continuing to make my way through
Merton and Buddhism, in particular his experiments with zen calligraphy, a number of questions formed in my mind not entirely unrelated to the dialogue which took place over on
Echoes not so long ago. namely, what difficulties and challenges are encountered in the act of creating sacred art? further, how aware of the space in which the art is to be present must the artist be? is it possible (or even necessary) to develop radically new approaches to sacred art inside a tradition that already has well-established and effective means? is it valid for someone outside a given spiritual landscape to create sacred art specific to that tradition? and how wise or effective would it be to adopt forms from within one tradition to employ in another (or employ divorced from any tradition whatsoever)?
i certainly don't pretend to have any answers other than ill-formed and unexperienced opinions. i know for example, my feelings towards the plethora of
new age mandalas is somewhat dubious. i imagine that in part this is due to their seeming largely if not wholly divorced from the manner in which mandalas originally were and still are construed and practiced in the context of ritual (and this form is not limited to Vajrayana but has also been employed through the form of Yiddam in the Vedantic faiths and practices).
i don't wish to suggest in giving this example that i believe sacred art must necessarily be limited to the tradition from which it arose. i do believe however that if the act of creation is divorced from the appreciation, understanding and respect of the context in which such a form arose then what we are in danger of being left with is snake-oil. perhaps fashionable and appealing snake-oil but snake-oil nonetheless.
namu amida butsu
