Tuesday, November 22, 2005


I was joined late in the afternoon by Lisa, who thanks to the fact she now telecommutes 2 days out of her 5, can get out to help before our early winter sunset.

We encountered multiple challenges, the first of which was the ants so neatly balled together in the earlier photo had dispersed by the time we got back to put the throne back in. Thus, we spent a very long time relocating the little gals. As it turned out, we were out until well after dark. The throne must be caulked in place, as the interior slopes (you can see that here a little). Without the throne in place, Amitayus has nowhere to sit.

Well, it all seemed good, we had the throne painted, we even had some wax paper in case the paint hadn't dried adequately. We had caulk. We didn't have much sunlight or warmth though, and the darn caulk just wouldn't set up. That throne just kept sliding down that slope, threatening to fall out completely. We tried using a webbing strap to hold the plexi in place, which we had hoped would hold the throne in place, but it didn't work. To make a long story short, we spent about an hour in the dark trouble shooting, finally Lisa had the idea of using some sort of bean bag for Amitayus to sit on overnight (you cannot remove a statue from a Stupa without great mindfulness, and it certainly can't be left out overnight). Fortunately, while rifling through the gift store for options, I asked Ani Hesper if she had anything. It turns out she did! She offered a buckwheat neck thing for Amitayus to sit on! We wrapped it in some of the new brocade purchased yesterday to help make it more appropriate (this is a seat for the Buddha after all!) and rigged our webbing strap with some bungee cords and got things in a place where they could rest overnight. Whew! Almost thought I'd be out there all night with Amitayus holding that throne in place!

Tomorrow is Lha Bab Duchen, which is one of the four major auspicious days in the Tibetan Buddhist Calendar. We'll all be gathering for a day of prayer and practice, as well as some Stupa work. It is a great day to visit, if you get the chance! The temple, the Stupas, the land is all available to all those seeking some comfort in these difficult times. You don't need to be Buddhist, there are no requirements. The temple is open 24 hours a day, and the Stupas are available everry day (the Enlightenment Stupa is accessible 24 hours a day as well!). All the efforts you see on these pages are devoted to keeping these precious objects of refuge available too all who are suffering for as long as possible. So please do come visit them, they are here for you! Posted by Picasa

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