I tried to get the paint off that I'd sprayed yesterday (during the very brief period the sprayer actually worked yesterday...). But it had dried back on...so I'll have to go up there and hit it again on another day...We had plenty of wet stripper to get off today! 

You can see Lisa grabbed my camera while I was up there working... 

I had planned on doing all the power washing myself, knowing Lisa isn't fond of heights. I was having so much fun with it though, it felt plain greedy not to give her a turn. The practice today was Vajrasattva, and the water washing off the old dingy paint was such a cool visualization for the practice (it's a purification practice) that I wanted her to give it a try, pretty certain she'd get hooked...As always, she was game... 

She never asked me to take over.... 

We ended up working much later than we planned...not that we were surprised. : ) Lisa hung in there all the way through... 

We finished around 7pm. As fortune would have it, when I called the temple in hopes of finding help to move the equipment back to the shed, Tashi Dorje answered! He's out from Arizona to help work on some construction on a building on site, and has a pick up truck. He came right up in his robes (he's a monk) as he was practicing today and helped us load everything into his truck. So we were indeed able to get a ride back for everything! : )

We are making a bit of a mess when we work right now, so I apologize to those who may be coming out to use the Stupa. We will, when you come, stop working while you circumambulate. And the White Garden is not far from Migyur Dorje at all, and a beautiful place to sit and take in the beauty of the end of summer. Trust that we're working diligently to get the Stupa free of paint, so we can apply a fresh new coat of gold!

Please don't let our work deter you...The Stupa exists only for the sake of benefiting beings, we're just giving them a little TLC to keep them in the world for as long as possible. And remember, there are many Stupas here at KPC, including our recently completed Enlightenment Stupa! That one is right next to the parking lot, and since we're finished with it, you won't have to dodge water spray or paint remover as you enjoy it. In this time of difficulty and great suffering for so many, please do come and take advantage of these precious structures! They are here for you, and all beings suffering in the world...

September 2nd...Here we go!

Here's a shot of the front of Gabriel's truck! It's huge! He had no problems driving it up to the Stupa, and was eager to get to work....Alas...his introduction to the Stupa Project wasn't going to be that smooth...

So there we were, geared up and ready to go! Gabriel was eager and willing. We hooked everything up, I climbed up to the bumpa and clipped in, started spraying and after a brief moment of joy the pump failed. The motor kept turning but no pressure building, no spray.

We tinkered with all the settings, we couldn't get a good solid stream of spray no matter what we did. We'd get a tease every now and then, where it would build up pressure and go for a minute, but then no pressure...I knew what we needed. Norbu. He can fix anything.

As fortune would have it, he called out of work today (saw the news and was so saddened by what he saw he knew he had to work on Stupas and practice today). So just as Gabriel and I were about to break for lunch and look for the manual, Norbu drove up. We tinkered on site for a while, Norbu going through the same motions we did with the same result...not working...

While I went to get lunch, Gabriel and Norbu brought the pump back to the shed, to work on it somewhere closer to tools. This was a great day for Gabriel, he got to experience the essence of working on the Stupas...NEVER give up, just keep at it until you figure it out...He was great!

It turns out I misunderstood him the first time we met, when he said he took refuge at a Thai temple I thought he was practicing in that tradition. In reality, he took refuge at the only temple he could find, having been so moved by his reading on Tibetan Buddhism that he was desperate to take refuge. He's actually in the army! He wasn't in this area, so he took refuge where he could. He's been studying on his own from books, and found KPC on the internet. It turns out, he also loves Stupas! So when he saw our Stupas on the KPC Website he knew he was heading our way. How fortunate for us!

Norbu, utilizing his trusty "take it apart until you find the problem" method, started working on the pump. Gabriel was a little worried about taking pieces off without a manual. Norbu's response was "there's no manual to life, but we live it anyway!"

When we first got to this point, we thought we might have found our problem. It is a wire mesh filter inline with the hose. We rinsed it completely, and tried again...still no go... 

Having ruled out hoses, a filter and the motor, Norbu keeps taking pieces off until we find the source of the problem. Our manual has been misplaced...? In any case, David Anderson (foreground) lent us some of his tools (he's doing work on a house on the property) and watched the process for a while. Eventually, Norbu did remove that large metal piece on the bottom, which connects to the intake hose. Sure enough, it was clogged. Gabriel cleaned it out with water, and we put it all back together. Despite Gabriel's initial doubts, it worked! The Titan is back up and running! 

The final step we performed after getting the pump working again, was to thoroughly clean it and oil it, making sure it was ready for action. The day ended early, as we couldn't spray at this point. As we've stated before, once you spray on, you have to remove.

Thus, Gabriel will be joining us again on Sunday, for another attempt! Tomorrow is up in the air at this point, but if Lisa Banana is available, we may just give it a go! In any case, our obstacle today was finally overcome, and Gabriel got a great introduction to working on the Stupas!

While we were at it today we saw many folks come by to utilize the Stupas, to circumambulate and make offerings. Many we've never seen before. It is our sincerest hope that if you have even a slight interest or curiosity, you'll take the time to make the trip to Poolesville! The Stupas are here for all, Buddhist or not, whatever you believe or don't believe. They offer their blessings without restraint or demand, continuously benefiting beings. If you can't get to Poolesville, we'll keep them close to you here. Blessings are transmitted even through images...even memories! So please do come visit, in person or online. Every effort you see on these pages, from the labor and planning, budgeting and troubleshooting, to the photos and cobbled together words, all of it is done in order that every suffering being may find relief. No questions asked, it's for you!

September 1st...

This will be a short post. Having worked the past two days I have been out of touch with most news. The temple has been organizing how to coordinate efforts most effectively with other organizations, ranging from the Humane Society to the Red Cross.

These are times when it can be difficult to know what to do, when there seems to be nothing to do that can help. The Stupas exist to bring benefit to beings and relieve suffering. Though they aren't helicopters or national guardsman, they have immense spiritual power. Prayer does matter, it does make a difference. I have patients all the time who swear by this. And they are just those that know of the prayers, many of us may never know how we've been benefited by the prayers of others. We may never know how our prayers help others. But trust that it does!

You don't have to know any fancy words or foreign language, you don't have to be Buddhist or even religious, the Stupas are here for ALL who wish to see the suffering cease! If you want to be guided in how to use them we'd love to help you, if you prefer to do your own thing, that's cool too. This Stupa, the Enlightenment Stupa, is right next to the parking lot at the temple and well lit 24 hours a day, every day. So any time you wish there is a place to go and pray. If you prefer to sit a while inside the temple, it too is open 24 hours a day, every day (with someone praying in the prayer room for the end of suffering 24 hours a day, every day). Again, no need to be Buddhist, religious or spiritual. This is a place open to all.

August 31...Impermanence...

We have been praying for those impacted by Katrina since Sunday at the temple. Practices have been frequent, Sunday through Monday they were ongoing. That's in addition to our constant 24 hour prayer vigil. Last night I turned around 2 miles from my proposed astrology reading when I was told we were gathering for a tsog at the Migyur Dorje Stupa in order to offer the benefit to those suffering from the terrible storm. At least 20 people gathered, put together a full tsog offering and practice out at the Stupa. That meant moving food, tables, cloths, chairs, cushions and a Dharma Drum, not to mention persevering through the rain and thunder. It all happened again tonight (without me, as I worked at the hospital and got out too late), minus the rain.

Before posting about the Stupa Renovation, I wanted to remind all that the Stupas, temple and lands are all open to anyone, everyone needing a place of peace, or a place to pray. We don't care what kinds of prayers you say, or who you pray to. If you have no idea how to pray, but feel like you want to do something, we can help you if you wish. Simply making offerings to the Stupas (can be as simple as one apple or candle) and walking clockwise around them and offering that merit to all those suffering in the world will have tremendous impact. Maybe none you will see, but it will definitely be there. Even if you are uncomfortable with the whole concept of praying, the Stupas are here for you....

I've finally gotten around to posting images I took on this day (the 25th...last week). While up there I took a series of detail shots of the relief to help prepare for the restoration of this fine detail work. Here's a wide shot of the relief, with almost no detail visible. You can see the stripper on there, but it's off now. Unfortunately not all the paint is, so we'll working on that some more. Some folks have come forward expressing an interest in helping the restoration of this artwork, so I'm trying to provide them with a sense of what they're up against. Keep in mind, as well, this Stupa is 38 feet tall, not including the 3 to 5 foot rise off the ground! We're going to build a platform for the fine art portion of the restoration though, so don't worry, we won't make our artists dangle from rope and harness....well...maybe in addition to the platform. : )  

The red held up pretty well, but many of the other colors are fading or faded off. His face, though hard to see here, is splotchy due to areas of paint peeling off... 

Here's a close look at his arm and clothing. You can see the paint really faded, gone in some places... 

Here's a look under Migyur Dorje's right arm. That faded circle looks like it might be a patch over a hole placed for the screws....You can see paint is faded almost completely away in areas of his clothing and belt... 

Patterns in the blue surrounding Migyur Dorje..