How do Art and Meditation Relate to Each Other?

[paul1]

@Khemarato.bhikkhu

“Higher craft” demands a kind of perfectionism — a fastidious attention to the features, signs, and details.

So while they aren’t swept away by the emotions, these “higher” artists still are captivated by the sensuality, that is to say, the nuances of the experience.

But, in reality, it’s just “seeing.”

When you truly see that, that all sights whatsoever, subtle or blatant, gross or refined, pleasant or unpleasant, near or far, past, present or future, that all sights are just “sights” then you grow dispassionate with sights.

What is being talked about above is samatha. In vipassana there is another stage before the contemplation of the general characteristics (dispassion due to recognition of impermanence), being the investigation of the individual or specific characteristics of the object:

“In the samatha practice, you dwell on the concentration that is being developed, but there is no exploration or penetration into the phenomena. So the mind superficially observes the objects without much investigation or understanding of their true nature.

To work with investigation of the dhamma (enlightenment factor), you must penetrate into the phenomena.”

[…]

“When the natural characteristics are observed you are engaged with the object. The Satipatthana vipassana meditation system is geared towards giving priority to the natural characteristics of phenomena.” —“ The Seven Factors of Enlightenment”, Ven. Dhammajiva

VenUD_Eng_TheSevenFactorsOfEnlightenment.pdf

This approach is a development of the first tetrad exercise ‘sensitive to the whole body’, and its extension to the inducing of rapture in the second tetrad.