--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem has to be answered by means…" description: "\"The problem has to be answered by means of art, because you can't blast them with bliss. Tat freaks them out even more. So instead, you have to have an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/robert-thurman-9409_art_the-problem-has-to-be-answered-by-means_2633336.jpg" --- # The problem has to be answered by means of art, because… ![“The problem has to be answered by means of art, because you can't blast them with bliss. Tat freaks them out even more. So instead, you have to have an artful way of approaching them. You do a dance for them, you get them to imagine being interconnected, and to imagine being free of their…” quote by Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/robert-thurman-9409_art_the-problem-has-to-be-answered-by-means_2633336.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/robert-thurman-9409_art_the-problem-has-to-be-answered-by-means_2633336.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/robert-thurman-9409_art_the-problem-has-to-be-answered-by-means_2633336.jpg) > “The problem has to be answered by means of art, because you can't blast them with bliss. Tat freaks them out even more. So instead, you have to have an artful way of approaching them. You do a dance for them, you get them to imagine being interconnected, and to imagine being free of their suffering, and not so self involved, through art that draws them out. Then you, and they, are all established in what's called a Buddha-verse, or Buddha-land” [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art can gently engage suffering minds, offering imaginative freedom and connection, creating a shared compassionate space called a Buddha‑verse. **In simple terms:** Art helps ease suffering by connecting people creatively. Key Takeaway Use art to foster empathy and relief. Themes compassion art healing Buddhism Mood hopeful inspirational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - art therapy workshops - community murals - guided visualizations - mindful storytelling Key Concepts creative therapy interconnectedness mindful imagination Questions to Reflect On - What artistic medium could best convey compassion for you? - How can you integrate creative practices into daily mindfulness? A Different Perspective Art may not reach those resistant to symbolic methods. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approaching Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approaching-dance-2208287/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Being free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-free/) [Blast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blast/) [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Bliss Tat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss-tat-2208286/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Draws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/draws/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Freak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freak/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Interconnected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interconnected/) [Involved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involved/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-self-769421/) [Tat Freaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tat-freaks-2208288/) [Verses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verses/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Pain and suffering are two completely difference experiences. Pain is unavoidable. Suffering is self-created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-levine/pain-and-suffering-are-two-completely-difference-experiences-pain-is/) [Noah Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-levine/) > [Love can never express itself by imposing sufferings on others. It can only express itself by self-suffering, by self-purification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/love-can-never-express-itself-by-imposing-sufferings-on-others-it-can/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“But when we begin to live from within outward, in touch with the power of the erotic within ourselves, and allowing that power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/but-when-we-begin-to-live-from-within-outward-in-touch-with-the-power/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Every uncomfortable feeling, every pain, every moment of stress & suffering is for your own self-realizatio n.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/every-uncomfortable-feeling-every-pain-every-moment-of-stress/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering and self-mastery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/suffering-can-make-saints-of-people-as-they-learn-patience-long/) [Spencer W. 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The only cause of suffering is self grasping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garchen-rinpoche/the-only-cause-of-happiness-is-love-the-only-cause-of-suffering-is/) [Garchen Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garchen-rinpoche/) > [When we forgive someone, it doesn't excuse their actions; it frees us from our own chronic stress and suffering, so it's in our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ornish/when-we-forgive-someone-it-doesn-t-excuse-their-actions-it-frees-us/) [Dean Ornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ornish/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [So that's the process of understanding, and through that process, if you have a deep realization of the selflessness in regard to your absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/so-that-s-the-process-of-understanding-and-through-that-process-if/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Clients are becoming more global; they're realizing that markets are more interconnected. It's no longer the local regional clients buying the local regional flavors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-callahan-erdoes/clients-are-becoming-more-global-they-re-realizing-that-markets-are/) [Mary Callahan Erdoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-callahan-erdoes/) > [The number one problem in academia today is not ignorant students but ignorant professors, who have substituted narrow "expertise" and "theoretical sophistication" (a preposterous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-number-one-problem-in-academia-today-is-not-ignorant-students-but/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [There is no true expertise in the humanities without knowing all of the humanities. Art is a vast, ancient interconnected web-work, a fabricated tradition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/there-is-no-true-expertise-in-the-humanities-without-knowing-all-of/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [In a community all acts of individuals and of organizations are directly or indirectly interconnected and interdependent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-barnard/in-a-community-all-acts-of-individuals-and-of-organizations-are/) [Chester Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-barnard/) ## More by Robert Thurman > [Whether or not enlightenment is a plausible goal for us is a vital question for our lives. If it is possible for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/whether-or-not-enlightenment-is-a-plausible-goal-for-us-is-a-vital/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [You're more responsible ethically for being there with your interconnection to the world, but the you now is an always changing one, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/you-re-more-responsible-ethically-for-being-there-with-your/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [However, because of your interconnectedness with all things, other beings still have a problem, and when you realize that you have no absolute self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/however-because-of-your-interconnectedness-with-all-things-other/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [If you love your enemy, that means you want your enemy to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/if-you-love-your-enemy-that-means-you-want-your-enemy-to-be-happy/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [In Buddhist ideology, the conventional self is that which is constructed in a way by the use of the pronoun, and when you realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/in-buddhist-ideology-the-conventional-self-is-that-which-is/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [To become enlightened is not just to slip into some disconnected euphoria, an oceanic feeling of mystic oneness apart from ordinary reality. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/to-become-enlightened-is-not-just-to-slip-into-some-disconnected/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [I think about the trends at the moment in the planet and how it looks for my grandchildren. I don't panic over it, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/i-think-about-the-trends-at-the-moment-in-the-planet-and-how-it-looks/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [To finish building the free society dreamed of by Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, we must draw upon the resources of the enlightened imagination, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/to-finish-building-the-free-society-dreamed-of-by-washington-franklin/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Hate poisons your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/hate-poisons-your-life/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [A possession can't make you happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/a-possession-can-t-make-you-happy/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [People in Tibet have an expression. When you reach a certain degree of venerableness and age, and people ask, "How are you?," there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/people-in-tibet-have-an-expression-when-you-reach-a-certain-degree-of/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [“Anger spoils relationships where there should be great reciprocity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/anger-spoils-relationships-where-there-should-be-great-reciprocity/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [It isn't the meaning of love where you somehow desire that one or you want them or want them to love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/it-isn-t-the-meaning-of-love-where-you-somehow-desire-that-one-or-you/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the greatest teachers of our time. He reaches from the heights of insight down to the deepest places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/thich-nhat-hanh-is-one-of-the-greatest-teachers-of-our-time-he/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [I'd like to say is that we shouldn't have an idea that the goal of spiritual practice is to annihilate ones ego, that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/i-d-like-to-say-is-that-we-shouldn-t-have-an-idea-that-the-goal-of/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) [Explore all 73 Robert Thurman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem has to be answered by means of art, because you can't blast them with bliss. 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