Object size: 8.5 x 39.7 x 4.0 cm
This Buddhist manuscript consists of 69 leaves of handmade paper calligraphed in Tibetan script with powdered gold. This paper, called mthing shog, was dyed a deep blue-black using a paste traditionally made from lamp-black, yak-hide glue, and yak or sheep brains. Such paper is used in the Himalayas only for high value commissions for a family shrine or monastery gift.The manuscript is part of the text called the Yoga of General Cleansing: The Faultless King of Confessions Tantra (dam tshig thams cad nyams chags skong ba’i lung: bshags pa thams cad kyi gyud: dri ma med pa’i rgyal po). This text is included in a collection of texts related to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism called the Rin chen gter mdzod chen mo. The Nyingma school of Buddhism is firmly established in Bhutan.
