A long time ago in a galaxy far far away (well, maybe a few years back in a Zen community you are quite familiar with), it was noted that we had many members with interests in the direction of the arts, something that Japanese Zen has long had a connection with. And so, it was decreed by Emperor Jundo Roshi that there would be an area of the forum devoted to artistic expression as part of practice, and, lo, through the power of the force (and some fiddling with the website) the Treeleaf Art Circle came into being in April 2016 under the guidance of Artists-in-Residence, Meitou and Anne (cooperix): https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/show...eaf-Art-Circle
Meitou and Anne made the Art Circle into a wonderful community which was both a part of Treeleaf and a refuge for those who needed a gentle space away from the main forum for a while. They suggested many projects and left space for our own, both of which can be found among the archive of past threads (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...st-Art-Threads), and their work to make this part of Treeleaf what it is will not be forgotten. Daizan was also an important early contributor to the development of art here.
When Meitou and Anne’s tenure at the Art Circle came to an end in November of 2020, it was decided to widen both the horizons and leadership of the subforum, and so it became the Arts and Music Circle, with separate spaces for the following artforms and those who offered to lead a particular discipline:
Painting and Drawing (Nengei) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...inting-Drawing
Photography (Horin) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...81-Photography
Fiber Crafts (Shoka) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...7-Fiber-Crafts
Prose Writing (Hensho) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...-Prose-Writing
Poetry (Seikan) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...php?186-Poetry
Contemporary Music (Bion) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...emporary-Music
Folk and Early Music (Seiko) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...nd-Early-Music
Opera (Shoshо̄) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...House-Symphony
Some of the current leaders and contributors have shared why they have taken on the role and why they think that this area of the Zendo continues to be important:
Tairin: “(W)hat I didn’t want was to just turn TreeLeaf into an Arts or Music forum. There are many many dedicated forums in the web for these interests. Ultimately my decision to contribute music here was motivated by a sense of community. If I was at a brick and mortar Zendo then I would expect that there would be an opportunity to get to know other members on a more personal level. Music making is an important part of my life so by sharing it at TreeLeaf I am sharing something personal about myself with my Sangha friends.
For me this isn’t about making “Zen music”, whatever that is. It is about sharing myself with the Sangha.
Nengei: “For me, making art is a way of connecting what is inside to the outside. In a sense, this is a way that I commune with the the universe. I believe that all people have the ability--if not the drive and desire--to use creativity for the betterment of all sentient beings. Artistic expression is a natural match for the path of the Bodhisattva. Even so, it can be challenging to convince yourself that you are an artist, and it is harder still to put your art where others can see it. Showing others your art is a trust exercise, and should bring people together. I wanted to help create a comfortable environment for our Sangha to feel able to create and show others what they have created, whether they are experienced artists or making their first marks on paper.”
Seikan: “While I've only been leading the Poetry part of the A&M circle for a very short time, I'm excited to be able to do my part to help Treeleaf members deepen their appreciation of poetry as an extension of our zen practice. Poetry is a very broad topic, and we all have different tastes. That said, I think that most of us (poets and non-poets) can appreciate how poetry has been used over the centuries to help convey Buddhist/Zen teachings… The Treeleaf haiku club has seen a fair amount of activity over the years (not surprising for a Zen sangha), but I also want to help inspire members to see how the Zen aesthetic can be found in so many other forms of poetry as well…
There also seem to be many members that enjoy poetry, but don't necessarily write it themselves—but may be interested in other poetry-related discussions. I'd love to be able to bring all of these folks together for more discussions and sharing of poetry. That is essentially my primary goal for this year—learn more about our members and their interest in poetry and use that information to provide better content/activities to keep the poetry circle active.”
Please do check out these areas of the forum where the leaders of the Arts and Music Circle are sharing their passion and enthusiasm to bring sangha members together and encouraging us to find artistic and musical expression for our practice. We thank all of them for their ongoing efforts to bring art and music to Treeleaf in the tradition of many great artists of the past. These are all members with a great depth of personal expertise and practice who are using their experience to gently push us all into greater personal expression.
written by Kokuu
Gassho,
Shoka
(she/her)
sat/lah
Meitou and Anne made the Art Circle into a wonderful community which was both a part of Treeleaf and a refuge for those who needed a gentle space away from the main forum for a while. They suggested many projects and left space for our own, both of which can be found among the archive of past threads (https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...st-Art-Threads), and their work to make this part of Treeleaf what it is will not be forgotten. Daizan was also an important early contributor to the development of art here.
When Meitou and Anne’s tenure at the Art Circle came to an end in November of 2020, it was decided to widen both the horizons and leadership of the subforum, and so it became the Arts and Music Circle, with separate spaces for the following artforms and those who offered to lead a particular discipline:
Painting and Drawing (Nengei) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...inting-Drawing
Photography (Horin) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...81-Photography
Fiber Crafts (Shoka) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...7-Fiber-Crafts
Prose Writing (Hensho) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...-Prose-Writing
Poetry (Seikan) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...php?186-Poetry
Contemporary Music (Bion) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...emporary-Music
Folk and Early Music (Seiko) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...nd-Early-Music
Opera (Shoshо̄) https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/foru...House-Symphony
Some of the current leaders and contributors have shared why they have taken on the role and why they think that this area of the Zendo continues to be important:
Tairin: “(W)hat I didn’t want was to just turn TreeLeaf into an Arts or Music forum. There are many many dedicated forums in the web for these interests. Ultimately my decision to contribute music here was motivated by a sense of community. If I was at a brick and mortar Zendo then I would expect that there would be an opportunity to get to know other members on a more personal level. Music making is an important part of my life so by sharing it at TreeLeaf I am sharing something personal about myself with my Sangha friends.
For me this isn’t about making “Zen music”, whatever that is. It is about sharing myself with the Sangha.
Nengei: “For me, making art is a way of connecting what is inside to the outside. In a sense, this is a way that I commune with the the universe. I believe that all people have the ability--if not the drive and desire--to use creativity for the betterment of all sentient beings. Artistic expression is a natural match for the path of the Bodhisattva. Even so, it can be challenging to convince yourself that you are an artist, and it is harder still to put your art where others can see it. Showing others your art is a trust exercise, and should bring people together. I wanted to help create a comfortable environment for our Sangha to feel able to create and show others what they have created, whether they are experienced artists or making their first marks on paper.”
Seikan: “While I've only been leading the Poetry part of the A&M circle for a very short time, I'm excited to be able to do my part to help Treeleaf members deepen their appreciation of poetry as an extension of our zen practice. Poetry is a very broad topic, and we all have different tastes. That said, I think that most of us (poets and non-poets) can appreciate how poetry has been used over the centuries to help convey Buddhist/Zen teachings… The Treeleaf haiku club has seen a fair amount of activity over the years (not surprising for a Zen sangha), but I also want to help inspire members to see how the Zen aesthetic can be found in so many other forms of poetry as well…
There also seem to be many members that enjoy poetry, but don't necessarily write it themselves—but may be interested in other poetry-related discussions. I'd love to be able to bring all of these folks together for more discussions and sharing of poetry. That is essentially my primary goal for this year—learn more about our members and their interest in poetry and use that information to provide better content/activities to keep the poetry circle active.”
Please do check out these areas of the forum where the leaders of the Arts and Music Circle are sharing their passion and enthusiasm to bring sangha members together and encouraging us to find artistic and musical expression for our practice. We thank all of them for their ongoing efforts to bring art and music to Treeleaf in the tradition of many great artists of the past. These are all members with a great depth of personal expertise and practice who are using their experience to gently push us all into greater personal expression.
written by Kokuu
Gassho,
Shoka
(she/her)
sat/lah