Duanwu Festival: The Fifth Day of the Fifth Month and the Ba Gua Amulet
Duanwu (端午节), the Dragon Boat Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month — June 19 in 2026. It…
Jade Stone: Nephrite, Jadeite, and Symbolism in Chinese Tradition
The term “jade” refers to two distinct minerals that share a similar visual appearance but different molecular structures: nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite…
Amethyst: Properties, Meaning, and Use in Meditation Practice
Amethyst is a variety of quartz whose violet color results from iron ions in the crystal lattice modified by natural irradiation during…
Agate Stone: Properties, Varieties, and Use in Tibetan Mala Bracelets
Agate is a variety of chalcedony — a microcrystalline form of quartz — identified by its characteristic concentric banding. The banding forms…
Wabi-Sabi: The Japanese Aesthetic of Imperfection and Transience
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic concept rooted in the acceptance of transience and imperfection. It emerged from the Zen Buddhist and tea…
How to Set Up a Buddhist Home Altar: A Practical Guide
A Buddhist home altar is a dedicated physical space for daily practice: meditation, offerings, and mantra recitation. It requires no particular surface…
Tibetan Singing Bowl: Sound, Vibration, and How to Use One in Meditation
A Tibetan singing bowl produces sound when struck or when a mallet is drawn around its rim. That basic physical fact describes…
Prayer wheel pendant: Om Mani Padme Hum and how to use it
A prayer wheel pendant is not an ordinary piece of jewelry. It is a functional object: it performs a specific function, requires…
How to choose a Buddhist protection bracelet or Taoist amulet
Buddhist protection bracelets are the most familiar objects in this category. But the tradition of protection through objects extends further. In Chinese…
Marjana: a Balinese Artist Between the Jungle and the Sacred
Marjana paints Balinese miniatures in the Keliki tradition. Three original pieces — Spirits and Masks (€250), Saraswati (€400), Bidadari (€600) — available at Artisan d’Asie.
