Account of a Sacred Book

The sacred books of Bhutan, which represent the words of the Buddha and the actual teachings which show the path to enlightenment, have fascinating stories of their creation, provenance and history. The books, some of which are exquisite illuminated manuscripts, come with legendary stories of their origin of having been revealed from the earth or miraculously writen in a short period. The stories sometimes contain the names of persons who wrote or carved the book, who commissioned it and who sponsored the various stages of book production. There are also accounts of books which can move on its own, heal people or produce its own sound. The stories highlight the sanctity and spiritual significance of the book as a holy object.