This article brings together (i) the work of our Mongolian artisans; (ii) our practice of “inner and outer dusting” at this time of year; (iii) relevant scientific research findings on the topic of creativity and imagination; and (iv) english language terminology (in bold typeface) for readers whose first language is not the English, but who would like to develop their vocabulary in this sphere.
Mongolia’s Zava Damdin Luvsandarjaa (b.1976- ) seen here seated inside the central main chamber of the third new temple constructed on the Delgeruun Choira site (not far from the small town of Delgertsoght in Mongolia’s Gobi desert, a good half day’s drive south from Ulan Bator). Since 2005, when reconstruction of the precinct commenced, Zava Damdin has invited and commissioned many specialist Mongolian artists and artisans to produce individual works and installations. The spiral tempered glass and s-steel staircase leading up to the library (centre left), the huge yet perfectly resonant round drum with soyombo symbol atop and stretched with bull’s hide (right), the two malas, one held in each of Rinpoche’s hands, the artwork on the ceiling, the rendered artwork on the upright columns and ceiling bearers, the meticulous brickwork of the walls from which the temple is constructed. All of these have been made by an artisan, their apprentice and associates in our community, by someone we know. Photo courtesy of the Zava Damdin Sutra and Scripture Institute of Mongolia. Image reprinted here on CPinMongolia.com with permission. 8 February 2024.
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How we see things depends on the frame through which we look. (CP)
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Prof. Robert J. Sternberg, a well-regarded human ecology scholar and psychologist and who has studied human creativity throughout his career, summarises his science-based research insights* as follows:
1. Creativity is not so much an innate ability as it is an attitude toward life.
2. A key ingredient of creativity is courage.
3. If you want to be creative, you have to stand up not only to the crowd, but also to yourself.
4. Being creative requires you to admit you were wrong or, at least, not quite right.
5. The more creative your ideas are, the more resistance those ideas will encounter, and the more resilience, perseverance, humility, and sheer courage you will need to keep going in the face of opposition.
6. The world does not need more seriously smart and creative people who are using their talents to advance themselves but also to take down others in the process.
7. What the world needs today is not just creativity but, rather, transformational creativity that is oriented toward achieving a common good that will make the world a better place for us all.
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Personal Notes
Inner and Outer Dusting
In keeping with our tradition, over the past few months I’ve been concerned with “inner and outer dusting“, a practice we undertake every year.
Outer dusting refers to cleaning and reviewing texts and other resources in one’s library, as well as clearing and cleaning one’s home.
Inner dusting refers to the focus on clearing what needs to be cleared, or what one would like to have clarified, during this transition from the beginning of Tsagaan Sar (the new year) into what may flow from here.
Whilst we attend to these matters, Mongolian Zava Bagsh, the Lamas and the lams at Delgeruun Choira — having already attended to such ‘dusting’ with Rinpoche’s mother Janstan Gundegmaa and other members of our extended family — have been performing a well-documented series of traditional prayers and rituals in one of the main Mongolian Buddhist ritual performance spaces now located on the Delgeruun Choira precinct (pictured above).
It is now the eighteenth day of this new year. All of these prescribed rituals performed each year have now been completed. So too, the time has come for us to tail off the intensity of the ‘dusting’ and get on with other matters. For me, that means returning to my desk, writing articles (such as you see here) or composing music.
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Other Notes
Aspects of Creativity
Some researchers look at just two aspects of creativity. Coming up with ideas – drawing associations between diverse and unrelated things (think “apple falling to ground and gravitational theory”) – is classed as divergent thinking. Weighing up which ideas are worth pursuing requires a more controlled and deliberate mental process – a kind of narrowing in – known as convergent thinking. (Think “solving crossword clue”.) Relevant aspects of creativity here include:
(1) fluency – the ability to generate many ideas, solutions, or possibilities;
(2) flexibility – the ability to adapt ideas or approaches and consider alternatives; and
(3) originality – the ability to produce ideas that are novel, unusual, or even one-of-a-kind.
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Imagination vs Creativity
Whilst closely related, imagination refers to the ability to form mental images or concepts that aren’t currently present to the senses, while creativity is the act of taking those imagined ideas and bringing them into existence through tangible actions, essentially turning an idea into a real concept and/or thing. Imagination is the seed, creativity is the process of nurturing that seed into something tangible. Please refer to the image below.
Designed by Zava Damdin (b.1976- ) and built in consultation with a Mongolian architectural firm, Soyombot Oron is a combination of Qing Dynasty architecture and Rinpoche’s own design ideas. The extensive exterior paving and walls were constructed by stonemasons from local rock that had been blasted onsite. This photograph is of the main south-facing entrance way. This is the third and largest new temple to be constructed on the Delgeruun Choira precinct (Delgertsoght, Mongolia). 4 March 2025. Photograph courtesy of the Zava Damdin Sutra and Scripture Institute of Mongolia. Image reprinted here on CPinMongolia.com with permission.
References
Eight Lessons from my Research on Creativity by Robert J. Sternberg (Professor of Psychology, College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, Honorary Professor of Psychology at Heidelberg University, Germany. Sternberg has also been a Past President for the American Psychological Association and the Federation of Associations in Brain and Behavioral Sciences). in Greater Good Magazine: science-based insights for a meaningful life (11 October, 2023: Berkley.edu). Available in the public domain. Accessed: 17 March 2025.
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© 2013-2025. CP in Mongolia. This post is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Documents and other works linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Created: 17 March 2025. Last updated: 17 March 2025.