Hi, is doing graphic design work and painting against the rules? For example, doing monastery or buddhist websites or painting dhamma relevant pictures for teaching purposes.
Thanks for all answers.
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Thank you for sharing the link and the dhammatalk, I will listen to it now.
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Oh wow, these are incredible!
So, links to artistic work by monastics doesn’t answer the question of the op, but here goes…
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Those new to the dhamma can readily understand art. From the Buddhist perspective the only thing to bear in mind is that art is an experience within conditioned reality.
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I’m a former graphic designer and we have many creative types in the monastery. There’s always someone making a card for something.
I haven’t seen anything in the Vinaya saying that it is wrong livelihood for a monastic. I both do design for stuff around the monastery and also create my own ‘doodles’ to help work skilfully with emotions or express a Dhamma concept in my mind. These I generally don’t share.
For me, the line is between wasting time/distraction and finding benefit. Sometimes there are wholesome distractions though. For each person they have to find their own limits.
The website above, The Fourth Messenger is a lovely example of monastic creativity.
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