Master Strokes Insights from Seasoned Scribes
Jamyang Dorjee is a dedicated advocate for Tibetan calligraphy, having transitioned from a distinguished career in public service to passionately preserving and promoting this ancient art form. His deep connection with Buddhist spiritual masters and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s administration fueled his commitment to Tibetan calligraphy. Jamyang’s creation of the world’s longest calligraphy scroll and his ongoing contributions have solidified his role as a pioneering figure in elevating Tibetan calligraphy globally
Your dedication to Tibetan calligraphy is inspiring. Can you share the pivotal moment when you realized this art form was your true calling, and how that revelation has shaped your journey?
My path to Tibetan calligraphy emerged from a rich career of public service. After retiring as a senior civil servant in the Sikkim state government, I had the privilege of working with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s administration in Himachal Pradesh. Throughout these years, my interactions with Buddhist spiritual masters left me with a profound conviction: each of us should strive to leave a meaningful legacy. In contemplating my own divine potential, I recognized that my true gifts lay in creativity and writing. While calligraphy has long been revered as a sophisticated art form in Chinese, Japanese, and Islamic traditions, Tibetan calligraphy remained largely unknown to the wider world. This became starkly apparent in 2008 when my search for information on the subject yielded remarkably little. The story of Tibetan script itself is fascinating - developed from India’s Devanagari script, it emerged primarily as a vehicle for translating Buddhist teachings. Though the script evolved into various beautiful styles from the 7th century onward, many Tibetan spiritual masters traditionally prioritized mental cultivation over artistic pursuits, sometimes viewing the latter as mere distractions. This historical context inspired my mission: to elevate Tibetan calligraphy to its rightful place among the world’s great artistic traditions. My journey culminated in an ambitious project - creating the world’s longest calligraphy scroll, stretching 165 meters. This achievement not only set a world record but also helped establish Tibetan calligraphy in the global artistic consciousness. It changed my life, I became calmer and focused.
You write prayers each morning as part of your practice. How does this daily ritual influence your creativity and mindset, and what insights have you gained from it?
As a seeker of truth, my journey centers on understanding the depths of my mind and its inherent primordial wisdom. In the art of calligraphy, I’ve found a profound spiritual practice that combines meditation, devotion, contemplation, and inner peace. The quiet hours of dawn have become my sacred time, when brush meets paper and ordinary consciousness transforms into something extraordinary. Through this daily ritual, I’ve discovered a gateway to boundless creativity, leading me to a state of profound contentment and tranquillity that transcends everyday experience.
How do your spiritual beliefs influence your artwork, especially in depicting prayers and Buddhist deities?
In my practice, creativity and spirituality are inseparable, each nourishing the other. I approach each stroke of calligraphy not merely as an artistic endeavor, but as a step along my spiritual path.
Could you elaborate on the significance of the Buddhist deities and symbols in your calligraphy? What do you hope viewers feel or understand through these elements?
The Buddha’s original teachings, twenty-five centuries ago, did not require physical representations - the connection between teacher and student was profound enough to transcend such needs. However, as society evolved, spiritual masters adapted their methods, developing creative ways to convey wisdom to their disciples. Just as we teach children the alphabet through tangible objects like ‘A for apple,’ these masters crafted symbolic representations: Buddha figures to embody form, sacred scripts to capture speech, and stupas to represent mind. This evolution led to deeper explorations of letters, mantras, and the profound concept of emptiness (śūnyatā). In my artistic practice, I’ve sought to unite these elements in a novel way. Through calligraphy, I create deities formed entirely from their own sacred prayers, achieving a unique synthesis where body, speech, and mind of the Buddha converge in a single artistic expression. This innovative approach brings a new dimension to the ancient art of calligraphy and a different perspective to the Buddhists.
Your calligraphy often serves as a tool for meditation and reflection. How do you envision viewers interacting with your work spiritually, and what emotions do you hope to evoke in them?
True calligraphy speaks to its audience on dual levels - through its visual beauty and its spiritual resonance. In my work, every stroke carries intention, whether crafting ancient mantras or expressing messages of compassion, ethics, and love. When all elements align - the perfect harmony of ink, paper, and focused energy - the calligraphy comes alive, drawing viewers into a deeper conversation with the art. This is what masters mean when they say ‘calligraphy speaks’: it’s the moment when written forms transcend their physical boundaries to touch the viewer’s spirit.”
Creating the world’s longest calligraphy scroll is a monumental achievement. What sparked the inspiration for this ambitious project, and what challenges did you face along the way?
The virtual absence of Tibetan calligraphy in the digital world sparked in me a bold vision: to create something so extraordinary it would command global attention. Our calligraphic tradition deserves to stand proudly alongside the world’s most celebrated styles. Driven by this conviction, I embarked on an ambitious six-month journey to create something unprecedented - the world’s longest calligraphy scroll. This monumental work, stretching 165 metres and weighing 52 kilograms, became more than just a record-breaking achievement; it became a beacon illuminating our rich calligraphic heritage for the world to see.
Tibetan calligraphy features various styles, each with its own character. How do you select the style for a specific piece, and what emotions or concepts do you hope to convey through these choices?
Tibetan calligraphy encompasses three fundamental styles: U-chen (‘with head’), the formal script found in printed dharma texts; U-med (‘headless’), commonly used for handwritten documents; and Druk-tsa, a decorative style reserved for captions and embellishments. Within the U-med tradition lies the Kyug style, a cursive form that offers unique creative freedom. It is this Kyug style that I employ in my artistic work, as it allows me to maintain traditional foundations while exploring personal expression. The fluidity of cursive writing becomes a vehicle for conveying individual emotion and artistic vision, transforming each piece into a unique work of art.
You often use traditional materials like Lokta paper. How do these materials enhance the aesthetic and spiritual qualities of your work, and how do they connect you to your cultural heritage?
My commitment to environmental conservation flows naturally from Buddhist teachings about interdependence - the profound understanding that our existence is woven into the fabric of nature itself. This isn’t merely philosophy; it’s practical wisdom: any harm we inflict on our environment inevitably circles back to us. While chemically treated papers may offer immediate visual appeal, their beauty is fleeting and their environmental cost high. This is why I choose Lokta paper, a natural handmade material that embodies both cultural preservation and practical durability. Harvested from shrubs growing above 10,000 feet in the Himalayas, Lokta represents nature’s remarkable resilience - the more these plants are pruned, the more vigorously they grow. In this way, my artistic medium itself becomes an expression of sustainable harmony with nature. more it grows so no harm to nature.
Your miniature calligraphy is remarkable for its precision. Can you walk us through the techniques you use to achieve such fine detail, and what it feels like to create art at such a small scale?
After completing the longest calligraphy scroll in 2010 and helping to popularize the art, I began to delve deeper into the essence of writing. I discovered that one of our revered masters, Acharya Shantideva from Nalanda University, inscribed the Bodhisattva-caryāvatāra on a single palm leaf in the 7th century. Inspired by this, I started creating miniature calligraphy, writing small mantras with the aid of a magnifying glass. This technique allows me to fit entire compositions of prayers on a single page—a practice that brings me immense joy and a sense of uniqueness.
The history of Tibetan calligraphy is rich and complex. How do you see your role in preserving this art form, and what aspects do you think are most important for future generations to understand?
Tibetan calligraphy holds profound historical and cultural significance, as it was developed specifically to translate Buddhist teachings (Buddha dharma). Following Buddhism’s decline in India, Tibetan script became the primary vessel preserving Buddha’s complete teachings - including 108 volumes of direct teachings and 226 volumes of commentaries by 17 renowned scholars from Nalanda University. This written heritage is invaluable not only to Tibet but also to India, as it safeguards ancient Indian Buddhist knowledge. My mission is twofold: to help younger generations understand the importance of this cultural treasure, and to emphasize that if India aspires to global leadership, it must protect and promote this Buddhist wisdom preserved in Tibetan script.”
How have cultural exchanges, like those with Mongolia and China, influenced the development of Tibetan calligraphy and its scripts?
Buddha dharma is a common bonding amongst the Asian countries and using the Tibetan calligraphy which is based on Devanagari is a very good diplomatic tool for neighbourhood exchanges. Last few years, I have exhibited Tibetan calligraphy Art exhibitions in Bhutan, Nepal and Bangkok sponsored by the respective Indian embassies and proved very useful. TCF Newsletter · October 2024
You mentioned the Horyig (Mongol Script) created in the 12th century. Can you explain its purpose and how it was influenced by Tibetan calligraphy?
Yes, Drogon Chogyel Pakpa (1235–1280), a Tibetan lama and leader of the Sakya tradition, created the Mongol script in 1270. Pakpa’s script, also known as the Phagspa script or Mongol square script, was based on the Tibetan alphabet but written vertically. Pakpa was the imperial preceptor to the Mongol emperor Qubilai Khan. In 1271, Qubilai made the Phagspa script the official script of the Mongol Empire. The Phagspa script was used on official documents, monuments, and passports. However, it was never widely used and fell out of use after the Yuan dynasty collapsed in 1368. It is thought to have influenced the development of modern Korean script.
How do you see modern adaptations of Tibetan calligraphy evolving, and are there any recent developments that you find particularly interesting?
The impressive feat of creating a Tibetan calligraphy scroll that set a world record in 2010 has ignited a newfound sense of hope and inspiration among the younger generation of Tibetans in Tibet. In 2015, they went a step further by officially declaring April 30th, representing the four vowels and thirty consonants of the Tibetan script, as a national day of calligraphy. This increased enthusiasm for Tibetan calligraphy has led to a surge in demand for its artistic integration across various applications. Businesses and organizations are now regularly seeking the creation of Tibetan calligraphic designs for product branding, film captions, and even the naming of hotels and resorts. This growing trend showcases the rising prominence and recognition of Tibetan calligraphy as a vibrant and versatile art form.
As a veteran calligrapher with deep knowledge of script history, what advice would you give to those interested in learning about the evolution of Tibetan calligraphy, especially its connections to other cultures?
The evolution and development of Tibetan calligraphy has the potential to unite the people across the Himalayan region, from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh in India, as well as the Kingdom of Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal, and Mongolia. This is because these areas share a deep connection through the study of Tibetan scriptures and the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism.Since Tibetan calligraphy is an extension of the Devanagari script of India, the artful and stylized Tibetan calligraphic tradition could serve as a cultural bridge, attracting interest and appreciation from Buddhist countries throughout the region towards India.For individual artists, the practice of Tibetan calligraphy can be seen as a form of meditation. The focus and concentration required to master this art form can have a calming and centering effect, helping the practitioner to achieve a state of mindfulness and focus.In this way, the development of Tibetan calligraphy has the potential to not only unite people across the Himalayan region through a shared cultural heritage, but also to provide a transformative personal experience for the artists themselves, helping them to cultivate inner peace and clarity.
As someone dedicated to Tibetan calligraphy, what do you believe organizations and the government should do to support this art form? Why is it important to preserve, and what steps can be taken to ensure its continuity for future generations?
As an artist, one’s focus should be solely on the art itself, without aspirations for wealth or fame. The true artist lives within their art, fully immersed in the creative process, and it is this dedication that allows masterpieces to emerge. While the support of governments, NGOs, and the media can be valuable in promoting art that celebrates a nation’s cultural heritage and pride, an artist’s primary commitment should be to the art itself. Both the Tibetan/Bhoti and Devanagari scripts have a rich, established tradition, yet they remain relatively underdeveloped in the realm of calligraphy art compared to the renowned Sufa of China and Shodo of Japan. This presents a vast, untapped potential waiting to be explored. Just as there is always a sky beyond the sky we see, the art world holds limitless possibilities for those willing to venture into uncharted territory. As an artist, one must embrace this sense of boundless potential and strive to push the boundaries of their respective mediums and traditions. It is in this spirit of exploration and dedication to the craft that the most meaningful and impactful works of art can emerge.