The Story of the Amitabha Stupa, Sedona Arizona 1 | Page 29

Activating the Stupa The Tibetan word for stupa is chorten, which means “receptacle for offerings.” Every square inch of space inside the Amitabha Stupa is packed solid from top to bottom with consecrated offerings, holy texts and sacred images and objects. The Tree of Life in the center is positioned exactly as it had grown—with its eastern side facing east or the front of the Stupa. “Offering is one of the major ways in which one can accumulate merit, and that merit can be dedicated to benefit sentient beings,” says Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo. Truckloads of mantras, thousands of tsa-tsas and relics of holy beings and ritualistic items were offered to the Stupa to activate and magnify its spiritual power. This light of compassionate radiates blessings to beings everywhere.