on the wheel

there's no stopping the wheel and Buddhism and many other traditions teach us this. But there is a way to have a bigger life, a freer life. Instead of going down into contraction that leads to, you know, unfortunately, I like pigs personally, so I'm sorry. I'm really sorry the pig got such an assignment. But to avoid going down into fear or grasping or rage, instead to be in that free place, their white zone.

Trotsuma-Tunson-Palmo, who I met in India, Nepal, a couple of years ago, great teacher, said, in fact, those afflictive emotions are not. not our true nature, they're our second nature. Our true nature is free. It's loving, it's present. Those other things we do out of fear and rage, we learn. So let's sit together and unlearn. Unlearn.

And the first instruction I always give is to make yourself welcome. Make yourself welcome here. And that means let your eyes close if you feel comfortable with closed eyes. And allow the body to appear, sensations to appear. feelings, allow everything to be here. And notice, notice there is an attention that's already here, an awareness that you don't have to create or chase, it's here. allow that awareness

to touch sensation feeling whatever's here and notice that this awareness softens you Notice how it feels to let everything be, as it is.

Notice how it feels to sit with other beings who are just like you, on the wheel. in the midst of change. Noticing that thinking that thinking is here, all kinds of thoughts, bringing all kinds of feeling. And notice that this is not a problem. problem, but natural. This is what we are conditioned to do. And when we notice that we're carried away by thinking,

come back, back to the body, back to presence, Notice how it feels to rest in stillness, not silence, Silence, but softness, acceptance. Noticing the life in the life inside you. There is an awareness here that isn't thinking. but seeing with curiosity and kindness. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. No, it is, that is, that is, that is, It's natural for the mind to drift, to go away, to come back, not a problem. Noticing a feeling and sensation too are natural conditioned, not a problem. allowing yourself to rest in awareness, in spaciousness. Letting go of all striving. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Let me. yourself be held in loving awareness, sky-like, and warm, accepting, accepting, patient, Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. noticing presence, spacious, vast, and also deep, deep inside. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Resting. in awareness, noticing that this awareness is also you. More present and alive than any story than any story.

Bye. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Just be it just be. Still rest in awareness. Let life flow. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Just be. rest in presence Coming home to the truth of who you are. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for that, Tracy. Thank you so much for that, Tracy. 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 Ruben 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.