This auspicious, wish-granting stupa is a tamer of maras, meaningful to behold. May it be virtuous!

Outer

Just as Mt. Meru and the four continents are encircled by a ring of iron mountains, this great stupa is encircled by a solid, stable perimeter wall, which I will briefly explain.  The first outer wall is square and is 7,656 meters long and two meters high. On top of the wall, there are 186 stupas, each two meters high and 1.5 meters wide. 

Prayer-wheel houses

Along the perimeter wall in the four directions, there are four large prayer-wheel houses, each topped with a two-level pagoda roof made of gold-plated copper.  On the top of each roof is a 1.5-meter Kadam stupa made of gold-plated copper.

Inside the Avalokitesvara prayer-wheel house to the east is a large prayer wheel made of gold-plated copper and filled with 1,213 copies of the Pratimoksha-sutra (thar mdo) and mani mantras, which are the heart-essence of all knowledge-mantras (rigs sngags) and dharani-mantras (gzungs sngags), etc. Inside are elaborate images of the western pure land of Dewachen, the eight sugatas with the Medicine Buddha at the center, the Four-Armed Avalokitesvara, and Buddha Vairochana. From the ceiling, there are thangka paintings of Avalokitesvara Jinasagara, Avalokitesvara with a Thousand Arms and Eyes, Manjushri, and Vajrapani. Murals on the interior walls depict the lord of Dharmapala protectors, Mahakala, and the king of the rahu demons, the lion-faced ksetrapala in union, as well as male and female corpses. On the exterior wall is a relief image of a three-meter-tall standing image of the great Guardian King Dhritarashta.

Inside the Siddhi prayer-wheel house to the south is a large prayer wheel made of gold-plated copper and filled with 1,213 copies of the Pratimoksha-sutra, supplications to the Master of Oddiyana, the siddhi mantra, etc. The interior murals depict elaborate images of the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche; the Abbot, Master, and King Trio; Omniscient Longchen Rabjam; Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa; the great treasure-revealer Longsel Nyingpo; Düdül Dorje; etc. In the canopy, there are three thangka paintings of Buddha Amitayus, the Medicine Buddha, and Manjushri. The murals inside the doorway depict Yaksha Tsiu Marpo, King Gesar of Ling, the great king Vaishravana, and the Chinese patron Hashang with his retinue. On the exterior wall is a relief image of a three-meter-tall standing figure of the great Guardian King Virudhaka.

Inside the Arya Tara prayer-wheel house to the west, there is a large prayer wheel made of gold-plated copper and filled with 1,213 copies of the Pratimoksha-sutra and various dharanis of Tara’s name. The paintings depict elaborate images of Green Tara, Protector from the Eight Fears, White Tara Wish-Granting Wheel, Goddess Saraswati, Prosperity Goddess Palden Lhamo, and the Eight Companion Goddesses. On the canopy, there are mandala thangka paintings of the Padma Dakini Rikché Palmo, Tara, White Umbrella (Ushnisha-sitatapatra), and Victorious Queen of Crowning Light (Ushnisha-vijaya). The murals on the interior walls depict the Dharmapala Tseringma, guardian of the Longchen Nyingtik; the Guardian of Mantra, Ekajati; the Sole Mother Palden Lhamo, and other female guardians and tantric deities. On the exterior wall is a relief image of the three-meter standing figure of the great Guardian King Virupaksa.

Inside the Vajrasattva prayer-wheel house to the north, there is a large prayer wheel made of gold-plated copper and filled with 1,213 copies of the Pratimoksha-sutra and various Vajrasattva dharani-mantras, such as the Hundred-Syllable Mantra that purifies negativity and obscuration and the [six-syllable] Vajrasattva mantra. The drawing inside is an elaborate depiction of the landscape and features of the eastern pureland of Manifest Joy. On the canopy, there are numerous mandala paintings, including thangka paintings of the Five-Family Vajrasattvas, All-Knowing Vairochana, and Akshobya. The murals on the interior walls depict the local dharmapala deity Nyenchen Tanglha and the local deities DaNying Dorje Drilkar Akar Zodor Three Brothers. On the exterior wall is a relief image of the three-meter standing figure of the great Guardian King Vaishravana.

The outermost perimeter wall has two large gateways. On top of the eastern gateway, there is a gold pagoda-roof adorned with a half-vajra top. Flanking both sides of the gateway are two gold lions, and at each the gateway’s four corners are the four great guardian kings, each two meters tall and made of gold-plated copper and adorned with gold, silver, and precious gems. On top of the large northern gateway, there is a gold pagoda-roof adorned with a Dharma Wheel and a male and female deer, beautifully ornamented with fine decorations of gold, silver, and precious gems.

All the above-mentioned deity paintings were hand-painted by excellent, experienced artists with mastery of proper proportions, etc. and painted according to the Chamdo Purbu instruction lineage of the Mensar system. 

Inner

Just as when the world was first formed and Mount Sumeru as ringed by golden chains of lesser mountains, there are three descending tiers [at the base of the stupa]. On top of the first one, there is a marble rail that encircles the stupa, topped by 178 Kadam stupas made of gold-plated copper, each one cubit in height. Below that, on the second tier, there are 144 small prayer wheels made of gold-plated copper. They contain 730,000 six-syllable mantras. In addition, there are eight prayer wheels that contain magnetizing supplications. On the Mongolian black-stone wall behind the wheels are frescoes with the Condensed Prajnaparamita Sutra (mdo sdud pa) painted twice in relief and painted gold. Below that, on top of the third tier, there are 146 stupas. Each stupa is one meter wide and 1.5 meters high. Atop each of the four corners sits a medium-sized, four-meter-high stupa. The three-meter sun and moon, the Dharma wheels, and the doors in the dome are all made of copper, and the rest is poured concrete.