Interview: Chuck Pettis, Founder, Earth Sanctuary
May 12th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
According to his biography on Earth Sanctuary, Chuck Pettis is a “visionary, designer, eco-artist, and author” and founder and owner of “Earth Sanctuary, a 72-acre nature reserve and meditation parkland on Whidbey Island, Washington.” He is a “dedicated practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, he deeply believes in the value of meditation,” and is the author, most recently, of Secrets of Sacred Space: Discover and Create Places of Power. Pettis is also the president of the Seattle-based Sakya Monastery. The image is from his site.
MW: What is Sakya Monastery, and how is it different from other Buddhist monasteries?
CP: For people seeking spiritual and personal growth, Sakya Monastery provides access to the Buddha’s teachings and guidance in a community of practitioners. Sakya Monastery provides a place to learn from highly qualified and spiritual Tibetan Lamas in a beautiful traditional setting.
Sakya Monastery provides people the opportunity to learn and practice authentic and traditional Tibetan Buddhist teachings.
MW: When did you first get involved with the monastery?
CP: I became involved with Sakya Monastery in 1995.
MW: To what extent does Sakya promote the arts?
Sakya Monastery does not promote the arts. Artwork in the form of paintings, statues, calligraphy and other media are a fundamental part of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual practices.
MW: What is Earth Sanctuary?
CP: Earth Sanctuary combines exemplary ecology with art and spirit to create a sanctuary for birds and wildlife and a peaceful place for personal renewal and spiritual connection. Earth Sanctuary is open every day of the year, rain or shine, during daylight hours. $7/person fee.
MW: To what extent is your eco-art based on Buddhist principles?
CP: Earth Sanctuary’s eco-art is universal in nature, being based on universal symbols and archetypes. We do have a number of Buddhist-based artworks. For example, we have a number of Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags around the property and also two Tibet-Tech prayer wheels.
MW: More generally, to what extent, if at all, is creating art a religious experience in Buddhism, as opposed to simply an act of creating works that then take on religious significance?
CP: At Sakya Monastery, we just had a workshop to create over 1,000 Tsa Tsa’s. ‘Tsa Tsa’ is a Tibetan term used to describe Buddha statues and relief images that are made as part of a particular meditation practice. Making tsa tsas is a preliminary spiritual practice used to eliminate obstacles, purify negativities, and create positive energy (merit). The tsa tsas were made with clay, that are then dried, and painted. These tsa tsa’s will then be placed inside a stupa to be build at the Tara Meditation Center at Earth Sanctuary, as a Tibetan Buddhist sacred space.
MW: Is there a such thing as Buddhist art per se? If so, what does it entail? Are there any subjects that are off limits to Buddhist artists?
CP: Creating Buddhist art is a spiritual practice and most Tibetan Buddhist art is used as part of other spiritual practices. There is a set of protocols and rules that are followed in the creation of Tibetan Buddhism art.
MW: One often hears the term idolatry thrown around in certain circles with respect to Buddhist art. Is this just a term that is used in the West to discriminate against Eastern art? Are sculptures worshiped in their own right, or do they represent divinities larger than themselves?
CP: Statues of Buddha and other Tibetan Buddhist deities are sculptures that represent archetypes of our higher selves and are symbols of our noble qualities. For example, a statue of Chenrezi is a symbol of the deity who embodies all the perfect qualities of love, compassion and kindness. When doing the Chenrezi spiritual practice, the Chenrezi statue can be used as a object of concentration to stabilize the mind and also to serve as a spiritual tool to enable us to realize the qualities of love, kindness and compassion within ourselves. The sculpture is not “worshipped.” The goal is to realize the nature of love, kindness and compassion within our lives.
MW: What are some of the most important venues for showing Buddhist art and culture?
CP: Tibetan Buddhism monasteries are the primary venue for Tibetan Buddhist art.
MW: Who are some of the most important Buddhist artists working today?
CP: Buddhist artists generally don’t promote themselves, They do their work selflessly as a spiritual service.
MW: To what extent does the American Buddhist community differ culturally and religiously from Buddhist communities in other parts of the world?
CP: Buddhists share a common set of values and beliefs worldwide.
MW: American media often addresses the conflicts between Tibet and China. Are there any art movements in Tibet addressing these political developments?
CP: Not that I know of.
MW: To what extent is art a part of Buddhist education in America?
CP: Not much.
MW: To what extent is the Buddhist community aware of contemporary and ancient Buddhist art?
CP: The are aware of the art as part of their spiritual community’s spiritual practices.
Monica Wilson Says
My daughter Ariel and I are Tibetan Buddhists who also practice at Sakya Monastery. As part of a class on Eastern Religions at her high school, she wrote a paper on thangkas which included this introductory paragraph:
Imagine a world in which artists don’t sign their artwork. A world in which the art is produced as a focus for spiritual contemplation, where the goal of the artist as well as the person viewing the art isn’t simply enjoyment, religious awe, intellectual provocation or any of the other various reasons for creating a work of art, but because the desired goal is enlightenment, “liberation through beholding.” This is the world in which the Tibetan Buddhist thangkas have been created for centuries.
Hopefully, this will help people to better understand art within the framework of the Tibetan Buddhist perspective.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:58 am