Lama Aria Drolma

A meditation session led by Lama Aria Drolma. If you missed this program, check out the podcast, now live in the Rubin Media Center.

For centuries Himalayan practitioners have used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase focus. Mindfulness meditation offers both a refuge from the world around us, and an opportunity to engage with it more consciously.

Whether you’re a beginner, a dabbler, or a skilled meditator seeking the company of others, join expert teachers in a forty-five-minute weekly program. Each session is inspired by a different work of art from the Rubin Museum’s collection. Designed to fit into your lunch break, the program includes an opening talk, a twenty-minute sitting session, and a closing discussion. Chairs will be provided.

Presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and the Interdependence Project. This program is supported in part by the Hemera Foundation.

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Theme: Liberation through Listening

Resting on a deerskin with his right hand cupping his ear sits the great Tibetan saint Milarepa. Born during the 11th century, Milarepa was subjected to great cruelty by his uncle, leading him to learn black magic in order to get revenge. After destroying his hometown and killing several dozen people with a hailstorm, he repented his evil ways and devoted himself to the practice of Buddhism. Despite his sins, he was still able to achieve enlightenment in one lifetime, demonstrating the power of the Vajrayana system. Milarepa’s pose is the classic pose for singers in Tibet. He was known for bursting spontaneously into song exclaiming the joys of the Buddha’s teachings.

About the Speaker

Lama Aria Drolma has been studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism since 2008 and is trained in the Dharma Path program of progressive stages of meditation and contemplation for serious practitioners offered by Kagyu Thubten Choling monastery. She teaches at the monastery’s affiliated centers, at the Hindu Samaj Temple, and the Cultural Center and Jain Temple in Poughkeepsie. Lama Aria Drolma is a graduate of a traditional Tibetan Buddhist retreat spanning three years and three months, which is an advanced, completely cloistered, intensive meditation training program. She attended Mumbai University in India and graduated with a B.A. in sociology. She also does volunteer work for several nonprofit organizations, including fundraising for breast cancer and HIV/AIDS-related issues.