Once we hit Alabama we encountered something really weird (we hear it's not that weird, but to us it was truly alarming). Evidently down south there is a season of "love bugs", they look similar to lightening bugs only a little smaller. They exist in pairs, literally copulating all the time as they fly. And they SWARM. They covered the highways like rain, and when you're traveling at 60 mph + you can imagine... 

Here's a closer look...this is no joke...especially for us Buddhists...it was horrible. They were literally thick as rain, and covered the vehicles with their corpses. Maybe folks down south are use to this, but for us we had no idea how it could happen! Thus, even as we finally pulled into Mobile, Alabama to meet our contacts, we pulled into a gas station... 

With all that carnage, there was no choice but to clean off the windshields as soon as we could. We were minutes away from meeting our contacts, but made one last stop to scrub the bugs off.... 

So I'll end tonight with this shot of the unloading. This was last Monday afternoon. We had driven 20 hours with 2 hours of sleep, arrived in the shockingly intense Alabama heat and humidity, and when asked by the young nun from the temple to unload right away we couldn't resist. Fortunately for us weary travelers, the Vietnamese had organized the effort on their end, so had a team of folks ready to unload and sort. I'll show more tomorrow, but am still trying to get my house in order here! Tomorrow I should plow through the rest of the photos and get images uploaded (not only here, but online to share).

Gabriel had said he would haul water today, so soon (Tuesday is my goal) I'll also be back out at Migyur Dorje getting the rest of the stripping done. Don't worry folks, I haven't forgotten this is a Stupa blog! Just wanted to share some of the adventure us Stupa folks had over the last week.

The efforts you see on these pages, from the Stupa Renovation to the Katrina Relief efforts are ongoing. You can catch a glimpse for yourself out in Poolesville! But of course, the Stupas are always here for you, both in Poolesville and online, bringing benefit effortlessly...no strings attached. Whether you're curious or have a mission, want to pray or just soak in the autumn weather, the Stupas bring benefit to every being they come into contact with. They exist for no other reason. They are here for you, and for all beings caught in the snare of suffering...

September 24th...Returning home...

This is our hostess while we were in Bayou Labatre. She didn't speak English, but she and her husband took all 6 of us in at the last minute (our previous arrangement fell through an hour outside Mobile, forcing us to call our contacts down there to see what alternatives we could find. This wonderful woman (don't even know her name!) cooked fresh food for us every meal, and made sure we were up to date with the news on Rita, and kept us in comfortable beds. All of this in the midst of real adversity within her own community. Her husband and she lived in a house on high enough ground they were relatively unaffected by the storm surge which destroyed many of the homes and their contents in their small fishing village. They responded by offering their home to friends and neighbors who were not so fortunate, and then to some stranded relief workers at the last minute! She not only cooked for us, but spent her days with us to ensure we had directions to our destinations. We made a trip to Biloxi on the second day down there, which was an eye opening view of the extent of the destruction left by this storm. I took hundreds of photos, but haven't sorted it all out yet. I did want to start my posts about the trip with a tribute to this woman and her family, who embraced us with amazing kindness and generosity. As a practitioner of Dharma it was a beautiful example of compassion in action...

This is the statue of Kuan Yin (hope I'm right here...language barrier) outside the temple in Bayou Labatre where we delivered the supplies. It was an arduous trip, and I'm not done getting sorted out. I did want to start posting some photos from the relief effort though! I will be posting more over the next week or so, as well as photos of the continuing Stupa restoration! Gabriel and Lisa worked yesterday on Migyur Dorje! They stripped the walls, and Gabriel is set to haul water tomorrow, priming the system so I can work out there during the week. Thus, even as the leads of the Stupa crew headed south, the Stupas continued to get the loving attention they need. And us Stupa dudes had a chance to engage in compassionate activity in a different way... 

September 17th...Miracles...

We spent the first part of the day today in a puja or "practice". Ralu Rinpoche, a profound Lama from Nepal, was visiting his center in Virginia and wanted to come to KPC Maryland to do a Fire Puja! He was offering this to the Katrina Victims (and all sentient beings). We were amazingly fortunate for his generosity!

Here's a shot of the chopin making offerings to the fire. This practice is a powerful purification practice. During the puja, participants have the opportunity to make offerings to the fire, along with prayers and the names of loved ones who have died. This purifies the negative karma of the deceased, allowing them to quickly attain liberation. The whole puja took almost 7 hours! The Tibetans aren't insane or cruel, we had both a "tea break" and a lunch break during that time.... 

When the puja was over, I found James (my travel companion) trying to organize the loading operation. We've had a huge response to our request for donations for Katrina victims. With our plan being to leave tomorrow, we had to go directly from the puja to working hard at getting the supplies loaded... 

While the gang worked on loading up outside, KT kept frantically trying to keep a handle on all the information flowing in... 

The truck seems HUGE yesterday...now it's seeming like we might not have enough room! 

Here Hoa is sorting the food donations... 

After the donations were sorted and cleaned, the task of how to get it all on there arose... 

Not only were the vehicles rolling in with donations all day, but we kept getting calls about more folks wanting to donate! If we'd thought that truck was too big we were totally wrong! 

This is a glance at what Daniel had on that trailer! Boxes and boxes of noodles and other Vietnamese foods he collected from local merchants eager to donate to those struck by the hurricain! 

Even as evening fell the trucks and cars kept rolling in with more offerings! Here Ethan, Dho-Nhu's son, gazes at the Stupa while his mom and the gang unload the rice she's collected... 

Fortunately for this Stupa gal, sangha members were out working hard on loading the truck for our trip tomorrow. We had such a huge response to our call for donations that we won't be able to fit everything on this truck! Yep, we'll be at this regularly!  

So, just as in this photo, the Stupa and Katrina relief have joined forces! Norbu reports he's begun actually going through New Orleans and gotten dogs out!! How cool is that? For myself, I'll be getting in a vehicle tomorrow (either this large yellow one or the Expedition also rented) and heading down to Alabama, a place called Bayou La Batre. I'll do my best to post from the road...I always have my trusty cell phone in a pinch! For everyone still in the Poolesville area though, please do come out to KPC Maryland! The Stupas are here for you in all their beauty (don't worry, we WILL get back to working on them soon), folks circumambulating them every day. In addition, we're soon to be drowning in donations that need sorting, labeling, organizing, if you want to do some hands on work for Katrina Victims we can hook you up! You don't have to work if you come out though...the temple and lands, Stupas and gardens, are open to all, no strings attached! Keep us in your prayers as we venture down to the Gulf Coast this week! 

September 16th...Tornado!

Not a real tornado, just the winds of change whipping into high gear!

The day started for myself and Ani Rene at Holy Cross Hospital, where our devoted Stupa dudet Amber gave birth!

We then moved into preparation mode for the trip to Mississippi, to get ready for animal rescue. James, my traveling companion, was eager to get involved. We all met at breakfast to plan...all following this blog knows how the whole "plan" issue goes.

I got vaccinated (really different on the other end of the needle let me tell you!) and hoped for rest. Alas, such thoughts...

The whole mission changed when the level of need of our Vietnamese friends down south was expressed. We had been casually organizing relief for them, when it was discovered they have NOTHING, nothing! So again we headed into high gear. Gathering, arranging, and planning...So now James and I will be assisting in the transport of relief items to a community in Alabama. They are a small Buddhist community down there, where their whole village was destroyed. Their nuns don't even have an altar!

For myself this meant yet another shift in the game plan (don't worry, I'm use to it), so I went to the temple despite plans on staying home and trying to get some rest. I found tons of donations there, being slowly sorted through by a few weary volunteers. You can see below how all that went...

After a meeting that seemed eternal (when you're this sleepy everything besides the bed seems eternal), I retired for the night. With the practice tomorrow I'll need to arrive early to get the camera and everything set up, so some sleep would really be helpful.

And, after I got home, I finally got a call from my bud Norbu! He's in Madison, LA. He's visiting a Nyingma Center there with a Stupa! He was so happy! So even on his mission, the Stupas are with him!

If there was anything amazing that happened today (and there's LOTS that happened today!) this is one of the most precious! You've seen Amber throughout this blog, and here she is with Sophia, her new baby girl. Scott, her husband, graciously helped all us nuns rotate through to see their newest family member! Amber reports the whole process went much more smoothly than she could have imagined! She had almost no pain, and the baby didn't fuss much and was nice and pink when she entered the world! Everyone, including Amber, was reciting the 7 Line Prayer when she was born! How amazing! 

After our new sangha member entered the world Ani Rene and I went to have breakfast with James, my driving companion for the animal rescue mission. On the way back to the hospital we swung by the clinic so I could get my vaccinations... 

Though I had planned on spending the afternoon resting and getting my car ready for the trip, I instead spent hours on the phone regarding the spontaneous event happening in the morning. A Lama visiting from Nepal stopped by and wants to do a practice for those suffering from the storm. So my video camera is going to get a work out before we even leave the driveway...and our leaving the driveway was post poned!

Not only that, but the mission itself changed. Evidently the need to provide relief to the Vietnamese Buddhist Community down in Alabama we've been communicating with has become urgent as well (we found out they have NOTHING). Here you see Ani Hesper gathering supplies for an altar for them!

So we once again lept into gear, and my own destiny changed once again! James and I will now be working with Phyllis and Ani Rene to get a huge shipment of goods down there asap. Fortunately, James is cool headed and easy going, ready to roll with the ever changing tide of needs...

While I was in the temple sorting through donated items with Noreen and Hesper, this huge vehicle pulls up....Ani Rene is driving! 

Here it is! A 26 foot gas guzzler that will be the center piece of our mission! It may guzzle gas, but it can take one heck of a load down to our adopted community! 

Not only did Ani Rene pick up the truck, but she and Phyllis went around picking up donations they'd lined up! So we've got bunches of items to sort through! Please do consider coming out tomorrow if you can, we could use lots of hands sorting! 

So the evening continued without me...I was too tired to keep going. KT, who had worked in DC all day, lept into the information management role upon getting "home". We had an impromptu Council Meeting to discuss fundraising (that truck has some pretty amazing gas mileage...). Another tornado moves through tomorrow, as we're expecting Ralu Rinpoche, a Nyingma Lama from Nepal. He is going to be doing a special practice for the victims of Katrina! I'll bring the camera... And of course, the Stupas, temple and lands are all here for you 24 hours a day! If you want to come help sort donations or simply find a quiet place to contemplate, it is here for all...