Theme: Offering
About the Meditation
Meditation session led by Rebecca Li.
The guided meditation begins at 19:51.
For centuries Himalayan practitioners have used meditation to quiet the mind, open the heart, calm the nervous system, and increase focus. Now Western scientists, business leaders, and the secular world have embraced meditation as a vital tool for brain health.
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 designed to fit into your lunch break. Each session will be inspired by a different work of art from the Rubin Museum’s collection and will include an opening talk, a twenty-minute meditation session, and a closing discussion.
This program is supported with thanks to our presenting partners Sharon Salzberg, the Interdependence Project and Parabola Magazine.
Related Artwork
In Tibetan Buddhist settings, tables like this one hold offerings and ritual implements for a lama or ritual specialist to use during ceremonies. The table is usually positioned to the right of the throne or seat of the lama performing the ritual. This tall example is deeply carved and painted. The central upper section shows the symbolic three jewels flanked by dragons and cloud motifs. Carvings imitating bamboo, a square knot, and textile designs decorate the rest. Offering tables are also used for altars and hold images or representations of the Buddha’s enlightened body, speech, and mind. Some objects displayed on an offering tables serve as teaching aids, including a glass of water, flowers, and fruits.
About the Speaker
Rebecca Li, a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen, is the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community. She started practicing with Master Sheng Yen in the 1990s and served as his translator until his passing in 2009. She later trained with and received full Dharma transmission from one of his Dharma heirs, Dr. Simon Child, in 2016. Dr. Li teaches meditation and Dharma classes, gives public lectures, and leads retreats in North America and the UK. She is a sociology professor at The College of New Jersey, where she also serves as faculty director of the Alan Dawley Center for the Study of Social Justice. Her latest book is Allow Joy into Our Hearts: Chan Practice in Uncertain Times. Find her talks and writings at www.rebeccali.org.
