True Perception: The Path of Dharma Art

by Chogyam Trungpa, Judith L. Lief (Editor)

Overview

Genuine art has the power to awaken and liberate. The renowned meditation master and artist Chögyam Trungpa called this type of art “dharma art”—any creative work that springs from an awakened state of mind, characterized by directness, unselfconsciousness, and nonaggression. Dharma art provides a vehicle to appreciate the nature of things as they are and express it without any struggle or desire to achieve. A work of dharma art brings out the goodness and dignity of the situation it reflects—dignity that comes from the artist’s interest in the details of life and sense of appreciation for experience. Trungpa shows how the principles of dharma art extend to everyday life: any activity can provide an opportunity to relax and open our senses to the phenomenal world.

An expanded edition of Trungpa's Dharma Art (1996), this book includes a new introduction and essay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590305881
Publisher:	Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	11/11/2008
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Chögyam Trungpa (1940–1987)—meditation master, teacher, and artist—founded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, the first Buddhist-inspired university in North America; the Shambhala Training program; and an international association of meditation centers known as Shambhala International. He is the author of numerous books including Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, and The Myth of Freedom.

Table of Contents

Dharma Art - Genuine Art 1

Discovering Elegance 3

Great Eastern Sun 8

Basic Goodness 14

Meditation 19

Art in Everyday Life 25

Ordinary Truth 32

Empty Gap of Mind 37

Coloring Our World 44

New Sight 68

The Process of Perception 72

Being and Projecting 76

Lost Horizons 78

Giving 82

Self-Existing Humor 86

Outrageousness 89

Wise Fool 94

Five Styles of Creative Expression 100

Nobody's World 105

Choiceless Magic 109

One Stroke 116

The Activity of Nonaggression 120

State of Mind 123

Heaven, Earth, and Human 129

Endless Richness 133

Back to Square One 137

Art Begins at Home 145

Joining Heaven and Earth 148

Sources 185

Resources 187

Biography 191

Index 197

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Trungpa’s notion of dharma art is an approach to art as meditation, an attitude of directness and unselfconsciousness in creative work. Lief’s inspired selection and careful editing make this an essential book for those committed to view that the artist should be a spiritual teacher.”—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

Trungpa’s notion of dharma art is an approach to art as meditation, an attitude of directness and unselfconsciousness in creative work. Lief’s inspired selection and careful editing make this an essential book for those committed to view that the artist should be a spiritual teacher.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher