The Light That Shines Through the Universe: Lectures and Meditations | Monuments to War

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.

Closing the series, Nico Rodriguez, deputy director of Monuments Lab, considers Nguyen’s work alongside contemporary artistic approaches to memorialization. The discussion explores how artists reimagine monuments to war by transforming sites of violence into spaces for remembrance, reflection, and collective healing.

The lecture will be followed by a guided meditation by Steve Clorfeine, a meditation teacher from the Shambhala tradition with over 40 years of experience.

Rain date: October 11, 2 – 3pm

On the High Line Spur at 30th Street and 10th Avenue