“Genuine art reveals the truth.” -Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

“Mata-mor”, by Rodrigo Bueno

Recently Tricycle asked our online supporters to recommend to us Buddhist charities and non-profits that are doing good work around the world. Among the many responses we received, there were several very enthusiastic endorsements of the group Dharma/Arte, a highly respected non-profit institution that promotes activities in the areas art and education.

From the Dharma/Arte Website,

Dharma/Arte is a Brazilian non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the intersection between dharma, art, creativity and transformative experiences. Dharma/Arte is inspired by dharma art teachings as presented by the Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, yet these teachings are a jumping off point for investigations that cover a range of different approaches and ideas. Dharma/Arte has a Buddhist name, yet it promotes a “no limits” vision: our bottom line is openness. This is our compost, from which we seek to grow many beautiful flowers.

Among his teachings on art, Chogyam Trungpa emphasized collaboration over solo endeavors, and warned students about egotistically clinging to their artistic identities and instead encouraged them to take a larger more inclusive view, and most importantly, to establish communities. In this vein, Dharma/Arte, while based in Brazil, has a vast international network that stretches throughout South America, Europe, the US, and Canada.  Founded by Carlos Alberto Inada, a teacher, book editor, and Vajrayana Buddhist practitioner in the Shambhala tradition, the group’s first major endeavor was a successful series of performances, workshops, and talks by Meredith Monk and her vocal ensemble, which received rave reviews in the Brazilian press.  Since then, their network has been rapidly expanding through the use of social media (including their facebook or twitter pages) and is currently working on new endeavors for this year and 2011. While details on their upcoming offerings are not yet public, they will surely be nothing less than visionary and I recommend beginning to follow their work now if you haven’t been already.

Photo by Matheus Ribeiro

 

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