Saturday, May 14, 2005

May 14th...Coming along...

Storms ended our day early, but we got more done than I expected. : ) It was easier work on the bumpa than down below for some reason (no complaints here!).

Norbu, Quang and Ashby were all there this morning, with Pete joining us soon after. It wasn't long before we had the hoist working, and the sandpot set up on the platform! We had enough people that Norbu and I could work on sandblasting on the platform, while Pete, Ashby and Quang worked on loading us up with sand up there. It is a lot of work, but with this many people, we actually had more sand than we needed at any moment...

This momentum went on through to lunch. Before the sangha meeting, both Ani Hesper (becoming a regular out here!) and Ani Ella came out to get a turn on the sandpot. Norbu gave them both some pointers, and Ella said this evening she's hooked! She did realize though, that her shantaub really isn't the best thing to wear for it (I'm an Ani also, but wear jeans for this work for safety reasons...). So she's bringing a change of cloths tomorrow.

The sangha meeting was great, lots of folks there. Afterwords, Norbu and Quang had to leave. Pete, Ashby and I carried on until about 4 pm, when Pete had to leave. Ashby was willing to stay, and Charlie showed up to work, but with lightening in the sky and forecasts for severe storms, we decided to wrap everything up and call it a day. Everyone was excited that we were able to get so much done in such a short time, so we have some hope still of getting the sandblasting done on time...

Ani Sherab Khandro will be joining us tomorrow, so let's hope for decent weather. We can, if necessary, work in the rain (we'll have to move the pot down to the ground again to cover it with the awning). It would be better if we could just finish the bumpa though!

Once again I'll invite all of you to join us! Whether here online, or in person out at the Stupas... We're working hard to get the sandblasting done before Wednesday, so we can return it without having to spend more money. Our ultimate goal is to have the Stupa ready for Saga Dawa (May 23rd), so we can give everyone who wants to a chance to paint a Stupa on 10 Million Day! It's coming together, but we can always use more help! If you don't feel up to hefting sand around, lunches are always welcome, or just water runs! Come on out and take advantage of this precious opportunity! To work on Stupas is to plant the seeds of one's own enlightenment, but more than that, you provide countless sentient beings with a source of blessings in this world of suffering, how many activities can you say that about?

We'll keep updating the blog as well, for all of you who can't make it to Poolesville. Remember, to even see a Stupa, whether in person on online, brings benefit and purifies karma, whether you believe in karma or not... So keep checking in, we're doing all this to bring this benefit to you!

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