Led by Josh Korda, a tattoo-covered Buddhist Brooklynite with gauged ears, the 25-minute sessions at Lila Yoga, Dharma, and Wellness, 302 Bowery attracted a variety of practitioners. On that particular Tuesday night, a young beret-clad woman sat in front of me, and a grey-haired man in a yellow polo to my right, along with many tattooed 20 and 30-somethings. Mr. Korda opened wide the front windows, surrounded by tiny portraits of Buddhist gods, and in floated sidewalk sounds, cabbie screeches, and ambient New York noise.
During the guided session, Mr. Korda encouraged us to close our eyes, mindfully clear our minds, and become “present” by focusing on one sound. He often quoted the Buddha. Following the sessions, Mr. Korda regularly gives 30-minute talks on cultivating inner peace and dealing with stress. Above all, on my visit, he emphasized monks as role models. “Monks don’t cultivate happiness in other people,” he said. “We’re all too over entangled in each other’s lives. Unless you have your own inner peace, you’ll try to get happiness from other people."
Read the full story on The Local East Village (NYTimes)
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