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
There Will Be Mishaps – HIGHLIGHT
By Walt Hernandez One of the Kagyu mystics once said, “Being in the Kagyu tradition, the Kagyu lineage, is like inheriting constant mishaps. Constant mishaps. That’s true. If you are actually in contact with reality, and particularly if you are in control of reality, then you ... continuePosted August 29, 2009 by
Intention for World Peace in 2009 – HIGHLIGHT
By Susmita Barua The Buddhist Peace Fellowship has decided to participate in the first global World March for Peace and Non-violence from October 2, 2009 to January 2, 2010. The March was initiated by “World Without Wars,” an international organization launched by the Humanist Movement that ... continuePosted August 26, 2009 by
Sangha Retreat: A Rare and Powerful Experience – HIGHLIGHT
By Alexandra Milsom Speaking as a person who slept through her first dathun and mentally redecorated her apartment throughout her second, I understand all too well that the seemingly simple instruction on how to meditate requires both time and the repeated inspiration of other practitioners in order ... continuePosted August 13, 2009 by Alexandra Milsom
Touching the Earth in Mexico – HIGHLIGHT
By John Perkins and Margaretta Sander In the central mountains of Mexico the town of San Miguel de Allende sits against the hills of the high desert plain. A UNESCO World Heritage site, San Miguel is consistently on the Conde Nast list of top 10 cities. It ... continuePosted August 11, 2009 by
Shambhala Sun interviews Ethan Nichtern on “Green Dharma” – HIGHLIGHT
Buddhism and Green Living is one of the themes of the new (September) Shambhala Sun magazine. So: how can we go beyond platitudes and into collective and individual action that can make a real difference? Ethan Nichtern and his community, NYC’s The Interdependence Project, are doing ... continuePosted August 1, 2009 by mollydeshong
Annual Spring Retreat at Shambhalacalli – HIGHLIGHT
Another March in Mexico, time for Jean and I to make our way again by plane and bus from our home near Puerto Vallarta to Tepotzlan to staff another annual group retreat with Acharya Allyn Lyon at Shambhalacalli. Our friend Cecilia Amador met us at ... continuePosted July 30, 2009 by Brus Westby
Pride of Place in Nova Scotia – HIGHLIGHT
Most of us in the Shambhala community are aware of the special relationship between Nova Scotia and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s vision for creating enlightened society. Here in the heart of Shambhala, thousands of people have attended programs and learned to meditate. Many have benefited from services ... continuePosted July 29, 2009 by michellemunro108
In Times of War, Feed the Right Wolf – HIGHLIGHT
By Marianne Elliott In November 2007 I arrived back from a short holiday in the United States to my work as a UN human rights officer in Afghanistan. Days later, the deadliest suicide attack to take place in Afghanistan happened in Baghlan, killing at least 40 adults ... continuePosted July 25, 2009 by
Healing in the Space Between Languages and Sanghas – HIGHLIGHT
By Timothy Walker A personal account of Jigme Rinpoche’s Medicine Buddha Retreat at Dechen Choling Some time in the middle of our Haligonian Winter, I received an email sent to all international desung reporting that Gyetrul Jigme Rinpoche – our Sakyong Wangmo’s brother — would be teaching ... continuePosted July 21, 2009 by
Part 2: Healing in the Space Between Languages and Sanghas
[caption id=”attachment_10679″ align=”alignright” width=”225″ >continued from Part 1 by Timothy Walker. Then there is the wonderfully quirky way that Tibetans pronounce what we think we know as Sanskrit. The most famous of these quirky pronunciations is of course Benza for what we know as Vajra. There are ... continuePosted July 21, 2009 by
Tail of the Tiger in Your Neck of the Woods – HIGHLIGHT
By Jennifer Holder Gathering Shambhalians The second annual Applied Mindfulness Conference, July 23 – 26, reaches out by gathering professional Shambhalians together. In this conference, Tail of the Tiger is encouraging people to go beyond the question of “how can I apply meditation to my life?” Having realized ... continuePosted July 13, 2009 by Jennifer Holder
Meditation for Professionals – HIGHLIGHT
by Jennifer Holder Not everyone attracted to meditation in the early days was a hippie. “When Chogyam Trungpa suggested people buy three-piece suits, I already had a closet full,” Patton Hyman recalled. His path had been a bit different. As a partner in an Atlanta law firm, ... continuePosted July 12, 2009 by Jennifer Holder
Fennel – Simple and Fresh – HIGHLIGHT
This summer, simplicity is a theme. The Scorpion Seal Assemblies are setting a new culinary tone at practice centers throughout the mandala. Practice center kitchens are stepping up to the challenge of creating meals that are fresh and simple without the “entertainment” of spices. Fresh herbs are ... continuePosted July 5, 2009 by
Tonglen for Iran – HIGHLIGHT
Tonglen Circling the World: I suggest we create a tonglen network where people do 15 minutes of tonglen (or other prayers) generally for Iran and specifically our Iranian sangha and their friends and family, nightly at 8:00 pm wherever they are. This would create a moving sweep ... continuePosted June 24, 2009 by
Treasury of Oral Instructions – HIGHLIGHT
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of Gampo Abbey It was the heartfelt wish of the Vidyadhara, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche that the monastic tradition be developed and nurtured in the West. Gampo Abbey is therefore delighted that in 2009 they are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the abbey’s founding. ... continuePosted June 18, 2009 by
RSS feed for the Community Articles category
View all posts from authors in Community Articles: jillian_johnson