How does one express the inexpressible? How does one convey awakening and enlightenment as demonstrated by Buddha Shakyamuni?

Join us for a short presentation on Buddhist Visual Literacy, a practice rooted in the Science of Creativity and the Arts. It combines art, valid cognition (Skt. pramāṇa), and symbolism to connect people experientially to the Buddhist path. Reliant upon our direct interaction with Buddhist art, experiential investigation is joined with current museum practices to evoke clarity and insight. Exploration driven by the deep habit of innate curiosity to discover what is mysterious and to share that with others is necessarily done through processes connected with symbolism.
In essence, Buddhist Visual Literacy makes a deep dive into narrative and the senses as our basic palette of creativity. It is intended to encourage creative vitality through experiential understanding of the symbolism and skillful expressions of the Buddha’s teachings without deviating from their intended meaning.

Stephanie Johnston had the good fortune to meet the dharma in her early university days and the greater good fortune to try to understand it and bring it into her life, especially under the guidance of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. She is the Director of Practice Instructors and a senior teacher in Nalandabodhi. She is also a long time student and faculty of Nitartha Institute. Bringing pretty much anything to the path—or trying to figure how to do that—lights her up.
She spoke with students and participants at RYI on 11th April 2023.

Stephanie Johnston - "Symbolizing the Awakened Heart: Buddhist Visual Literacy"

Rangjung Yeshe Institute (RYI) has conducted study programs in Nepal for more than 25 years. Since 2002 RYI has partnered with Kathmandu University offering academic credit for those study programs. In 2009 RYI launched its online learning program. Our aim is to utilise our expertise and experience to enable students from around the world to study Buddhism and Himalayan Languages with us.

New tracks tagged #BuddhistVisualLiteracy