This Sunday, the 10th, is Chokhor Duchen, which commemorates the first turning of the wheel of Dharma, or the first time the Buddha taught. You see, when Shakyamuni Buddha first attained Enlightenment (which was celebrated on May 23rd, Saga Dawa, when many visitors put mortar on the Stupa), he realized in his omniscience that no one would understand it. So he remained silent for all this time. Finally, after the gods Indra and Brahma begged him to teach, he finally taught the Four Noble Truths, opening the door of liberation to all sentient beings!

I am an ordinary being, with no view, and little understanding, so am a poor candidate to be conveying this kind of information. But, I am using references for the facts, it's the interpretation you have to be worried about. : ) That said, the event being celebrated this Sunday is of huge significance to people, all people, actually all animate beings. The reason is that when the Buddha decided to teach, he made clear that what he had attained, full and complete enlightenment, complete freedom from the wheel of death and rebirth, was not a unique accomplishment. In other words, what he had attained, any sentient being could attain! He made the point that he was no different from any of us, except for the fact he had "awakened". That awakening is possible for all of us, and that is why the path of Dharma is so profoundly precious. It leads us to that state of awakening, step by step, little by little, via the boundless compassion of the teachers who have awakened before us, and who through their omniscience can see our faulted minds, and point out to us those flaws, so we may overcome them, and finally see reality as it is.

Now what, you may be asking, does this have to do with Stupas? Isn't this a blog about Stupas? As it turns out, in the Tibetan tradition, there are eight main styles of Stupa. (You can see all eight in one place, out at the Stupa Park!). Each represents a significant event in the life of the Buddha, and our treasured Auspicious Manifold Doorways Stupa, seen in this photo from Monday, represents this very event! This Stupa symbolizes the many doorways to awakening, which all opened when the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths for the first time! So this Stupa is directly related to the celebration this Sunday! For those of you following this blog you already know it is our goal to have as many people painting the Enlightenment Stupa as we can on Sunday, as a way of celebrating this profound and important event. Now you have some idea what these 10 Million Days are all about, they're not just some kind of party day. Though having fun is an option! So please do make plans to come out and join us if you can, even if only for 10 minutes, paint, brushes and the Stupa will all be provided. The goal isn't to get the Stupa painted, but rather to offer the opportunity to participate in that painting to as many folks as we can! It is a very rare opportunity, to be able to repair a Stupa, so we're hoping you'll share it with us. For those of you too far away to come out, or who are unable to, rest assured we'll share it with you here!

The next few days will (hopefully) be spent getting the Stupa ready for all this. : ) I'm off (at last!) for the next three days, so progress can begin! Although tomorrow is questionable, as there seems to be some sort of tropical storm thing heading up here. I've heard tales of flood warnings and inches of rain falling all day tomorrow. We'll see. We can work in the rain, unless it's wicked rain. I think I can come up with some back up plans as well. ; )

One last note, I heard from Ani Sherab today, and the reliefs are now in process out in Arizona! The relief you see on the front of this Stupa (and is the same on 8 others) is resin, which has dissolved over time somewhat. Ani Sherab, while she was here, suggested we replace them with bronze reliefs, rather than the resin, as they will last much, much longer. We were able to raise the needed funds last 10 Million Day, and now the mold is at the foundry, and in 8 to 10 weeks we'll have new bronze Buddhas for these Stupas!

All that you see on these pages, the many people working, the courageous endeavors, the devoted perseverance, all of it, is devoted to keeping the Stupas in the world for generations to come. They exist only to bring benefit to beings, human and non, whether you love them or hate them, whether you understand them or have no idea what they are. They are here, as sources of healing and peace, for anyone who wishes to see them, any time. Thus, I end with my usual invitation, please come take advantage of this rare phenomenon! There are many Stupas here at KPC Maryland (see link on this page for directions), so you don't even have to meet any of us if you don't want to! And of course, if you can't visit in person, we'll keep you close to them here!