Tuesday
An Austrian Offspring of the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya
By Peter Nowak
It is said that a stupa would have unseen impact on our world and inspire future generations of practitioners. This story, coming from as far as Austria, is a little example of the radiation of “The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya Which Liberates Upon Seeing” in Drala Mountain Centre.
Last May, the Board of Shambhala Global held a retreat at Drala Mountain Centre. During this retreat, we had a magical visit to the Stupa with Dale Asrael giving teachings and the Board together with the Stupa team breaking ground for the construction of the new Stupa Visitors Centre. At this occasion, I was reminded of this little story when my second daughter requested me to build a stupa in the Austrian/Italian mountains.
We, my three small kids and my first wife, had been at Rocky Mountain Dharma Centre for a month-long Vajrayana program in 1999. We all were very impressed by the Stupa still under construction. At that time, the “life pole” of the Stupa was finalized. So, two years later I went there again, together with my six-year-old son, to take part in the consecration ceremony for the Stupa.
When we came back to Austria touched by the magic of the Stupa, my eight-year-old daughter urged us to also build a Stupa near our beloved mountain hut at the Austrian-Italian border high in the mountains. Of course, we followed the command of my daughter and constructed this little Stupa with the stones from the surrounding mountain slope. We tried to follow the basic form, put an Ashe in the foundation, a “life pole” wrapped with the Vajrasattva-Mantra, and a white quartz stone as the top. With a little imagination, it looked like Mount Kailash. We consecrated it with a Lhasang and offered incense in a circumambulation at the beginning of September 2001. See a little documentation below.
It was expected that our little stupa would not remain for a thousand years or longer like The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya Which Liberates Upon Seeing. But last fall, 23 years later, I was there again. It was still standing! It needed a little bit of renovation, the quartz stones were gone, but it was still there. Of course, I had to document this as well.
May the Great Stupa in Colorado and the little stupa in the Alps bring liberation and happiness to future generations!
Peter Nowak first met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1985 and attended the last three-month seminar Trungpa taught in 1986. He has three adult children, worked for 35 years in health system reform and was teaching at several universities in Austria. By developing strategic initiatives in close collaboration with the Austrian Ministry of Health, he had a rich training ground for creating an enlightened society – with and without success. He had many roles in his home Shambhala Center in Vienna, has been a meditation teacher since 1986, was on the Board of Shambhala Global from 2020 to 2024 and during this time also part of the Shambhala Europe Advisory Board. Only in recent years has he started to teach more in Shambhala.
Entries filed under Community Articles
Once for a Lifetime – HIGHLIGHT
On Temporary Monastic Ordination by Gelong Loden Nyima, Head of Practice and Education at Gampo Abbey Edited by Emma Cataford, Temporary Monastic at Gampo Abbey Photographs by Thubten Tingdzen and Adrian Thalasinos Haley The Shambhala monastic community Someone once asked one of the great monastics and teachers of the Tibetan community ... continuePosted March 8, 2015 by Dan
Horsemanship Dharma – HIGHLIGHT
by Katharine Locke Katharine and Lochinvar Training the horse is training the mind: training it to be present, to be kind, to recognize the everyday wisdom in the actions of the horse, to find the simple way, to formulate clear questions for the horse, and to listen closely ... continuePosted March 5, 2015 by Dan
Albuquerque: New Center, Old Town – HIGHLIGHT
COLUMN: Shambhala On the Move by Janice Convery It’s a blustery day here in Albuquerque, New Mexico—rare, but not unwelcome. Cold air has replaced heat, and heart-shaped leaves from shedding cottonwood trees spiral throughout the land, touching most everyone who lives here. I imagine each perfect, dried leaf as ... continuePosted March 2, 2015 by Dan
The Blueberry Man – HIGHLIGHT
Are Sales Basically Good? article by Joe Snowdon, Boston, MA In the modern world of B2C and B2B commerce it doesn’t seem like anyone today would look at a salesperson’s role in society as being sacred. It doesn’t take much effort to find a social media post with scathing ... continuePosted February 28, 2015 by
How Do the Momos Taste? – HIGHLIGHT
From left to right: Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin, Carolyn Gimian and “Chef” Chuck Lief COLUMN: Kitchen Wisdom Interview with Chuck Lief, President of Naropa University by Judy Sachs-Sullivan, Kitchen Wisdom Column co-host I had originally set out to interview Judy Lief after reading her comments to a past article I ... continuePosted February 26, 2015 by
An Audacious Aging Salon – HIGHLIGHT
COLUMN: Aging in Enlightened Society by David Whitehorn Audacious: intrepidly daring; adventurous. Aging: the process of growing old. Salon: a gathering to entertain and inform through conversation. Five years ago, twelve friends, all in their 60s, began meeting to share the experience of growing older. We have come to ... continuePosted February 25, 2015 by Dan
Looking at the Mind of Winter – HIGHLIGHT
by Caroline DeMaio As the weather forecast for northeastern Vermont predicted temperatures near zero degrees, I continued to prepare for our two-day program at the St. Johnsbury Shambhala Center titled Extending Our Senses into the Winter: Rendezvous with the Unseen. Our leader, Bob Taylor, had given us ... continuePosted February 16, 2015 by Dan
Being Gentle and Fearless – HIGHLIGHT
A Shambhala Women’s Retreat by Allison Conant, Los Angeles Gender is not something I’ve ever talked about much. I’ve never enjoyed “women’s” groups, so when I was asked to be a part of the second Los Angeles Shambhala Women’s Retreat I said yes – mostly because I relished ... continuePosted January 24, 2015 by
Bringing Kitchen Wisdom to Work – HIGHLIGHT
Ellen Kahler talking to Governor Peter Shumlin (whom the Sakyong met in June) and Secretary of Agriculture, Food & Markets Chuck Ross – photo taken at the Annual Vermont Farm to Plate Network Gathering in October, 2014COLUMN: Kitchen Wisdom Interview with Ellen Kahler of Montpelier, Vermont by ... continuePosted January 23, 2015 by
Aging with Dignity and Confidence – HIGHLIGHT
COLUMN: Aging in Enlightened Society Live Online Video Talks announced by the Working Group on Aging Aging has the perceived stigma that we are becoming less useful members of society which can erode our confidence. Aging eventually may further insult us with debilitating disease, dementia and frailty. How, ... continuePosted January 21, 2015 by
Building a New Home – HIGHLIGHT
COLUMN: Shambhala on the Move Report from Kootenay Shambhala Center, Nelson, British Columbia written by Russell Rodgers Thirty-five years ago, the Kootenay Shambhala Center, in Nelson, British Columbia, moved into the third floor of a brick heritage building. Nelson is a town of about 10,000 people, and our Center ... continuePosted January 17, 2015 by
A Hall of Mirrors – HIGHLIGHT
Exploring Life at Gampo Abbey article and photos by Emma Cataford, Shambhala Times Regional Correspondant with assistance from Loden Nyima, Head of Education at Gampo Abbey Part One One of the most common misconceptions about living at a monastery is that it’s an attempt to evade our lives and the ... continuePosted January 10, 2015 by
On Turning 70 – HIGHLIGHT
COLUMN: In Everyday Life A Three-Yana Journey by Shastri Christine Sloan I cannot be sure just when it began, this journey to 70, but it received a boost from my doctor when he called me in to say my bone scan looked suspicious. Seventy was only a few months ... continuePosted January 9, 2015 by
We Can’t Breathe – HIGHLIGHT
Photo credit: Dan Honda for San Jose Mercury Newsby Amani Loutfy Originally published in the Berkeley Shambhala Center Blog On the cushion I sit with my breath, to learn the nature of mind, and to connect myself to all other sentient beings. May we all be free from ... continuePosted January 7, 2015 by
Meditation: 10 Reasons NOT to Do It – HIGHLIGHT
COLUMN: Good Practice…on it’s head! guest article by Acharya Michael Greenleaf originally published on Samadhi Cushions These days, everyone’s talking about the reasons to practice mindfulness. What about the reasons that make meditating a bad idea? Below, from my own experience, are 10 reasons NOT to practice sitting meditation: ... continuePosted December 31, 2014 by
RSS feed for the Community Articles category
View all posts from authors in Community Articles: jillian_johnson
