Dharma Art

A few days ago, I returned from a weeklong retreat at Karme Choling, a Shambala retreat center in Barnet, VT. I awoke at 6:30am each day to the sound of a conch shell being blown. While there, I read three books, watched a few DVDs, went on 6 or 7 hikes, ate an abundance of organic vegetables, sat by a campfire, attended 5 or 6 lectures, and took a few yoga classes. (And, as you might expect, there were hours and hours of meditation practice each day!)

One of the books I read was Dharma Art, by the center's founder Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche. Here's an interesting quote from the book about the creation of "aware" artwork:

"We give up aggression, both toward ourselves (that we have to make a special effort to impress people) and toward others (that we can pull something over on them."

Over the next several postings, I'll publish works taken during my stay. (If you can't wait that long, I've posted many at www.flickr.com/lgfindlay). This one was taken inside the azuchi (Zen archery range building):