The Art of Manifesting the Sacred: Creating, Filling, and Consecrating Statues and Stupas in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism (5 Vols-Set)

relic insertion) by Jam-mgon Kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha-yas (1813-1899). Three of the most conspicuous physical manifestations of Buddhism in the Tibetan cultural sphere are what are known as the three receptacles (rten gsum): (a) sacred statues of buddhas, bodhisattvas, deities, and masters, which serve as receptacles of the Buddhas body (skui rten), (b) sacred scriptures and treatises in book form, which function as receptacles of the Buddhas speech (gsung gi rten), and (c) sacred structures called stupas, which act as receptacles of the Buddhas mind (thugs kyi rten). For the living Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the mere presence of these receptacles does not alone render them sacred objects of reverence. Statues and stupas must be properly filled with various sacred contents and correctly consecrated. Over the centuries, numerous manuals have been written by scholars from different schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Jam-mgon-kong-sprul Blo-gros-mtha-yass (1813-1899) gZungs bul lag len represents one such manual.