The first book to be written from a Western perspective on the subject of Buddhism and the arts was Art and Meditation, by the well known German devotee of Tibetan Buddhism, Lama Govinda, originally published in 1936. In this he says:
Art and meditation are creative states of the human mind. Both are nourished by the same source, but it may seem that they are moving in different directions: art towards the realm of sense-impressions, meditation towards the overcoming of forms and sense-impressions. But the difference pertains only to accidentals, not to the essentials.
So in Lama Govida’s view meditation and art are based in equally creative (or skilful to use traditional Buddhist terminology) states of mind. This is an inspiring, holistic way to look at the place of the arts in Buddhist practice. Appreciating or creating art is a way of working on the mind, of cultivating more insightful, expansive and grounded states of consciousness...
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