Field of Temptation

Gautama Buddha, according to tradition, came to the Middle Path between extremes that leads to the cessation of suffering, after being confronted by Mara, a personification of death, delusion, and temptation.

While Siddhartha, the prince before he became the Buddha, sat under the sacred Bodhi tree of awakening, Mara assaulted him with doubts and temptations such as hunger, sensuality, fear, and sloth to dissuade him from pursuing the path toward enlightenment.

But all temptations failed and the Buddha attained Nirvana. The Lord of Illusion couldn’t seduce Gautama from his mission to see reality as it is. This parable is a favorite among Buddhist artists and teachers as it illustrates the pillars of character and spiritual striving: discernment, truth, renunciation, and calm.

Resolve or great art can’t exist without tests of character.

And, as the Zen master said: character answers all questions.

Flower in the Ashes

Today, I heard on the radio that the nuclear power plant meltdowns in Japan were ‘not as serious’ as Three Mile Island or Chernobyl.

Not as serious is misdirection. While this may be factual, the reality is that such ‘accidents’ poison the planet. And, after many decades, there is still no safe way to dispose of all the radioactive waste produced by nuclear energy plants. Do you want to live near one?

Of course, we are greedy for energy, and it must come from somewhere. Years ago, in the 1960’s, there were warnings about committing to the nuclear energy cold path. No matter how well built and designed, nuclear energy plants are fodder for disaster in Mother Nature’s volatile kitchen.

I am no luddite. There are organic means to humanity’s need for energy. Of course, politics, vested interests, and apathy keep us from such solutions. We have been riding the unsustainable bus, which is now speeding toward the cliffs of regret.

As artists, we see our art and our world as it is—without illusion or prejudice. With all the science at our disposal, humankind can’t create a single flower—like the one pictured, growing out of the ashes of our ignorance.

Star Gazing

Self-confidence is a form of freedom that manifests as having a realistic self-assessment fueled by an absolute faith in your abilities.

While there is no ‘instant’ formula for acquiring confidence, there is a path from no confidence (point A) to confidence (point B).

You can follow a litany of self-help instructions in books and workshops designed to promote self-confidence, which can help. Or, you can cut through all the complications by discovering one thing that will reward you on many levels, including an immutable sense of self-worth, and a belief in yourself that cannot be diminished.

At the core of this freedom is in an ancient Hindu word, dharma—which means your purpose in life. When you are in dharma, no one does what you do better than you.

When you are in dharma, you are not deterred from achieving your desire by any outside authority. Your sense of worth is not dictated by the opinions of others.

When you are in dharma, fulfilling your life’s purpose, nothing can stop you from communicating the wonder of your inspired work.

You must find your dharma, and to paraphrase the Buddha: one’s work is to find one’s work—and that requires dedication.

As an artist in dharma, I prove the above to myself daily.

Bongo Serenade

I applied for yet another grant today. It’s a demanding and tedious process. Still, if you don’t apply, then you are assured of not receiving the grant. Who knows the sensibilities of the judges de jour. I have seen conceptual nonsense receive huge monetary awards. I have also met critics and art judges who were clueless about art.

For my part, I know my submissions are innovate and brilliant—this is self-assessment, not bravado.

Here’s a repost worth noting again:

There are many out there with vested interests—economic, cultural, and political—in preserving and controlling that which is sanctioned as art, and even what type of art gets shown [and to some extent, what art gets made] and supported by way of grants, awards, and fellowships.

Let’s face it. Given the hardships that a creator must endure to persevere, it is no surprise that few with a paintbrush have the mettle to confront the gatekeepers who faithfully and dogmatically defend the establishment.

Gauguin and van Gogh, for example, never received an award, fellowship, or a grant for their work; they didn’t allow rejection, hard times, or a lack of encouragement to dissuade them from painting in their language, nor will such tests of character paralyze you; that is, after you have successfully confronted the core questions in this book [An Artist Empowered]. Art is free from routine, contrivance, conceptualization, and ideas. Art, however, does thrive in the deep pool of realization.

Art without motive is, after all, art for art’s sake, a declaration that is all too often misunderstood.

On balance, art funding resources have budgets, and they do want to award grants and fellowships to artists. Of course, if they want oranges, don’t send them apples; if you can insinuate yourself into their program organically and you do so on purpose, you are still on sacred ground; however, if you start thinking solely in terms of what funding sources demand, then you have been co-opted because someone else has dictated what type of art should be made—even if it was your idea.

Most grant and fellowship giving organizations have websites where you can view previous winners and the quality level of their work, which is an eye-opener—you will have to come to your own conclusions.

Idealism Redux

The other day during my drive into Santa Fe, I found myself behind an SUV replete with bumper stickers and other tags of wisdom plastered over the entire back of the car.

One sticker read, I’m paraphrasing: The minds that created this mess are not the minds with the solutions.

This observation is not far from the truth of things. But, what about your own self? Can you figure a way out from the dogma, social conditioning, regrets, and mindless conformity? 

You have it within you to break free, if that is your preeminent desire, and see the problem for what it is, and for what it is not. Once you accept culpability, you can then move onto the next step of redemption—a place where you realize this: old thinking and coercion must be cast out; the answers, the insights, must come from an entirely new set of standards, which is also the dynamic that creates great art.

Lessons are all around us when we are aware.