ABOUT THE PREPARATION OF MANTRA SCROLLS

This monumental undertaking of filling receptacles requires creating precious objects that will go along with a list of other things into the hollow space of metal images. Amongst these articles, the most vital are the Mantra Scrolls or capsules. The creation of the Mantra Scroll is no trifling business, for its advocates or even voters, requiring material and manual labor. After its production, follows a paraphernalia of many more objects that accompany the scrolls to fill in the empty space within the holy images.

The said Mantra Scrolls are acquired in their raw form as strips of printed light papers. The process of cutting the empty spaces at the length and breadth of its four sides involves three weeks or so. A special procedure of washing these thousands of strips of mantras, drying them, and packing them up to prepare for the next stage of work is unique to the Kundeling Monastery. The next process concerns rolling it into capsules, clothing these and putting labels on the same for easy recognition of each.

It is after a consecration of these scrolls in the company of many other articles that they are finally inserted within the hollow space within receptacles, beginning from the space within the pinnacle of their crowns down to their lotus or cushion seats The sacred strips used in the process of preparing the mantra scrolls are as follows:

Mantras for the Crown Protrusion (head), the Throat, and the Heart. the mantras of Buddha Shakyamuni, Lama Tsongkhapa, the Migtsema Supplication and the Lineage Masters are essentially the Name Mantras, which are all placed at the upper level of the heart region.

The mantras from the heart onwards to the womb consist of The Root, Near Essence and Action mantras of the Highest Yoga Tantra (Maha-anuttarayogatantra) Deities; Yoga Tantra, Karya (Performance) Tantra Kriya (Action) Tantra Deities. Along with these are the Mantra of Interdependent Origination and the 100-syllable Vajrasattva Mantra.

From the middle of the womb onwards follows the mantras of The Five Regiments of Deities (Sung.chen de.nga,tib). The various Sutra formulas such as the Purification and Restoration formulas (So.jong); teachings Buddha gave to restrain the non-virtuous of the three doors, for the ordained and lay followers (Do.sung,tib); the many Utterances of the Buddha (Shay.jo,tib) involving important events in his lifetime, given to different people. The mantra to eradicate Mistakes (Thuk.sel,tib);

From the area of the legs down to the Lotus seat are: Lotus mantras (Pay.sung); mantras of Dharmapalas (Cho.kyong,tib); mantras of Wealth Deities (Nor.lha); Verses of Auspiciousness (). Added to these are the mantra of the Ganapati and the male and female Yaksha Chakras or circles of the wealth deities Jambahala and Vasundhara and the chakras with the 8 Auspicious Signs (Ashtamangala, skirt).]