The DRBU Arts Initiative invites you to The Arts Talk: Art as Dharma Vessel — The Art of Venerable Shide and Past Spiritual Masters, a companion program to the current exhibition, The Year of Mindful Blessings. In ancient China, two boats joined side by side formed a vessel called fangzhou 方舟, able to carry greater weight and travel more steadily than a single boat. In the Book of Genesis, Noah’s Ark similarly serves as a vessel that carries life through the Great Flood. In Buddhist thought, the vessel is a metaphor for the Dharma—guiding beings from the shore of suffering to the shore of liberation. Taking Venerable Shide’s artistic practice as its point of departure, this lecture explores the relationship between artistic creation and spiritual cultivation, revealing how art and Dharma together form a vessel that carries us toward the other shore.

Karen Tseng draws on her Chinese heritage while engaging with the present moment, integrating Chinese and Western cultural influences in her art. She has led seal carving workshops in the Bay Area since 2020 and has taught Chinese brush painting and calligraphy at FUHSD Adult School since 2022. Her works are held in the Hong Kong Museum of Art and private collections.

The Arts Talk will be held online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be emailed to registrants one day before the talk.

RSVP: The Arts Talk (online only)
Date: Monday, April 27
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Location: Online via Zoom