Mindfulness Meditation Podcast · Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art

Mindfulness Meditation with Kimberly Brown 06/19/2025

·30 min·2 clips

Kimberly Brown guides a Vipassana meditation to awaken to the constant flux of reality, starting with attention to sound.

This episode features a guided meditation session from the Ruben Museum of Himalayan Art, hosted by Tashi Chodron and led by teacher Kimberly Brown. The session is structured around viewing a specific artwork and then practicing meditation inspired by its themes. Kimberly Brown is a meditation teacher and author who integrates Tibetan and Insight Buddhist traditions. The chosen artwork is an early 28th-century Tibetan Thangka painting of the Wheel of Life, measuring about 65 by 40 inches. The painting visually represents samsara, or cyclical existence, and is tied to the month's theme of "Awaken," which aligns with the Tibetan Buddhist celebration of Sakka Dawa. The wheel is held by the wrathful figure Yama and is driven at its center by three animals symbolizing the mental poisons: a rooster (attachment), a snake (anger), and a pig (ignorance). The wheel's next circle shows beings moving toward higher states or afflicted states, leading to rebirth in six realms depicted in larger segments: gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings. The Buddha is depicted outside the wheel, pointing toward the path to liberation. Kimberly Brown explains that "awaken" points to the capacity to see life clearly, contrasting it with being "asleep" to reality's truths. She identifies ignorance as the root cause of suffering, from which neediness, greed, and aversion arise. The meditation practice is a Vipassana, or insight, meditation designed to reveal the constant flux and impermanence in every moment. The guided practice begins by focusing on the intention behind meditating and then directs attention to the physical experience of breath. Participants are instructed to shift their full attention to receiving and observing sounds, noting how all sensations arise and pass away. A memorable segment involves directing loving-kindness, first toward a person struggling to accept impermanence, then toward oneself, and finally toward all beings. The phrases "may you awaken and be free" and "may I awaken and be free" are repeated silently as a gift. Brown concludes by invoking a Bodhisattva's wish for all beings to be free from suffering and to awaken to their true nature. The episode ends with practical reminders to feel one's feet and breath before closing the session. The tone is instructional and serene, blending art education with a structured, compassionate meditation guide. The style is contemplative and gently authoritative, aimed at facilitating an immediate personal practice. Listeners interested in Buddhist philosophy, art-inspired mindfulness, or a guided meditation focusing on impermanence and loving-kindness would appreciate this episode. Those seeking dynamic conversation, debate, or a purely secular mindfulness approach might find it less engaging.

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