THE LANGUAGE BODY

SIX HOLY WORDS

If you conduct a Google map search under satellite view and enter the coordinates: 32.909982,97.04612, somewhere in the vast nowhere of China, you will see a satellite photograph of six Tibetan Sanskrit characters that have been repeatedly carved into a frozen lake. If you walk through the streets of Tibet, you will find this mantra as a visual motif—embellishing the work of metalsmiths and on the walls as sacred graffitti. The characters embody such magnetism that I tattooed them in a wrap around my left forearm . They are considered to be six holy words or syllables to the Tibetan Buddhists. And while uttered—whether they are written, spoken, or heard—it is thought to produce a powerful effect that radiates in ripples throughout the universe. The phrase can be transliterated as Om Mani Padme Hum—“the Jewel in the Lotus.” It is a mantra dedicated to the deity of compassion, Avalokiteshvara. It may also be broken down by each symbol/syllable: Om = mediation; ma = patience; ni = discipline; pad = wisdom; me = generosity; and hum = diligence.

When my arm was still healing from the fresh tattoo, I stood in front of some bulk spinach in the produce section at an East Village market.

“That’s in my language,” said an employee of the market, who happened to be Tibetan.

“What?” I asked.

He repeated himself while pointing to my left forearm, “The only ones who know the meaning of this are the Buddhist monks who repeat it all the time.” He said, “All I know is it’s, ‘six holy words.” Or more precisely the root syllables from which they are constructed. This linking of roots is fundamental in the Sanskrit language. It is precisely the practice of repetition and correct pronunciation that gives any mantra its charge.

As a poet, I was drawn to the idea that these words not only express symbolism, but the words’ sounds and characters embody power within themselves. Over this past summer I took a course in music therapy as part of the Creative Arts Therapy Certificate Program. As a yoga instructor, I was looking for alternative and holistic ways to practice and promote overall health and enrichment. Around this time I met a photographer who was interested in taking portraits of individuals after reading a prayer. We both knew there was something expressive on the face when words affect people. I had been reading The Music of Life by Hazrat Inayat Khan and began to see how the vibration of sound and words affect the body and, arguably, the cosmos. As Carl Sagan said, “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” With all this in mind I suggested, “What if we conduct a project where people chant different mantras over an extended period of time while taking photographs of them throughout?”

So we began the project and both the chanter and the photographer were visibly altered in their energy levels and overall appearance. My yoga teacher training was with the Samarya Center for Integrated Movement Therapy and Ashtanga Yoga and the founders, my instructors, were both clinicians—one a speech pathologist—who had documented the effects of chanting on severely depressed individuals. After chanting for several weeks, the subjects showed improved respiratory function and general mood as both an immediate result and over an extended period of time. And without knowing this in the past, I was able to experience these effects as well. It is evident that there is a visible change when using the body to make these sounds.