How to Train a Happy Mind Laurie Anderson's Buddhism: Art, Meditation, and Death as Adventure #106
May 3, 2022
Grammy Award-winning artist Laurie Anderson shares insights from her journey in Buddhism, art, and meditation. She discusses the balance of suffering and joy, embracing impermanence as essential for creativity. Laurie reflects on how meditation enhances artistic perception and encourages compassionate action, including her work for Ukraine. She explores death as adventure and the significance of being present, suggesting ways to incorporate simple breath practices into daily life. Her unique perspective blends art, mindfulness, and the beauty of life's transitions.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Retreat That Taught Body Attention
- Laurie Anderson recounts attending a 10-day Insight Meditation retreat to gain focused attention and discovered the practice centered on pain not just concentration.
- She describes intense sitting, bodily sensations, and gaining peripheral vision that transformed her sculptural perception.
Suffering As An Invitation
- Laurie emphasizes the first Buddhist proposal: "life is suffering" as an experiential investigation rather than dogma.
- She urges feeling suffering fully without intellectualizing or pushing it away as fuel for practice and action.
Feel Sadness Without Becoming Sad
- Practice feeling sadness without becoming sad, as Mingyur Rinpoche advises, to stay open and effective amid suffering.
- Use impermanence to free yourself from fixed expectations and enable improvisation and joy.
