ABOUT THE MEDITATION
This week’s meditation session is led by Sharon Salzberg and the theme is Rebirth.
The episode begins with an opening talk followed by a 20-minute meditation. In this episode, the guided meditation begins at 16:11.
RELATED ARTWORK
The Wheel of Life explains the concept of rebirth (samsara). The Lord of Death, Yama grips a wheel driven by three animals, representing the mental poisons—attachment (rooster), anger (snake), and ignorance (pig)—at its hub.
In the next circle from the center, people move upward to higher states of consciousness and downward to afflicted states. Their actions, polluted by the poisons, propel them in a continuous cycle of rebirth in the six realms of existence, depicted in the large segments around the two inner circles. These are the realms of gods and demigods (top left), humans (top right), animals (lower left), hungry ghosts (lower right), and hells (bottom). As we behold the Wheel of Life, let’s reflect on how we can elevate our consciousness into a higher state of being.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sharon Salzberg, cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, has guided meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. Her latest book is Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World. Sharon is also the author of several publications including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, and Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection. While running her own podcast, The Metta Hour, and interviewing 100+ influential voices in meditation and mindfulness movements, Sharon has regularly contributed to many onstage conversations at the Rubin.
This program is presented in partnership with Sharon Salzberg and teachers from the New York Insight Meditation Center, the Interdependence Project, and Parabola Magazine and supported by the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism.
