ārya-satya - The Noble Truths

ārya-satya - The Noble Truths,
a photo by jayarava on Flickr.

Some calligraphy for the book - getting towards the end of the English proof reading and fixing images now. I think you will agree that this is much better work than what's on the website currently. The four noble truths are one of the most succinct summaries of the Buddhist teachings.

āryasatya - noble-truths
duḥkha - disappointment
samudaya - cause (of disappointment)
nirodha - cessation (of disappointment)
mārga - road (to the cessation of disappointment)

K.R. Norman has pointed out that, despite the received tradition, a more likely translation is 'truths of the noble ones' which is supported by the Pāli commentaries.

Calligraphy Workshop in London

A special opportunity is coming up if you are interested in Tibetan calligraphy.

The Shang Shung London Institute of Tibetan Studies presents a weekend workshop of Tibetan calligraphy, lead by Tashi Mannox on 25-26th June 2011.

Tashi is an expert calligrapher with a lifetime of study and practice.

Siddhaṃ Seed Syllables - ha hāṃ hoḥ hrīḥ hūṃ

Siddhaṃ Seed Syllables - ha hāṃ hoḥ hrīḥ hūṃ, a photo by jayarava on Flickr.

Variations on the Saṃskrita akṣara ha.
ha - Kṣitigarbha - Jizō (地蔵).
hāṃ - Acala Vidyārāja - Fudō Myōō (不動明王)
hoḥ - jaḥ hūṃ vaṃ hoḥ!
hrīḥ - padma family especially Amitābha
hūṃ - vajra family especially Akṣobhya

Book Progress

Got the English proof-reading back in the Weekend. So it's all down to me again. Will be working on it as my main project from today. Still some images that need improving, but otherwise it's just correcting text now I think (major changes will have to be in a 2nd edition).

Book Progress

I've just received back the proof-read draft of the book from my Tibetan/Chinese expert. There is some work to do on the mantras and Buddha names in those languages, but not a huge amount. I've also been speaking to the artist I commissioned to do the cover art and he tells me that his work is nearly ready. Finally the English proof-reading (the most daunting task) is close to being finished.

I want to do some indexing, though I suspect that most people will find the structure of the book guides how they use it, and the contents pages are quite helpful. The book is now 263 pages of A4 - it's turned into a bit of a monster!

Although I don't have a deadline I'd like the get the book finished for the August 2011 biennial Triratna Order convention (where I hope to sell many copies!). I seem to be on track for this.

Meanwhile I've been piecing together another Visible Mantra project which will bring together various already published work along with some original essays. More on this when everything is in the bag.

Plato

εὐγραμματία
"Calligraphy," said Plato, "is the physical manifestation
of an architecture of the soul."
- cited in The Comodore, by Patrick O'Brian, p.173.

Mongolian Calligraphy Exhibition and Workshop

At the West London Buddhist Centre

Solo exhibition by Sukhbaatar Davaakhuu at the Centre, 18-25 March 2011.
Open 2-6pm, closed Saturday 19 and Tuesday 22 March.
No charge. The paintings are for sale.

Mongolian Script and Calligraphy: the literate nomads - Workshop and talk
Saturday 26 March 2011. Talk 1pm., Workshop 2-6pm.
Please book for the workshop, the charge is £15. Talk no charge, donations welcome.

Arapacana Mantra monogram and eternal knot

Arapacana Mantra monogram and eternal knot a photo by jayarava on Flickr.

The monogram in the centre is the letters a ra pa ca na (अ र प च न) in the Lansta script woven together. This is the mantra of perfect wisdom, and also the first five letters of the Gāndhārī alphabet.

I should say that the braiding is inspired by the weaving of the Māori in New Zealand - I grew up there and learned how to do this with paper and NZ flax (Phormium tenax).

Some Audible Mantra Resources

I've been browsing the Free Buddhist Audio website and discovered some gems.

Mantras of the Five Consorts
Vessantara himself chants the mantras of Locanā, Māmāki, Paṇḍāravāsinī, Tārā and Ākāśadhātvīśvarī. Vessantara has been on retreat in Germany for several years now.

A led Mantra Meditation.
A led meditation using three mantras: Vajrapani (energy), Avolokiteshvara (compassion), and Manjusri (wisdom). Plus Q and A with Paramānanda (author of Change Your Mind: Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation).

The Sound of Reality.
by Padmavajra. "This richly rewarding talk explores the place and function of sound in Buddhist practice and history, as well as within Padmavajra's own spiritual life." Padmavajra has been based at the Padmaloka Retreat Centre since 1990 leading retreats and study especially for men training for ordination into the Triratna Order.

Visible Mantra Book

I've just physically cut the proof copy of the Visible Mantra Book in half so that I can begin to work on corrections while my proof reader continues to work on the 2nd half. I'll be working mainly on the text, though some of the images will also need work. Once this phase is done the mantras in various scripts will all need careful checking. Then the formatting of the book can be tweaked, and finally an index created once the pages have settled down. Still a lot of work to do, but making progress.

I am starting to get an insight into why a book like this is a risky venture for a commercial publisher - if everyone was being paid for their time it would be very very expensive.

I still hope to get the book done by the time of the Triratna Order Convention in Aug.

I really appreciate all the donations that people have given over the last year, and all of the emails and comments. The 50p idea did not raise very much money in the end, but it may well cover the cost of hosting the website - I haven't counted up yet.

Thanks for all your support, and please continue to exercise that great Buddhist virtue of patience.