The concept for Six-Syllable Mantra has lived in my mind for over a decade, yet remained unexecuted. Its inspiration stems from Haiyu Wuxia, a Ming Dynasty monk who resided on Mount Jiuhua. Over the course of twenty years, he painstakingly transcribed the eighty-one volumes of the Avatamsaka Sutra using a mixture of his own tongue blood and gold powder.

My vision for Six-Syllable Mantra involves using only a brush and my own blood to draw continuous, horizontal lines across Xuan paper. As the lines are drawn, I will chant the "Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra" (Om Mani Padme Hum), with the audio being recorded as an integral part of the piece. Thus, the work exists as sound, but without any written characters. The reason this project remained in a state of suspension was the technical difficulty in overcoming the methods of blood collection, the use of anticoagulants, and the stabilization of the blood-based pigment.

In contrast to the Pen Walking series, which uses a pencil to symbolize a single lifetime, Six-Syllable Mantra utilizes the artist's own body and blood to "write" the direction of one's refuge and existence. The slow, horizontal lines and the echoing, repetitive mantra lead the mind into a state of meditation and Samadhi. It is a rigorous process of cultivating mindfulness and Vedana (correct sensation/reception).