The Story of the Amitabha Stupa, Sedona Arizona 1 | Page 15
Western Ingenuity
The Amitabha Stupa is filled with
close to a billion sacred mantras or
prayers. Traditionally, these mantras were handwritten, purified with
saffron-infused water and rolled by
hand around sticks of incense.
Although hundreds of the smaller
rolls were completed in the ancient
way, Western ingenuity made it
possible to accomplish the mantra
printing and rolling on a roll-toroll printing press. Even saffron
water was placed in one of its ink
reservoirs misting the paper as it
passed through the press. The result:
uniform, tightly bound rolls of tiny
legible mantras, well over a million
on each roll.
Once delivered to the KPC temple,
the mantra rolls were covered with
fine cloth and ribbons in the five
auspicious colors of blue, white, red,
green and yellow. Then they were
blessed in an elaborate ceremony
and placed in every Stupa chamber.