[OceanofDharma] Quotes of the Week: Don't Try to Be Artistic

Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week

December  30, 2007

DON'T TRY TO BE ARTISTIC

The whole philosophy of art is that you don't try to be artistic but you just approach the objects as they are, and then the message comes automatically. You do the same thing in Japanese flower arrangements. You don't try to be artistic; you just chop off certain twigs and certain branches which seem to be out of line with the flow. You just cut them off and then you put the remaining twigs there in the arrangement, and you put the flowers underneath, and it automatically becomes a whole landscape. Similarly, when you look at a painting by a great artist, it doesn't look like someone actually painted it, but it just seemed to happen by itself. There's no gap, no cracks at all. It's one unit, complete.

From "Visual Dharma: Film Workshop," in the COLLECTED WORKS OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA, Volume Seven, pages 642-643.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

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Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
Taken from works published by Shambhala Publications,  the Archive of his unpublished work in the Shambhala Archives, plus other published sources.
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