People have different ways of expressing their feelings and their thoughts. There’s a range from concrete to abstract… some people love ”gettin’ down” and working with their hands, and others prefer verbally exploring lofty concepts and talking endlessly about them.
Although Ethics for the New Millennium is not ”about Buddhism” there are many core Buddhist principles that play a part in the development of His Holiness’ thought and the evolution of the “argument” on behalf of ethical behavior that emerges in this book.√Ǭ† And Buddhism, also, ranges from quite concrete to extremely abstract—there’s a reason it is sometimes jokingly referred to as “the religion of lists!” So there is plenty of room for lots of different types of expression. This is true for almost any religious or secular foundations of thought and living that you might encounter (that’s a topic to be explored another day, isn’t it?…)
You might find that some of your study circle members participate less than others in discussion and conversation. Try something new with these folks—ask whether they would be more comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings in the form of artistic representations! (Keep reading for examples and suggestions…)
Many of them will say “I’m no good at art!” but don’t accept that as a final answer. Suggest that they experiment in private with some medium—perhaps drawing, sketching, or taking water color or crayon to paper, or fiddling around[1] on the guitar or piano, or whatever medium they might have a passing acquaintance with (even from first grade in school). Let them keep their creations private, if they wish, until they feel confident enough to explore them with the group. And maybe it will be easier if you schedule a “group session” where people can 1) create their art in the same room with others in the group (for encouragement); or 2) make a presentation of one of their works to the group in a session designed expressly for this activity.
There are lots of web sites that may help inspire your group members. We suggest The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama as a great starting point. And for a more “edgy” approach, try Yo! What Happened to Peace? just for example (I mean look at that stencil work in the photo—that’s a really creative work and yet you could certainly do something like that yourself!). You can add sites that you’ve discovered to the comments section of this article (below).
[1] “fiddling” — isn’t it funny that I chose that word? I mean “experimentation” and “exploration” and in fact in the US, the tradition of ”fiddlers” who pull out an old violin and experiment with melodies and rhythm is quite apt! What you want to ask your circle participants to do is to just put the crayon on the paper and move it, and experiment, and see what comes to mind. They can throw away anything they feel didn’t work out. But bring one piece of art back to explore with the group
