Visit the Stupa for a day or…

stupa top and side

 

stupa top and side

The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya Which Liberates Upon Seeing. A monument to kindness. Built to last a thousand years. One of the key examples of Eastern architecture in North America.

The Stupa Work Week volunteer program is coming soon, and it is really the best chance you have to take that feeling of accomplishment you get from a weekend working on your yard and multiply it by a thousand. After all, this is not just a landscaping project, the Great Stupa is a site of pilgrimage, equally for the devout and the curious. As an example of enlightened architecture, it is both specific to Tibetan tradition and archetypal as a sacred space.

It has accommodated many motives and inspirations from volunteers, who provided most of the labor to build it. You can visit the Great Stupa in a day, but you can also work with it for a week.

stupa work week

Expect some hearty activities like concrete crack repair, path expansion, and fire mitigation. But where there are tools, there are tools in need of organization and storage. And where there is a 108 foot tall, white concrete stupa in the middle of a rustic mountain range, there is a stupa in need of a fresh coat of paint.

You will be working with Joshua Mulder, who must be in rare company when he fills out his census with “Occupation: Stupa Caretaker”. His mission—should you choose to assist it—will benefit an inestimable number of visitors. Volunteers are essential.

Along with the lifting, painting, and general caring for this amazing site, you can expect dharma talks and discussions…and sitting meditation. Because you don’t spend a week at the Great Stupa without logging some time on the cushion.

Enjoying the peaceful space of the mountains, however, is completely optional.

Autumnal Tori Gate

Please contact Lindy and Bob King at lotusking@indra.com to apply for the program. Once your application has been reviewed and approved, you will be given a link to register for the program. Good strong backs are very helpful, but not required!

everyday I'm shoveling