The Tibetan Blessing Table

About four years ago, I formed an alliance with a Burlington woodworker, Tim Peters, to make the most beautiful table I could imagine. He would do the carpentry; I would do the carving. I hoped we would sell it and bring some much-needed income to the Endangered Alphabets Project, while also raising awareness of the attrition to the Tibetan language and script caused by Chinese rule.

The project underwent many changes, spent much time in suspended animation, and we never managed to attract a buyer. Ironically, I couldn’t even use it myself as it was too big for my condo.

But now I’ve moved, and finally, finally, finally the table is in my house and ready for use. The text, in Tibetan, is based on the wonderful calligraphy of Tashi Mannox, and consists of the phrase “graceful kindness” repeated six times, thus amounting to a kind of mantra, or in Christian terms, a grace before eating.