High Line Plinth: Lectures & Meditations – The Nature of Light

A series informed by themes central to Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s Plinth commission: The Light That Shines Through the Universe.

As part of the public programming for Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s High Line Plinth commission, The Light That Shines Through the Universe, the High Line presents a monthly lecture and guided meditation series at the Spur. Presented in partnership with the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, the series invites visitors to engage more deeply with themes central to Nguyen’s work. Each session features a lecture by a scholar, artist, or cultural leader, followed by a guided meditation led by an invited practitioner. The series is hosted by Tashi Chödrön, Himalayan Programs and Communities Ambassador at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, who, in her two decades with the Rubin, has led meditation programs for over ten years and is the current host of the Rubin’s Mindfulness Meditation podcast. Through this combination of intellectual and contemplative practice, the series invites audiences to pause, reflect, and consider the artwork’s historical and philosophical themes through both thought and experience.

The Nature of Light — Wednesday, August 5, 2026 (Rain date: Thursday, August 6, 2026)

Featuring a lecture by Donald S. Lopez, distinguished university professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. This session delves deeper into the name of the artwork The Light That Shines Through The Universe, and explores light in Buddhist thought—both literal and metaphorical.

The lecture will be followed by a guided meditation by Jungwon Kim, a Zen practitioner of the Plum Village Tradition and the facilitator for Love Circle, a Brooklyn-based BIPOC sangha.