Contemplative Arts

Contemplative Arts comprise a number of secular disciplines and activities, including flower arranging and photography, that integrate art and culture with everyday life. Each of these disciplines represents a genuine contemplative path; together they bring beauty, vividness and wisdom to our lives and culture.

Shambhala Art

Shambhala Art is art that springs from clear perception and pure expression. To artist or non-artist, the creative process often seems mysterious and magical. How do we give a physical reality to some ephemeral inspiration or abstract truth? How do we create forms that communicate some essential nature beyond the limits of their container? The Shambhala Art Program’s purpose is to explore the creative process and the product we call art from the point of view of clear perception and pure expression. It is about the source of inspiration, how the creative process manifests and finally how what we create communicates that inspiration. See also www.shambhalaart.org and join Shambhala Art on Facebook.

Shambhala Arts Festival

The Shambhala Arts Festival is an international event during which the entire Shambhala community is invited to celebrate the arts based on Shambhala/Dharma Art principles at their Centers. This festival day is an opportunity to gather artists and help establish the roots of enlightened society. Shambhala Art explores 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 how we imagine they are.

Kalapa Ikebana

In 1982, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche formed a new school of ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) inspired by his own training and vision. Kalapa Ikebana, as this school is called, promotes the study and practice of flower arranging, often working closely with masters of other schools of ikebana.

Shambhala Writers Group

The Davis Shambhala Writers Group meets monthly (generally the second, third or fourth Saturday of the month at 4:30 pm). The purpose of the group, at a minimum, is to share writing (poetry or prose, our own or anyone’s) that we think might be of interest to others. Offerings do not have to be of a buddha-dharmic nature, but you might find that the discussion often comes back to a teaching of some sort. If you would like feedback on your verse, please bring a half dozen copies to share. If you have questions or comments regarding the writers group (such as where or when in Davis the group will next converge), please contact Bill Fell at (530) 753-2846.