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
Chicago Shambhala Center Director Named – HIGHLIGHT
The Governing Council of the Shambhala Meditation Center of Chicago is pleased to announce that Tom Adducci has been selected and appointed as the new Center Director. This appointment is the fruition of our Lion’s Leap Campaign to hire a full-time Center Director. The Governing Council notified ... continuePosted March 28, 2010 by
Illness and the Benefits of Meditation – HIGHLIGHT
Yesterday, this article went out to over 400 publications in the US and Canada. It features Jeff Rubin, longtime Shambhala sangha member and teacher, Acharya Eric Spiegel, Ciprian Iancu, Co-Director of the New York Shambhala Center, and popular mindfulness teacher Jon Kabbat-Zin. Through Illness, Mindfulness Meditation ... continuePosted March 25, 2010 by
Hearts Melting for You – HIGHLIGHT
A poem offered by the Family Working Group, celebrating the announcement of our expectant Sakyong and Sakyong Wangmo To Khandro Tseyang To Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche And to the royal child On this good earth we waited for this precious being. On a Shambhla day when the earth ox turned into the ... continuePosted March 20, 2010 by
Bringing Conflict to the Path – HIGHLIGHT
A Gateway to Enlightened Society, By John Fox As a participant in the 2009 Congress, John Fox returned from Halifax inspired, and also eager to continue a dialog begun there concerning how to bring conflict and differing points of view to the Path. The particular ... continuePosted March 14, 2010 by john_fox
The Smell of Pinon Woodsmoke – HIGHLIGHT
First Annual Weekthun at Albuquerque Shambhala Center By Sandra Cowan I could smell the pinon woodsmoke each morning as I walked from the parking area to the adobe home that houses the Albuquerque Shambhala Center. What better way to start the New Year? I was delighted ... continuePosted March 10, 2010 by
A Garland of Videos about Shambhala – HIGHLIGHT
In May of 1975, I read Born in Tibet and Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism as fast as I could and then moved to Boulder, Colorado in August, as fast as I could. I figured that being there “in person” in Boulder, where Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was ... continuePosted February 25, 2010 by John David Smith
Synchronizing Body, Heart & Mind – HIGHLIGHT
By Aaron Manier During the final days of the don season, a determined group of warriors assembled at the Atlanta Shambhala Center to participate in a week of intensive exploration of the body, heart, and mind. This weekthun experience was led by Hope Martin, a skilled teacher ... continuePosted February 22, 2010 by
Community is Home – HIGHLIGHT
Many Shambhala Centers start in someone’s home. In Albuquerque, Devon and Ingrid greet newcomers at the door before the evening’s dharma talk. Their five-year-old daughter, Pidge, is already tucked in bed. Their dog, Daisy, trots around sniffing and wagging. The kettle is on; the cookies are ... continuePosted February 4, 2010 by
A Worldly Solo Retreat – HIGHLIGHT
Contemplating the Sky at Dorje Khyung Dzong By Jennifer Holder Ah, the sound of Windows Vista. It’s been days, old friend. Today I thought of you when I was sipping coffee on the front porch and I thought I saw a cloud take human form and wave ... continuePosted January 22, 2010 by Jennifer Holder
Wisdom Arises in Memphis and a Book is Born – HIGHLIGHT
Earlier this December, we held a double celebration day at Pema Karpo Meditation Center. Khenpo Gawang finished his first eight-session Shambhala Online class and unveiled his first book, The Sadhana of Shakyamuni Buddha. Taking the Wisdom chapter from The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva ... continuePosted December 26, 2009 by candia_ludy
The Stupid Might of Materialism – HIGHLIGHT
By Lois Lungta, on the eve of the opening of the movie Avatar. I sometimes dream of what it is like to live in a dead world. A world populated by ghosts living out their lives in human form. Where objects are solid and devoid ... continuePosted December 19, 2009 by Jennifer Holder
Dancing Life – HIGHLIGHT
A Playful Encounter of Maitri and Dance By Alexa Gould-Kavet This October, the large shrine room floor was caressed, stomped, delicately slithered and tiptoed across by thirty sets of feet. These feet, each day, were swathed in red, green, yellow, blue and white. Our feet come to mind ... continuePosted December 7, 2009 by
One Centre, One Global Sustainability Effort – HIGHLIGHT
A look at the sustainability effort at the Halifax Shambhala Centre By Richard Peisinger The central focus of the Halifax Shambhala Centre Sustainability Initiative, formed in 2007, is to support conditions for success at the World Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen from December 11-14. To send ... continuePosted December 4, 2009 by
Practice, Love, Protect, and Act – HIGHLIGHT
The natural steps we can take to apply Shambhala Buddhism to environmental action By Irene Lorch-Wauchope Practice makes us more aware: we look around and we see what is going on. As we practice, our circle of awareness naturally expands, and we become more aware of ... continuePosted December 3, 2009 by
Doing it at Home – HIGHLIGHT
The radical simplicity of the little changes: how we drive, heat our homes, do housework, and relate with food. By Hudson Shotwell A few years ago, in order to prepare for a reasonable, practice-relevant descent down the other side of the oil peak, Janet and I ... continuePosted December 2, 2009 by
RSS feed for the Community Articles category
View all posts from authors in Community Articles: jillian_johnson