Awaken

While we often don’t think of ignorance as a feeling, its antidote, awareness, resides at the heart of the mandala. It may be the mind state most difficult to explain, yet it may be the most important, and more complex than meets the eye. If ignorance is used the right way, it can move us from a closed mind to an open one. Is awareness the key to awakening?AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include author and activist adrienne maree brown, psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, author and teacher Ruth Ozeki, Buddhist teacher and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and Buddhist teacher and author Sharon Salzberg.To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/ignorance-awaken-podcast

We have all experienced anger from a very early age. In Buddhism, anger is one of the five afflictive emotions, or kleshas, that can cloud our understanding of the world, along with pride, envy, attachment, and ignorance. But if we pay attention to the emotion, can it transform to give us a sense of clarity, to help us see what is important?AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist Mark Epstein, Buddhist teacher and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, renowned chef Eric Ripert, Buddhist teacher and author Sharon Salzberg, and student Nora Wood.To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/anger-awaken-podcast

No one wants to admit they are envious, yet in the age of social media, envy is a bitter taste in everyone's mouth from time to time. But envy dismantled can point you in the right direction and show you your heart’s desire. Can feelings of envy be transformed from an isolating experience to one that actually connects us?AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, artist and activist Madame Gandhi, Buddhist teacher and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Buddhist teacher and author Sharon Salzberg, and student Nora Wood. To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/envy-awaken-podcast

From a psychological perspective, attachment is vital to the mental well-being of a developing human. But from the Buddhist viewpoint, attachment is the mind state that trips us up constantly. It’s the one that pulls us out of the present and into a state of longing for an imagined future or clinging to the past, leaving us with nothing but dissatisfaction. But what if we could release our grip and truly be in the moment?AWAKEN Season 2 is hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora. Guests featured in this episode include author and activist adrienne maree brown, psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist Mark Epstein, author and teacher Ruth Ozeki, Buddhist teacher and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and author and Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg.To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/attachment-awaken-podcast

Welcome to Season 2 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In this new season hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora, Buddhist teachers, writers, artists, activists, and others use a Tibetan Buddhist mandala as a guide and share how they wrestle and learn from  five challenging emotions—anger, pride, attachment, envy, and ignorance.What is a mandala? Like many Tibetan Buddhist artworks, a mandala is a visual catalyst that can lead to awakening. In our first episode, we introduce the mandala, come to understand what it represents, and experience how it may be used as a guide for exploring ourselves, each other and the world. Guests featured in this episode include psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist Mark Epstein, Zen priest and author Ruth Ozeki, author and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist teacher and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Buddhist teacher and author Sharon Salzberg, and student Nora Wood.To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/entering-the-mandala-awaken-podcast

Pride can be celebratory—a powerfully affirming emotion. But its dark side can bring a sense of supremacy. It can be so full of self-importance that there isn’t room for other views, other ways of life. It can even be a little lonely to be so rigid. In Buddhism, pride is one of the five afflictive emotions, or kleshas, that can cloud our understanding of the world, along with attachment, envy, anger, and ignorance. When we get curious about pride, ask questions, and move beyond certainty, what is welcomed in? In this episode, curiosity creates possibility. Guests featured in this episode include author and activist adrienne maree brown, psychologist and neuroscientist Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, author and teacher Ruth Ozeki, Buddhist teacher and scholar Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, author and Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg, and student Nora Wood. To read a transcript, learn more about the Mandala Lab, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/pride-awaken-podcast

Welcome to Season 2 of AWAKEN—a Webby Honoree podcast about the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” In this new season hosted by singer and songwriter Raveena Aurora, Buddhist teachers, writers, artists, activists, and others use a Tibetan Buddhist mandala as a guide and share how they wrestle and learn from  five challenging emotions—anger, pride, attachment, envy, and ignorance.AWAKEN Season 2 will launch on October 4, 2022.Episode guests in order of appearance: Tracy Dennis, Mark Epstein, Raveena Aurora, Ruth Ozeki, Madame Gandhi, adrienne maree brown, and Ponlop Rinpoche.

What is enlightenment? What does it mean to be truly awake? Are you awake? Enlightenment can take many forms. In this final episode, we will look back at highlights from all our guests and consider enlightenment from Tibetan Buddhist perspective with Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a highly respected Tibetan Buddhist meditation teacher from the Kagyu tradition, one of the four main lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. This episode features Youngey Mingyur Rinpoche along with Aparna Nancherla, Alok Vaid-Menon, Tara Brach, Latham Thomas, Amanda Palmer, Lama Rod Owens, Tsherin Sherpa, BJ Miller, Patricia James, and host Laurie Anderson. Visit the podcast webpage to see the art that inspired this episode, read a transcript, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/awakening-with-mingyur-rinpoche-awaken-podcast About the podcast: AWAKEN is a 10-episode series from the Rubin Museum of Art hosted by acclaimed musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson that explores the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to "wake up." Each episode dives into the personal stories of guests who share how they've experienced a shift in their awareness, and as a result, their perspective on life. From deep introspection to curious life-changing moments, awakening can take many forms, from the mundane to the sacred. Taking inspiration from the exhibition "Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment," each story uses artworks as a jumping off point as we hear from authors, artists, wisdom bearers, and Buddhist teachers, because every journey is different.

Remarkable experiences can inspire, but without integration, they can also bring a sense of alienation. What role does integration play in the process of awakening? In this episode, we speak with Patricia James, a Medicine Woman of Seminole tribe heritage who has been formally trained in the Cheyenne tradition as a Priest and a Pipe Carrier, which means that she is a steward of a sacred pipe and the religious ceremonies for which it is used. To begin, Patricia considers a sculpture of an intertwined pair of lovers, Guhyasamaja and Sparshavajra, which represent the concept of nonduality, the idea that everything is interconnected. This artwork represents the union of apparently opposing forces often expressed in Tibetan Buddhist art as a sexual union of male and female, or compassion and wisdom, the combination of which are necessary for elevating consciousness toward awakening. Visit the podcast webpage to see the art that inspired this episode, read a transcript, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/integration-with-medicine-woman-patricia-james-awaken-podcast About the podcast: AWAKEN is a 10-episode series from the Rubin Museum of Art hosted by acclaimed musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson that explores the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” Each episode dives into the personal stories of guests who share how they’ve experienced a shift in their awareness, and as a result, their perspective on life. From deep introspection to curious life-changing moments, awakening can take many forms, from the mundane to the sacred. Taking inspiration from the exhibition “Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment,” each story uses artworks as a jumping off point as we hear from authors, artists, wisdom bearers, and Buddhist teachers, because every journey is different.

Can letting go into death be the ultimate act of awakening? In this episode we explore how the process of dying can be an act of truly living. We speak with hospice and palliative medicine physician and author BJ Miller, who discusses his first encounter with death, facing his own mortality as a triple amputee, and what it means to have a good death. To start, BJ responds to a four-foot-tall sculpture of the fierce protector Vajrabhairava. Enormous and terrifying, he embodies the power and wisdom that can help us conquer our greatest attachment—life—and our ultimate fear—its cessation. Dr. BJ Miller is a longtime hospice and palliative medicine physician. He currently sees patients and families via telehealth through Mettle Health, a company he co-founded with the aim to provide holistic care for individuals and families who need help navigating the practical, emotional,and existential issues that come with serious illness and disability. Led by his own experiences as a patient, BJ advocates for the roles of our senses, community,and presence in designing a better ending. His interests are in working across disciplines to affect broad-based culture change, as well as furthering the message that suffering, illness, and dying are intrinsic aspects of life.BJ has given over 100 talks on the topics of death, dying, palliative care,and the intersection of healthcare with design. Visit the podcast webpage to see the art that inspired this episode, read a transcript, donate, and more: https://rubinmuseum.org/mediacenter/dying-is-living-with-palliative-care-doctor-bj-miller-awaken-podcast About the podcast: AWAKEN is a 10-episode series from the Rubin Museum of Art hosted by acclaimed musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson that explores the dynamic path to enlightenment and what it means to “wake up.” Each episode dives into the personal stories of guests who share how they’ve experienced a shift in their awareness, and as a result, their perspective on life. From deep introspection to curious life-changing moments, awakening can take many forms, from the mundane to the sacred. Taking inspiration from the exhibition “Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment,” each story uses artworks as a jumping off point as we hear from authors, artists, wisdom bearers, and Buddhist teachers, because every journey is different.