My Father's Morning Chant
Waking up at six to the sound of Amitabha, and where the number one hundred million comes from.
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The studio
Nine years at Larung Gar. Twenty as a layman.
Thobol Studio is a film studio in Chengdu run by Ngodup, born in Luhuo county in Kham. The prints come from the Buddha Mandala series, digital works made in the studio. The stories behind them are told every week on Substack.
“If you can recite Amitabha one hundred million times, I promise you will go to the Pure Land.”Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, as remembered by a student who is still counting.
Counting to a Hundred Million
One story a week from Kham and Larung Gar, in English. New prints are announced there first.
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All items
Objects marked Phase 2 are shown so you can see what is coming. They open for orders once the first makers' agreements are signed.
Commission
A thangka painted for you.
Thangkas are not stocked. Each one is painted on cotton with mineral pigments by a painter trained inside a lineage, then mounted in brocade. The work takes four to twelve weeks depending on size and detail.
Tell us the deity or mandala, the size, and your budget. We answer within three days with a quote, the painter's timeline, and reference images of their earlier work.
Send the request below.
Quote and timeline in three days.
30–50% deposit starts the painting.
Photos at sketch, color and gold stages.
Balance, then insured shipping from Chengdu.
Deposits are non-refundable once the painter begins. Balance is due before shipping. Import duties are paid by the buyer.
Makers
Who makes the objects.
Every object in phase 2 is made by a named person in Kham, working in a craft that has been passed down in their family or monastery. Their page carries their photograph, their workshop, and the story of the piece. Agreements are being signed now; the first three pages appear here when they are.
Silversmith · Dege
To be announced
Gau amulet boxes, ring settings, chased silver. Third generation in the same workshop.
Mala maker · Sertar
To be announced
Bodhi seed and sandalwood malas, hand-knotted, counted to 108.
Thangka painter · Kham
To be announced
Lineage-trained. Mineral pigments, 24k gold line. Commissions from four weeks.
Are you a maker? Thobol Studio pays makers directly and shows their name unless they prefer not to. Write to .
Journal
Counting to a Hundred Million.
The stories behind the shop are published weekly on Substack by Ngodup, in English. Not teaching, just telling: what it was like to grow up next to Larung Gar, to study there for nine years, and to leave.
Subscribe on SubstackComing this season
Week 1
Week 2
The First Time I Got Hit by a Prayer Wheel
The rules for turning wheels, learned the hard way.
Week 3
Why a Thousand Prostrations
Prostrations, the three pure meats, and what a child understands of either.
Week 4
The Largest Room Belongs to the Buddhas
Why the shrine room in a Tibetan house is bigger than the kitchen.
Week 5
Why a Tibetan Funeral Costs More Than a Wedding
The offering of death, and what it buys.
About
Thobol Studio
Thobol Studio is a film studio in Chengdu. It makes films, some of them about Tibetan Buddhism, most of them not, and it runs this shop.
The studio is run by Ngodup (དངོས་གྲུབ།), born in Luhuo county in Kham. From twelve to twenty-one he studied at Larung Gar, the Buddhist academy founded by Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, as a lay student among monks, nuns, khenpos and tulkus. He left in 2005, a year after the Khenpo passed away, and has lived as a layman for twenty years. He is married, has children, and lives six hundred kilometres from where he was born.
The shop exists because people who read his writing kept asking where the pictures were from and whether they could buy something made in Kham. Prints came first because they could be made without a warehouse. Objects come next, once the makers who will make them have agreed to be named.
What we do not sell
Nothing here is sold as blessed, empowered, or consecrated. Prints are prints and silver is silver. If you want an object consecrated, take it to your own teacher.
Contact
Email:
Instagram: @thobolstudio
TikTok: @thobolstudio
Writing: ngodupkham.substack.com
Where things ship from
Prints and paper: Printful facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia, whichever is nearest to you.
Objects and commissions: Chengdu, Sichuan, by tracked post.
Policies
The fine print.
Shipping
- Prints, stickers and postcards are made to order by Printful and ship from the facility nearest you. Production takes 2–5 business days; delivery 4–12 days after that depending on country.
- Prints ship free on orders over $60. Below that, the exact rate shows at checkout.
- Objects and commissions ship from Chengdu, China by tracked post (China Post, Yanwen or 4PX). Allow 7–20 days.
- All shipments are delivered duties unpaid. Import duties and taxes, where charged, are paid by the buyer on arrival.
- Tracking numbers are emailed the day an order ships.
Returns and replacements
- Prints and paper are made to order and cannot be returned for change of mind.
- Anything that arrives damaged, misprinted or wrong is replaced free. Email a photo within 30 days of delivery.
- Objects can be returned unused within 14 days of delivery. The buyer pays return postage to Chengdu; the price is refunded when the item arrives.
- Refunds go back to the payment method used. PayPal refunds show within 5 business days.
Commissions
- A commission begins when the quote is accepted and the deposit (30–50% of the quote) is paid.
- The deposit is non-refundable once the painter has started. If we cancel, the deposit is returned in full.
- Progress photographs are sent at the sketch, color and gold stages. Changes after the sketch stage may change the price and timeline.
- The balance is due before shipping. Shipping is insured for the full value.
Privacy
- We keep your name, address and email only to fulfil your order and answer your questions.
- Payment details are handled by PayPal, Shopify or Coinbase Commerce. We never see your card number.
- Printful receives the address for print orders. Nobody else does.
- We send email about your order and, if you opt in, about new pieces. Unsubscribe at any time.
Terms
- Prices are in US dollars. Your bank sets the exchange rate.
- Artwork is copyright Thobol Studio or the named maker. Buying a print does not transfer reproduction rights.
- Nothing sold here is represented as blessed, consecrated or having any effect beyond being what it is.
- These terms are governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China. Disputes we cannot settle by email go to the courts of Chengdu.