All submissions must express fundamental principles of the Dzogchen Buddha Path.
All applicants must be active sangha members with their local dharma centers. (If you don’t have a local dharma center, please note who is your dharma teacher.)
Each artist can present 1 piece from 3 of the 7 categories: visual art, poetry, original song, instrumental music, photography, mandala design, and shrine design, for a total of 3 submissions. The committee will not review more than three pieces from any one artist.
Entrants are required to enter specific information about their submissions at the links above pertaining to the categories of their submitted pieces.
At this time, live performances are not suitable due to technical issues, time, and
circumstances.
Entering pieces in other regions is allowed only if the sangha member’s primary language is of a country outside their region of residence, for a total of 3 submissions in all regions. (Example: A Chinese-speaking sangha member living in the United States may enter the Asia region’s poetry competition). However, a sangha member may not enter the same piece, or different pieces within the same category, in two or more regions.
Entries must be created in the past three years only.
Resubmitting works from a previous year’s Sacred Arts Competition will not be allowed, unless the artist upgrades their piece according to suggestions from the Sacred Arts Competition jury.
Note regarding AI-generated art: AI-generated art will not be accepted.
Visual Art: Pieces of visual art cannot be more than one page, or have multiple pieces, and must be submitted as JPEG or PNG files. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, or collages will be accepted. Animation or videos will not be part of the competition this year, but may be one of the categories next year.
Poetry: Poems must be at least one verse minimum and up to 250 words. (Cannot take more than 3 minutes to read at normal speed). Poems should be submitted both 1) in written form in a PDF file and 2) recorded in MP3 or MP4 format. Note: Poems in languages other than English must also have a translated version in English. Poetry that takes longer than 3 minutes may not be reviewed.
Original Song: Songs can be a minimum of two minutes and a maximum of 3.5 minutes long. All music must be submitted in MP3 or MP4 format or uploaded to YouTube. If your song uses original material from another artist or source, acknowledge the artist, song, lyrics, etc., when making your submission. Please note that there will be a deduction of points for using borrowed material. Note: Songs longer than 3.5 minutes may not be reviewed.
Instrumental Music: Pieces can be a minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 5 minutes long. All music must be submitted in MP3 or MP4 format or uploaded to YouTube. Note: Instrumental music that is longer than 5 minutes may not be reviewed.
Photography: Photos must be submitted in JPEG or PNG format, and only one photo per entry.
Mandala Design: Up to 3 photos of your dharma center’s mandala will be accepted, submitted as JPEG or PNG files, from any time since January 2021. (Example: 74-hour Tara Drupchen mandala, Medicine Buddha mandala, etc.)
Shrine Design: Up to 3 photos of your family, personal, or dharma center’s mandala will be accepted, submitted as JPEG or PNG files, from any time since January 2021.
For Age 13-18: There will be one division for youth, with three entries accepted from three of the above seven categories. (Only one entry per category.)
We will also display children’s art pieces during the competition. Please encourage the Sangha children to participate in this fun event and share their talents with us! There will be no judging for children’s art pieces.
