The Story: Mantras in Wood

Welcome to Mantras in Wood. These mantras were inspired by my teacher, Geshe Jinpa Sonam, spiritual director of the Indiana Buddhist Center. I once asked him to write the mantras for me in Tibetan. This initiated a process that was astonishing to me in its care, patience, and love. Each step - from finding a sheet of paper - to carefully producing every symbol as perfectly as possible - went into these handwritten creations.

It was watching Geshe-la produce these written mantras that impressed upon me how precious these mantras are, and I wanted to somehow demonstrate that preciousness for anyone who has been fortunate enough to hear the Tibetan mantras even once. Using a variety of designs...some actually traced from Geshe-la's writing...I handcrafted the Chenrezig mantra in cherry.

Since that time, I've added several more mantras to the collection and I'm working on even more. Geshe-la has encouraged me to make these mantras available online. It is an honor to do so. 25% (or more) of all profits generated from this site will go directly to the support of Geshe Jinpa Sonam and the Indiana Buddhist Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.

How the Mantras Are Made

All mantras are available in Oak, Cherry, Walnut, and Poplar. There is an additional fee for more exotic woods such as cocoa bolla and paduk as explained on the order page. Wood thickness is 3/4" - 15/16"

Mantras are handcrafted one at the time, so each one is a unique, one-of-a-kind "statue of the written word." The wood is first planed and sanded to a satin finish. The pattern is applied and the mantra is cut on a scroll saw using the finest blade that will result in the cleanest cut for the particular thickness and hardness of the wood. Some of the mantras have as many as 30 internal cuts. After cutting, each mantra is hand-sanded and shaped starting with 100 grit sandpaper and ending with 12,000 grit. Special oil is then applied.

What Mantras Are Available?

Currently, there are five mantras available (two of them are two different styles of the Chenrezig mantra). More information about the mantras are available on the Mantra Order page.

• Stylized Chenrezig Mantra &mdash Om Mani Padme Hung
• Chenrezig Mantra — Om Mani Padme Hung: designed and inspired by Geshe Jinpa Sonam's Tibetan calligraphy.
• Tara Mantra — Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha: inspired by the goal of IBC to accumulate 1,000,000 Tara Mantras for the success of their new center in providing a safe home for Geshe-la and a haven of peace and compassion centrally located in Indianapolis.
• Shakyamuni Buddha Mantra - Om Muni Muni Maha Munaye Soha: The mantra of my personal yiddam
• Vajrasattva Mantra — Om Vajarasattva Hum: based on the calligraphy of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. He is leading the Prayer for Peace Initiative to accumulate one billion recitations of the Vajrasattva mantra, from practitioners all over the world.

I'm working on designs for the mantras of Maitreya and Manjushri. If you have a favorite mantra, let me know.