Question: “Do you recommend looking at Buddhist art as a way to be able to learn more about Buddhism? Like does art teach you about it in ways that words can’t?”
Isn’t that how we’ve learned a great chunk of history, through art? Buddhist art is absolutely gorgeous. Even Christian art is breath-taking. But since art is a “thing,” it can only go so far to teach you anything. Just like words can only describe something so much before words run out.
The same goes for our Buddha Nature or emptiness; it can’t be described with words. It’s something we must discover and realize on our own. So when we interrupt art, architecture, nature, history, people, colors, foods, etc. what we can learn from them is limited. Whether based on our intelligence, interpretation, vocabulary, or anything else.
If I tried to write down my own description and interpretation of a piece of Buddhist art for you and you for me, we would most likely come up with some big differences. So who’s right? Who’s interpretation of this piece of history is correct?
Anyway, art can teach us a lot of valuable information. That’s why we go to museums; not just to stare blindly at the exhibits, but to learn from them and gain some knowledge we’ve never had before.
Smile and be well!