Theme: Suffering/End of Suffering
An incredibly detailed mandala from Nepal, dated to 1502, depicts Amoghapasha in the center of a palace surrounded by attending deities. The name Amoghapasha means “unfailing lasso” and references the noose he holds as part of his iconography. He holds the noose so he can grab any of his followers that might fall behind in their practice. Just like the goal of Buddhism itself, Amoghapasha seeks to end all forms of suffering through the destruction of ignorance and the realization of truth.
Image credit: Mandala of Amoghapasha, Nepal; dated 1502 by inscription, Pigments on cloth, Rubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin, C2006.66.43 (HAR 100011).
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
Tracy Cochran is editorial director of Parabola, a quarterly magazine that for forty years has drawn on the world’s cultural and wisdom traditions to explore the questions that all humans share. She has been a student of meditation and spiritual practices for decades and teaches mindfulness meditation and mindful writing at New York Insight Meditation Center and throughout the greater New York area. In addition toParabola, her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Psychology Today, O Magazine, New York Magazine, the Boston Review, and many other publications and anthologies. For more information please visit tracycochran.org.