Mindfulness Meditation Podcast - Mindfulness Meditation with Tracy Cochran 9/28/2020

Episode Date: October 1, 2020

Theme: Change Artwork: The One of Loving Kindness, Maitreya : http://therubin.org/2-- Teacher: Tracy Cochran The Rubin Museum presents a weekly online 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 a recording of the live online session and includes an opening talk and 20-minute sitting session. The guided meditation begins at 17:45. This meditation is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg, teachers from the NY Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine. To attend a Mindfulness Meditation online session in the future 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, Dawn Eshelman. Every Monday 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 practice, currently held virtually. 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 Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine. And now, please enjoy your practice. Please enjoy your practice. Welcome. It's great to be here with you here today for our weekly mindfulness meditation session. Coming to you from the Rubin Museum of Art, a museum of Himalayan art and ideas here in New York City. And we're so glad to have all of you join us for this session of Mindfulness Meditation,

where we combine art and meditation online. We're talking about change this month and how it relates to this Buddhist concept of impermanence and just examining our relationship to change. And we'll get into that in just a moment when we look at our artwork together and also when we bring our teacher in, Tracy Cochran, who's here with us today. Yes, we'll take a look at a work of art from our collection. We'll hear a brief talk from our wonderful teacher and then we'll sit together for 15 or 20 minutes. So always great to see where you're joining us from today. So we have the stretches of the country

represented here. So from Staten Island to San Francisco. Welcome, everyone. So let's take a look at the art that we are focusing on today. We are talking about change. And before we go into a deep look here, I also just want to think about this concept of change. What is our relationship to it? When are we excited about change and when are we terrified? I also want to acknowledge today is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, so that day to reflect and atone and ask for forgiveness and let go in a way to move forward and the change that's involved in that, in what is required of oneself to reflect and ask for that forgiveness and be responsible and move on. Also, here we are in this moment of fall, right, where we're toggling back and forth a little bit from these summer temperatures into

the more brisk ones, and at least here in this hemisphere. And then the sense of school and whatever its form, sort of beginning a different kind of year. So the Buddha that we're looking at here is Maitreya. This is the Buddha of the future. We brought this to you today as this kind of one type of framework of looking at change, looking at the future, looking at what is possible. And this is a really interesting object because we know that this was made after models designed by the Mongolian sculptor Zanzibar from 1635 until 1723 was his life. that for many objects in our collection, we don't have a specific artist's name, or often these objects are made by artists who are not named or recognized in the same way that we here in the West tend to. So it's just interesting to be able to pinpoint that particular person. And this person and this particular Buddha Maitreya the Buddha of the future is is really special for worship among the Mongols and this promise of this new age coming in that this Buddha represents

was really appealing especially to the Mongols because they were kind of linking their aspirations to re-establish their glory days the Mongol empire with this this Buddha of the future so here in this context he's bringing this hope and faith for a better future and let's take a look at just the beauty of this particular object, there's a really subtle and beautiful soft sleekness of this form and a pose that is very graceful and accentuated by this kind of how the hem of this cloth at the bottom there clings and then kind of juts out really accentuating this slight tilt in the hips and a beautiful long line of cord and sash and even just delicate details like the print on the cloth and a if you can see over this left shoulder this beautiful little antelope skin draped over his left shoulder here. So this

is a sculpture that, again, follows Zanzibar's very kind of Nepalese-inspired composition. So lots of soft sleekness of the form, kind of interrupted by these asymmetrical linear patterns. So, so much grace and hope in the sculpture here. And then of course, at the very top, we have this kind of recognizable feature that tells us this is Maitreya. And that is that in his fabulous hairdo right up there, there is a stupa. And that really signifies that this is Maitreya. So we will talk about this idea of change and our relationship to it with our teacher today, Tracy Cochran. She is the editorial director of Parabola, a quarterly magazine that for 40 years has drawn upon the world's culture and wisdom traditions to explore the questions that

all humans share and she teaches mindfulness meditation mindful writing at new york insight and throughout the new york area and it is a delight always to have her you can learn more about her and her work at tracycochran.org tracy are you there yes Yes, I'm here. I had to get promoted. You'll always be promoted, Tracy, in this program. Thanks so much, Tracy. It's so lovely to see you amidst your beautiful trees in the background there. Yes.

Thanks for being with us. Well, I'm delighted to be here and I'm even happy in a way that that little bit of anxiety just happened when I didn't have permission to enter

because this is exactly what life is like. And we can look at this beautiful statue and wonder what it would feel like to look forward to the future because we may be more used future, to fearing the unknown. So I wanted to offer you today an approach that I use, and I wanted to begin by fully acknowledging that today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. And it touches me very deeply to remember that the word atonement comes from a root that means at one, to be at one. one, to be at one. What do we need to let go of to be at one? So I found a quote from a wonderful indigenous elder from this continent, Black Elk, who was Ogallala Sioux. And the quote, which some of my friends heard me say last night, is that the first piece, the first piece we can know, which is the most important, is that we are one.

The universe is one. And at the center of this oneness and all its powers, there's a great spirit. And this center exists in us and in everything. exists in us and in everything. In other words, it's discovering that we belong to life, that we are at home here. And you might think, well, that's well and good for Black Elk, because he was gifted in many ways, including in a way of being at one with nature, a way that we might feel we've lost.

So I checked with the National Forest Service. I know you weren't expecting to hear that. But I checked and brushed up on what to do if you feel lost in the woods. to adapt the advice from the National Forest Service, which uses the word stop, S-T-O-P. So has means literally to stop and sit down the way we're sitting right now together. Stop and sit down. Don't panic and just bolt off, including in your thinking. Thinking about the future and the election and all the things that might befall you personally, nationally, globally. Just stop and sit down. globally just stop and sit down and then the second letter t the forest service would say think and what they mean by think is

down and check in and first of all make sure sure, are you tired? Is something injured? Are you a little bit sick? You must heal as much as possible, or things will get worse, especially if you're in the forest. And you're not quite sure what's coming next, so the most important thing to do is to take care. First step. And then the O is to observe. And that's what we do when we meditate.

We observe inside and outside with kindness and without judgment. and outside with kindness and without judgment. And we notice what's supporting us. If you were actually in a forest, you would notice the shelter of a good tree or fresh water or berries that you recognized and knew were safe to eat. You just observe. And the P,

the last letter, the Forest Service would say plan, which means if you really lost, stay put. Unless you have a very good reason to move. But I would extend that to mean path,

to realize that you have company, that even though you're sitting at home today and we're in all different places, we share something. We're on the same path. and the path is very concrete. We wish to be more present, more at one, atoned, and the medieval route even sounded like a tune, And the medieval road even sounded like a tune, to be attuned, to be with life and not alone, not to know exactly what will come next, but to be open to surprise that something unexpected may yet come.

There's an ancient legend that the Buddha's mother, when the Buddha went off to the forest to seek enlightenment. Nobody knew what would happen, including him. And while she waited, there was grief, there was fear, there were all kinds of feelings. And she met that by slowly and patiently weaving. It's a little bit like the Odyssey in Penelope. She wove a beautiful cloak for the Buddha, taking pains to grow the cotton and to attend to every detail of its production as a kind of meditation. She didn't know if he would ever come back, but she took care. And in the end he did. And there were all these unexpected events where he personally couldn't receive the cloak, but someone else did who made a wonderful awning of it and marvelous long story

short it was saved in a cave for Maitreya Buddha for not her son but for someone yet to come. She could not have known this, but she lived in a way, not unlike Black Elk during this time, a way that took care, that brought the attention home, brought it close. And if this seems like something that can only be done in the best of times, I've had to learn the spaciousness of my own heart. And time and again, I've reclaimed that space. It was something that was done right in place. And what's touching about this is that the first time she was reminded of this was in a trancic camp and she was reminded again in a concentration camp. So change, it's something we long for, we feel so confined, many of us, and the atmosphere is just impregnated with the unknown. What will come?

We long for change. We fear change. But one way to be with change is with an aspiration to be at one. And we do that by sitting down and opening up to the whole of ourselves, the oneness of ourselves, our thinking, our heart, our body. That's where it begins. So let's practice this together. We take a comfortable seat.

And if you're comfortable with your eyes closed, let them close. Because I'll give instructions so you won't be alone. But it helps to bring the attention home to your own experience. Without any judgment, without any thinking, just notice how it feels to be here today.

And notice how it feels to be completely welcome, just like this, without any straining or striving for a different state. Just this. Just now. And notice that this attention softens you. you. It begins to open the body. And you'll see that you'll start thinking, this is perfectly natural. It's what brains do. And when you get taken by a thought, just notice that you can gently come home again to the experience of being in a body, breathing. And notice that the sensation of being present in a body isn't thinking but seeing

and receiving. Thank you. And notice that there's a stillness that's present that isn't an absence. It's full of life. Inside and outside, We're alive. Thank you. Noticing how it feels to relax, to let go, and be received by an attention that doesn't judge. That's kind. Thank you. When you get lost, just notice this and come home, back to sensation, back to a presence that sees without judgment. Thank you. Noticing that coming home to sensation doesn't close us off, it opens us. It opens us to life. We remember that we're supported and nourished by air and impressions and forces of all kinds. We're not alone. Thank you. And notice that no matter what comes up, a painful thought, a physical pain, a doubt, a tension, everything can be allowed, can be met by an attention that doesn't judge

or comment. attention that doesn't judge or comment, that sees and accepts. Thank you. And noticing how it feels to relax and open and be at one with life. Completely acceptable. Completely forgiven. Thank you. Thank you.. Noticing that when you come home to sensation, you open to a presence inside and outside is shared, we share it. Thank you.. . Noticing how it feels to be full of life and part of life and not alone. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It's remarkable that even though we're on the screen and we're all different places, we can still feel a presence and a way of being together that's very real. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I think it's important to not rush to forgive. to the beautiful thing about this practice and this attention that we're invited to connect with this presence that doesn't judge is that we can bring it to ourselves even stories that we might judge to be outdated or pain that we might have or hurt that we have or rage that we have. And just like the Forest Service said, don't rush into doing something. Just stay present. Just bring attention to it and let the story be seen

or let the pain be seen or let the anger be seen and in time it will let go or transform or an insight will appear on its own in its own time I've I've experienced this to be true. So we don't have to worry about knowing when it's time. It will be time when it's time. So that's what I, you know, just look at that story with interest, with fresh interest and with kind eyes. And a new story will begin to be born. Thank you. Yeah, again, the beauty of the practice is that it begins to allow us to see that we all get triggered, but that we are more than these patterns begin to play out when we get triggered. That we're also an attention that sees without judgment. So you feel yourself beginning to get triggered.

You're frightened or some ancient hurt comes up and the patterning begins. This is going to sound maybe counterintuitive, but my guidance to you is refuse to reject that pattern that begins to play out. Refuse to reject or judge that aspect of yourself that's hurt or wounded, because as you grant it, this kind attention, it will settle down and reveal itself to you. It's deeper truth. I found this to be true, that you can't go wrong

if you treat yourself like a wounded child who needs love and understanding and nonjudgmental awareness. Thank you. I love being here. Yeah. Yes, I'll be back thank you everybody take good care take good care of yourselves bye bye bye thank you tracy yeah so it's really beautiful to feel that space that is created after we meditate together, even here online. That concludes this week's practice.

If you would like to support the Rubin and this meditation series, we invite you to become a member of the Rubin. Thank you for listening. Have a mindful day. you