Sacred Scripts ─ A Meditative Journey Through Tibetan Calligraphy

Insightful quotes written in Tibetan calligraphy are paired with photos of Buddhas from around the world to create this collection of timeless iconography.

Calligraphy holds an honored place in the spiritual traditions of Tibet. Buddhist monks train for years to master the art and use the sacred writing form as a method of meditation. Each stroke of the paintbrush and each deliberate use of empty white space carry the weight and meaning of centuries of spiritual tradition.

Over the last few years, the Tibetan written language has become increasingly endangered. In an effort to raise awareness about the value and beauty of this ancient and sacred language, classically-trained calligrapher Tashi Mannox has written mantras and words of wisdom in elegant Tibetan calligraphy and paired them with photos of Buddhas from around the world taken by Robin Kyte-Coles. The photos provide a scenic and global backdrop to meditate upon, and the calligraphy provides the spiritual wisdom to guide one’s meditation.

A journey through Eastern symbology, Inspirations from Buddha provides a unique selection of visual and written pairings that invite meditation, thought, and spiritual reflection. The stark lines, ethereal beauty, and timeless quality of Eastern symbology will help readers to discover the truth of meaningful emptiness.

TASHI MANNOX was born in England. After gaining a BA in Fine Art, he became a Buddhist monk of the Tibetan Kagyu order. For seventeen years he apprenticed under the direction of a master of the Karma Gardri Tibetan art tradition, Sherab Palden Beru, and also studied under many other Tibetan lamas, including H.E. Situ Rinpoche and Akong Tulku Rinpoche. He later traveled to India and studied Lanza and Wartu, ancient artistic forms of Sanskrit that are preserved by only a handful of practitioners in the world today. Tashi is now recognized as one of the world’s foremost contemporary Tibetan calligraphy artists and is exhibiting internationally.

ROBIN KYTE-COLES was born in Kampala, Uganda. In Spring 2007, with the blessing of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Robin left the UK for months of intense photography in South and Southeast Asia to createThe Spirit of Buddha. This journey took him to remote spots in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Nepal, India, Tibet, and Sri Lanka. Robin’s motivation for this project came from a genuine interest in Buddhist philosophy: “I have thought about what attracted me first to Buddhism, and I think it is this: to be compassionate. To truly understand what compassion means and to integrate it into one’s daily life.”