Theme: Potential
A magnificent rendering of the wrathful deity, Mahakala, appears in a white form with six arms. He holds many objects related to esoteric tantric practice including a trident staff in his upper left hand symbolizing the wandering life of an ascetic, as well as a curved knife in his upper right hand which represents the severing of conceptual thought. In his lowest left hand, he holds a wish-fulfilling jewel. While Mahakala uses this jewel to grant his followers wishes, it also represents the wish to achieve enlightenment in order to help all beings reminding us of the potential we all have for awakening.
Image credit: The White Mahakala, Shadbhuja; Tibet; 18th century; pigments on cloth; Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin; C2006.66.28 (HAR 813)
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 Interdependence Project.
About the Speaker
Kimberly Brown has degrees in physics and literature and trained as a psychodynamic psychotherapist. She worked at a marketing consultancy for more than a decade before joining the Interdependence Project. A graduate of the center’s first year-long meditation teacher training program, Brown studies Tibetan and American Buddhism. Her teachers include Lama Norlha Rinpoche and Sharon Salzberg. Her work and teachings emphasize the ways in which contemplation, wisdom, and ethics are shared among all traditions of awakening.