Theme: Mindfulness
Seated on a double lotus throne and draped in gorgeously detailed robes, this sculpture of the future Buddha Maitreya from Western Tibet performs the mudra or hand gesture of teaching. He has the classic markings of a Buddha with a large cranial protuberance called an ushinisha, elongated earlobes, and a dot called an urnabetween his eyes representing the the third eye. This is the eye that represents the true eye of the mind that comprehends reality while being a symbol for our innate ability to be mindful in all things.
Image credit: Seated Buddha, Western Tibet; c. 1400; Bronze; Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, 1989.364
Mindfulness Meditation Series
Himalayan practitioners have, for centuries, used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase one’s ability to focus. Now, western scientists, business leaders, and the secular world have embraced meditation as a vital tool for brain health. Learn more
Presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and the New York Insight Meditation Center.
About the Teacher
Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso Rinpoche was born in 1954 in southern Tibet and fled with his family to Bhutan and India in 1962. Entering a monastery at the age of ten, he was enthroned as a khenpo, or professor, in the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism by Pema Norbu Rinpoche. Khenchen Tsewang Gyatso has received all of the major lineage empowerments and transmissions of the Nyingma School. His open, direct, and thorough style has made him an effective teacher in America, Taiwan, and Chinese communities in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. At the Rubin he has been featured in talks and workshops such as the Living Mandala experiences.