Sacred Art Workshop
Please note, our Sacred Art Workshop team is currently on retreat or otherwise occupied. We wont be able to process new orders nor complete previous ones until the 1st of February.
You can of course always leave us a message at workshop@nalanda-monastery.eu and we will answer you as soon as possible.
Thank you for your understanding.
A uniquely European Buddhist workshop
Nalanda Monastery is one of the few places in Europe where the lineage of Buddhist sacred art can be transmitted from Master to Student, and where artists can meet and exchange their knowledge among monks and lay people alike.
The workshop’s main service is offering deity moulds to help practitioners in their journey.
We also offer to repair, paint and consecrate statues.
We also undertake specific projects such as stupa making and help other centres with their projects.
For questions and order, please contact our Workshop Manager via workshop@nalanda-monastery.eu
Delivery time
The workshop is only maintained by a few monks, students, or volunteers at any given time, so while moulds are more easily made and delivered, we are not running a factory, thus everything is made to order as it ordered and one needs to allow plenty of time for delivery.
Please note, there is a 7 mould limit per order so that everyone has a chance to get a mould in a timely manner.
Filling & blessing of statues and stupas
Here at Nalanda we have many years of experience in filling statues and stupas. Through the years the monks have managed to collect all the necessary mantra rolls, ingredients and precious substances needed to fill holy objects in the best way possible. It has become a tradition that has been passed on from the elder Nalanda monks to the younger, and is practiced by our monks community with great care and pleasure, in accordance with the advice of Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
Watch the step-by-step process explained and showed by Ven. Rigchog:
The costs of filling and blessing the statue or stupa
For statues of seated figures, hollow inside, donations are as below. If there is less space to fill, like when the figure is standing on a lotus, the amount can be reduced.
- 5-10 cm: €18*
- 11-20 cm: €28*
- 21-30 cm: 48€*
- 31-40 cm: 68€*
- 41-50 cm: 98€*
- 51+ cm ask for a quote please
* Exclusive the costs for sending the statue or stupa back to you. The prices do not cover the costs completely. Donations are welcome!
Delivery time
We strive to have your statue or stupa back on your altar as soon as possible. It will take an average of 4 to 6 weeks depending on the amount of work we have.
"The eye-opener of Nalanda"
Over the course of a year, student François Schick documented the talent and technique of Nalanda Monastery’s master painter Sonam Sherpa. The film captures the painting and gilding of one statue in a collection depicting the Sixteen Arhats. The film also includes rare footage of the statue’s eyes being “opened,” a final and important step in the creation of a holy objects such as this. Enjoy!
Some of Our Completed Projects
Former projects include the 1000 Buddhas which are all placed in the altar of the new gompa. It took five years to complete, and they were all blessed by Khensur Rinpoche Lobsang Tenzin during his visit to Nalanda in October 2008. Future projects include large statues of Maitreya and Lama Tsongkhapa for the main gompa.
Another project of our workshop is the large Tara statue made by Bertrand Cayla which, which is now at Osel Ling in Spain. Lama Zopa Rinpoche has said that this Tara will be famous in the years to come. The original can now be found at our sister centre Institute Vajra Yogini.