Dharma Art

The late Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1938-1987) was the 13th incarnation of the Trungpa tulku, a revered teacher in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. A refugee from the Chinese invasion of Tibet, Trungpa ultimately settled in Boulder, Colo., and founded the famous Naropa Institute, the only accredited Buddhist university in North America. As a teacher, Trungpa was famous for the utterly fresh approach he took to the most ancient and profound teachings of his tradition. In this book, Judith Leif has compiled Trungpa's teachings on Dharma art from an exceptional archive of published materials and formal talks, forming for the first time a cohesive statement of his teachings on the nature of art. Trungpa's notion of Dharma art is not merely reproducing and interpreting a collection of Buddhist symbols or ideas, but it is an approach to art as meditation, an attitude of directness and unself-consciousness in creative work. Leif's inspired selection and careful editing make this an essential book for those committed to the view that the artist should be a spiritual teacher. (Nov.)