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 Insight 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 Delek.
Welcome.
Welcome to Mindfulness Meditation at the Rubin Museum of Art.
I'm Tashi Chodron,
Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador,
And I'm so happy to be your host today.
We are a global hub for Himalayan art with a home base in New York City,
And we're so glad to have all of you join us for our weekly program where we combine art and meditation.
And from our collection,
We will first take a look at work of art from our collection.
We will then hear a brief talk from our teacher,
Kyra Jolingo.
And then we will have a short sit,
15 to 20 minutes for the meditation guided by her.
Now let's take a look at today's theme and artwork.
The theme this month is liberation.
The art connection for today's session is this incredible three-bladed ritual peg,
Kila or Purba,
Origin from Tibet,
About 1600 to 1699.
It's a medal.
The purpose of the ritual dagger is to subdue negative forces.
This enables practitioners to transcend limitations and attain spiritual liberation.
The description of this beautiful ritual object is this is a Purba in Tibetan,
And in Sanskrit it is Kila.
It's a ritual dagger,
A three-sided peg,
Nail-like ritual implement deeply rooted in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and burn traditions.
They are sometimes described as daggers,
Usually made from metal or wood.
The most desirable of the metal Purbas are made from meteorite iron.
Sandalwood is also popular.
The specific materials are also advised for certain ritual practices as well.
The principal deity associated with the Purba is Vajrakilaya.
According to the tradition of Vajrakilaya,
There are four Purbas.
That's Kerim,
Which is a generative phase,
Dzogrim,
Which is a dissolution phase,
The absolute Purba,
Rigpa Tönche Purba,
And so forth.
And alternatively,
The enlightened mind Purba,
The immeasurable compassion Purba,
The wisdom awareness Purba,
Which is Rigpa Ishiki Purba.
So this particular one is exquisitely crafted,
Three-sided ritual dagger,
Was never used in battle,
But still an effective weapon in esoteric ritual practices.
This has the power to pin down and annihilate negative forces and ultimately all forms of attachment to one's ego.
And ego is considered one's worst enemy that brings so much suffering.
So the Purba is used as a ritual implement to signify stability on a prayer ground during ceremonies.
Although ritual daggers can vary in form,
The handle and the blade are said to combine transcendent wisdom and skillful means.
The triple blades arranged around the central axis of the dagger symbolize mastery over the three realms of desire,
Form,
And formlessness.
These Purbas generally have three faces at the top and crowned with a half Vajra.
But this Purba has a horse head at the top rather than a half Vajra and Garuda sinking its teeth into the dagger's blade.
Now let's bring on our teacher for today.
Our teacher is Kaira Jwalingo.
Kaira Jwalingo is a Dharma teacher with a lifelong interest in blending spirituality with social justice.
After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh's monastic community,
Kaira Jwal now teaches internationally in the Zen lineage and the Vipassana tradition,
As well as in secular mindfulness at the intersection of racial,
Climate,
And social justice with a focus on activists,
Black,
Indigenous,
People of color,
Artists,
Educators,
Families,
And youth.
Based in New York,
She offers spiritual mentoring to groups and is the author of We Were Made for These Times,
Ten Lessons in Moving Through Change,
Loss,
And Disruption from Parallax Press.
Kaira,
Thank you so much for being here.
Please help me in welcoming Kaira Jwalingo.
Thank you so much for having me.
Much gratitude for your explanation of this ritual peg,
Dagger.
I want to share a little more about the theme of liberation as a force that can cut through our attachments and liberate us from what we are holding onto,
What's holding onto us.
There's a wonderful bodhisattva in the Buddhist cosmology,
His name is Manjushri.
The main tool Manjushri holds is the sword of wisdom,
Which cuts through our illusions,
Our diluted states.
And so that's what attracted me,
We get to choose one of the art pieces,
And that's what attracted me to the one for this week.
And the Buddha,
Before he entered his life as an ascetic,
In those days the princes,
The royal family,
They had long hair,
So the Buddha had very long hair,
And it's said that before he entered the forest to become a wandering ascetic,
He took all of his hair and he cut it off with his,
His dagger.
So there's this image of releasing the things that hold us back,
That somehow keep us weighed down.
And when I became a nun in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh,
We all recited out loud this poem as our head was being shaved.
And it was,
Shedding my hair completely,
I make the great vow today,
To cut to the root of all of my afflictions,
And bring joy to all beings.
So evoking that act of the Buddha cutting off his hair.
So what we need something sharp,
We need something strong to do that,
But that's this peg that is this very powerful symbol,
And the,
The fierce faces that you saw at the handle,
The top of the handle,
We need fierceness in our spiritual practice as well,
It's not just about gentleness and kindness and sweetness,
All of those things can be fierce too.
So in many temples throughout Asia,
You'll see two bodhisattvas guarding the gates of the temple.
One is very kind and compassionate,
And the other is very fierce,
And has fangs and tongue sticking out and claws.
And it's just showing that both of those qualities are needed,
That we need to be able to welcome in what is wholesome,
And show this aspect of ourselves that's gentle,
But we also need to be able to say no,
To guard ourselves,
To guard what is important to us,
To cut off what is harmful,
Or what is holding us back,
Both of those things are needed.
So that very powerful ferocity on the handle is a part of,
It's a reminder of this energy that we,
We want to also be cultivating,
And that's a kind of courage as well,
To do things that are difficult,
That kind of ferocity.
So just one last thing to name that this,
This removing illusion that this sword of wisdom,
This peg,
Helps us to do is also really distinguish between what's wholesome,
What's unwholesome,
To make choices that are really helpful for us,
To have that kind of clarity,
Right?
When you think of just cutting through something,
There's clarity there.
You can see,
Because so often we,
We are in,
In the face of veils of illusion that keep us confused,
We can't quite,
But that clarity of being able to,
To really see and then act on that insight.
So there's just a verse that I want to share that is found in the 37 practices of all bodhisattvas that's about acting from this place of clarity,
Seeing our mind,
Making choices that are beneficial.
It's jāse tokme zangpo,
As Tashi helped me to pronounce correctly,
Hopefully.
So the verse is,
In short,
No matter what one might be doing,
By examining always the status of one's mind with continuous mindfulness and alertness to bring about the good of others,
This is the practice of all bodhisattvas,
That this kind of penetrating wisdom and insight,
This sharpness of this,
That this peg could support us with,
It's to help us examine our minds,
Whatever we're doing,
Wherever we are,
Know what's in our mind.
And with that knowing,
We look to see,
How can we live for the benefit of all beings?
What kind of clarity do we need to be able to not create suffering,
But instead bring about well-being for ourselves,
For others?
So with that,
I'll invite us to practice coming into the most comfortable posture position that's available to you right now,
And feeling your breath,
Feeling your body,
Allowing yourself to be here as fully as you can.
If there's any parts of yourself that are still somewhere else in the past,
In the future,
In some other location,
Gently calling them to be back here with you,
To unify yourself.
It can help to take a few deep breaths,
Maybe we take three of the deepest breaths we've taken all day,
Deep inhale into the belly,
And a full,
Long exhale,
And a few more like that,
If that's helpful,
And letting our breathing return to its natural rhythm,
Maybe long,
Maybe short breaths,
That's fine,
And giving space and time for your body to settle,
The skin,
The flesh,
The bones,
To really release their weight onto the support of the earth,
To soften in places that may be holding tension,
Letting awareness caress the face,
And let go of tightness in the face,
And anywhere else in the body,
Opening,
Releasing,
Just feeling,
Allowing whatever is here in the body and mind to simply be.
So contemplate now if there's a situation that may be somewhat challenging in your life right now,
If there's some suffering,
Some difficulty,
Some confusion,
Some doubt,
Maybe a conflict,
Or a grief,
And just as a gentle exploration,
Inquire if there is anything that you might be attached to or holding on to that is contributing to this difficult situation,
If you can identify some way in which you're holding on to something,
Grasping,
Clinging,
Is there a possibility to let this go even a little bit?
When I reflect on an argument that I was a part of recently,
I'm aware that I was attached to being seen in a certain way by the other person,
I was attached to the other person behaving,
Thinking in a certain way,
That contributed to my suffering,
Not just what the other person did or said,
But my own attachment to how I wanted things to be.
What is it that you may see in yourself that keeps you wound up,
Tight,
Or caught in this difficult situation?
And if you need support to release,
Maybe you call upon this sword of wisdom,
This dagger that can help cut through the illusion.
It may feel like a violent image,
But it's coming from a place of deep wisdom,
Deep love,
Because it wants to help us get free,
To be liberated.
Don't be afraid to tap into the fierce bodhisattva,
The fierce faces at the head of the dagger.
They're not fierce out of aversion,
Out of hatred.
They're fierce out of kindness,
Out of compassion.
So,
See yourself in this difficult situation.
On the other side of it,
What would it feel like in your body to be free in this situation,
To have seen through the illusion,
To have cut off the binds,
The things that bind you?
What would liberation feel like,
Be like in this situation?
Really spend time experiencing that in your body,
In your mind,
Now,
No longer caught,
No longer afraid,
No longer defensive,
No longer silent,
Letting go of whatever notion or idea or expectation or requirement that you might have of yourself,
Of the other,
Or the others,
Of the situation.
What would it be like to completely renounce,
As an act of love,
All the requirements you have of this situation,
Of yourself,
Of yourself in the past,
Of yourself in the present,
Of yourself in the future,
To completely let go of expectations,
Judgments,
Requirements of how you should have been,
How you are,
How you must be,
Cutting through whatever resistance is there to how things actually are,
Letting go,
Letting things be just as they are,
Not fighting.
In short,
No matter what one might be doing,
By examining always the status of one's mind,
With continuous mindfulness and alertness,
To bring about the good of others,
This is the practice of all the Bodhisattvas.
Thank you so much for that,
Kaya.
That concludes this week's practice.
To support the Rubin and this meditation series,
We invite you to become a member at rubinmuseum.
Org slash 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 slash e-news.
I am Tashi Chodron.
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a mindful day.
