Samye Arts

For over two millennia, the arts have been critical in spreading the Dharma and allowing it to remain in the world. Representations of the Buddha’s enlightened body took the form of statues and paintings. Elaborately ornamented volumes of the Buddha’s speech were produced from the finest materials. And representations of the Buddha’s mind, in the form of stupas to hold his sacred relics, were built as objects of reverence and to allow for the accumulation of vast stores of merit.

Each of these aspects required expert craftspeople who not only had mastered the skills of their professional lineage but who could imbue their works with the spirit of their devotion. Under the guidance of Guru Padmasambhava, Samye Monastery became a prime example of this realm of expertise, as it required the labor of craftspeople from Tibet and beyond, from the lands of India, Nepal, and China. Their collaboration helped create Tibet’s first complete mandala for the study, translation, and transmission of the Buddha’s teachings.

Inspired by Samye Monastery’s marvelous artistic feat, the mission of Samye Arts is to preserve the Mahaguru’s precious traditions of art and design and to support the dissemination of the Dharma through the creation of authentic representations of enlightened body, speech, and mind.