dharma art courses

genuine art tells the truth

– Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Shambhala Art is a non-profit arts education program designed to awaken the creative and viewing processes through meditation and contemplation.

The practice of dharma art is a way to use our lives
to communicate without confusion
the primordial and magical nature
of what we see, hear, and touch.
– Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

To artist or non-artist, the creative process often seems mysterious and magical. How do we give a physical reality to some ephemeral inspiration and in turn communicate its essential nature beyond the limits of its container? Shambhala Art’s purpose is to explore the creative and viewing processes and the product we call art from the viewpoint of a meditative discipline. It is a viewpoint that encourages us to see things as they are, rather than just how we think or imagine they are. Shambhala Art does not teach a particular skill or technique such as painting, sculpture, or dance. It is about the source of inspiration, its manifestation, and how it speaks to us. Once a view and a path are established it can be put into practice within any artistic discipline.

Although the Shambhala Art teachings are inspired by Shambhala Buddhism, they are not in any way religious or about adopting a religion. Joining meditation and contemplation with art making and art viewing is pre-religion. They are about discovery and play, and the universal nature of the creative and viewing process and what the result communicates.

Without seeing things as they are, it is hard to create art.
Our perceptions are obscured and our mind is not fresh,
so making art becomes a troubled, futile process
by which we’re trying to create something based on concept.
– Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

Source: Shambhala Art website

Bruce Nauman: Neon Sign - "The true artist helps the world by revealing mystic truths"