Buddhists take inner beauty seriously. Be inspired and learn other ways to cultivate your inner beauty/spirituality to create a bodhi mind. Hear the compelling stories from 3 extraordinary women on their art and adventures across Nepal, India, Japan, China and Hong Kong. A social mix of travel, art and Buddhist practice. Feel part of the Buddhist community for a rare line up of speakers. View more @nantientemple

Get ready to think out loud and share in the fun with the speakers and the audience. Join the Q&A.

This is a Buddhist social style ted-talks for Part 4 in the Buddha V(irtue) talk series, where we explore the 'white' Buddha, symbolic of inner beauty and sincerity.

This event:

Make an entry point into Buddhism; another way to connect with your local Buddhist community
You'll think differently next time you plant a tree!
Bring a friend, lunch at the Tea House or the Arts Cafe before the Talks
Meet like-minded people, share in the conversation

This will change how you think about:

How we cultivate a bodhi mind through the Arts? How do artists cultivate an inner beauty through the art process? How do we build a relationship to Nature especially to trees? Where are you in the divine in the natural world? Discuss.

Same day: Join the Mindful Doodling drawing class with Rev Youji, 11-12pm. The rhythmic drawing is a meditative way to slow down and focus on your creative expression. Location: Harmony room, Level 2.

Lunch or refreshments at the Temple's Tea House or across the bridge at the Nan Tien Arts Cafe.

Meet the Speakers

Meet Venerable Youji, holistic integrated creative art therapist and curator at the Nan Tien Art Gallery.

Make an entry point into Buddhism via art and creativity with Ven Youji. You will gain new insights into the principles and practices of Buddhism from Australia’s only Buddhist monastic curator and bring this into your own art or daily practices. As a member of the editorial team for the 20-volume commissioned publication, “Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts”, Ven. Youji will share insights into significant Buddhist artworks. You will hear of Ven. Youji's personal journey into Buddhism, after leaving her role as creative director for a retail company in 2008.

Meet Michele Elliot, Illawarra textile artist and Australian Arts Council recipient. Visit www.micheleelliot.com

Michele Elliot is a textile artist who was trekking in Nepal after a residency in India when she found herself in the middle of the massive 2015 Gorhka Earthquake. Michele returned safely to Australia but suffered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She began to re-evaluate her entire artistic practice and found comfort not only in those repetitive Kantha stitches, but in reconnecting with her local community.

As visual artist, educator and writer living and working on Dharawal Country, Michele has exhibited widely across Australia as well as in India and Singapore with a focus on textile and installations. She is currently preparing a new body of work, with generous funding from the Australia Council for the Arts, for her solo exhibition at Wollongong Art Gallery in December 2023. Michele has worked with a range of community organisations on as a creative facilitator including MAKESHIFT and ITSOWEL. She also facilitates Tender Funerals Sewing Circle, as part of their Aftercare Program and has taught textiles and drawing at a tertiary level in Sydney, Wollongong and Perth for over three decades.

Meet Louise Fowler-Smith, environmental artist & writer, Founder/President of Tree Veneration Society.

Create your sacred tree space at home with your newfound insights from Louise. Through her decades on researching the Sacred Trees and extensive travels throughout India, France, Japan, Italy and Australian deserts, Louise has found the practice of venerating trees inspired a new artistic vision and new ways to honour our beloved trees. Louise shares how she has incorporated the scaredness of trees into her art practice without bringing with it any specific religious ideology and introduce the first transdisciplinary course on environmental art at UNSW. With national and international exhibitions, art residences, publications, and her previous role as senior lecturer in painting and drawing at UNSW, Louise brings a new take on an aesthetic approach to environmental ethics. Louise is a finalist in the KAAF Art Prize 2022, currently on until 27 Jan.

What are the benefits?

Who is this for?

All people. Parents, nurses, counsellors, educators, allied health workers, writers, artists, Buddhists, artists, emergency workers, business owners, students, researchers, storytellers, travellers, sports people, coaches, community advocates and more.

Do I have to be Buddhist?

Noooo, not all. The talk series is about promoting universal human values and supporting the needs of the community to help build a more peaceful and compassionate world.

What’s next in the Series?

Series 5: 18th June – The life cycle of happiness.

Who are we?

Nan Tien Temple is a non-profit charity organisation serving the community since 1995. We are a temple, monastery, hub, haven and a model offering educational and cultural programs. All ticket sales are used to continue our work in creating a more peaceful and compassionate world.

Why we support the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals?

Nan Tien Temple and the Hsing Yun Education Foundation are commitment to serving the community and play a vital part in achieving the global goals namely in good health and well-being for all people, peace, justice and sustainable communities (Goals 3, 11,16,17) as reflective of our commitment to universal human values.

Thank you to the generous support from the Hsing Yun Education Foundation who has made this Series possible.

Follow us to receive the alerts for the other Buddha V(irtue) talks. With metta and hands joined.

COVID POLICY

The doors at the venue will be opened to maximise ventilation. Seating will be distanced, and capacity in the venue has been limited. We request audience members not to attend if they are ill, and we also encourage all audience members to wear masks.