May 28th...plans and preparations...

After the breakneck pace of the past few weeks, we slowed down a little today and took some time (sort of...we did this while I was stuck at the car dealership getting my car serviced before our trip to New York this week!) to do some planning.

Norbu works on the weekend, and I ended up in a few meetings at the temple (not my favorite thing, but you do what needs to be done). After that I spent the evening trying to clean out the copious dust and dog hair from my car (I have two dogs, and the sandblasting was wicked dusty) before acting as chauffeur to the gang headed to New York this week.

We're heading to the Palyul Retreat Center to learn how to fill statues formally, from Khenpo Norgye, who graciously fit us into his schedule between teaching Shedra, and leading a retreat next week! Dawa and Christine from Arizona will be joining us, so folks from both centers will have the direct opportunity to learn!

Tomorrow, which I'd hoped to set aside for teachings and practice, I'll instead be heading to Alexandria to meet Ani Sherab at her sister's house, where we'll be repairing the terma. Thanks Dad for lending us the clamps we'll need! : )

One of the great ideas that was spawned today came from Norbu, who suggested we collect and organize a database of Stupa stories, true stories, so we can utilize them in the future. Not to mention the sheer joy of hearing them and sharing them! If you have one please feel free to send us an email (hit the comment button). We'd love to hear from you!

If you don't have a Stupa story yet, come on out. I'm certain you'll have one before long! They work that way, they change your life. They are a source of limitless blessing, and they don't care if you're angry, sad or insane, they'll benefit you without restraint! They are here for you, any time, all the time, so please do come out and see them for yourself if you can! If not, keep coming back here. We'll share all we can with you!

It was a day of meetings. Not my cup of tea at all, but one does what one must on this path of renunciation. ; ) In all honesty, had it not rained (this photo is from this afternoon) I would have headed out to the Stupa Park to caulk the lotus petals...Given the weather I did duck out to get my car serviced. Though I don't go for the formatl meeting thing, it was great to have an "on-the-go" planning session... 

Ashby and Norbu came along while I got my car serviced (getting ready for New York this week!) so we could spend some time planning our next steps. The sandblasting, with it's looming deadline, kept us working every day, so we had no time to flesh out plans beyond that. We aren't lost though, don't worry! We have repair material and paint for the Enlightenment Stupa already (we need more, but we have enough to get us started). We're trying to work on a larger scale plan that includes not only the completion of the current project, but an ongoing schedule of maintenance and annual festivals around the Stupas. This whole renovation is just the first step in getting them back into shape, so they can be shared with as many beings as possible. We're starting to formulate plans on how to express that invitation to as wide an audience as we can manage, so as many beings as possible can receive their amazing blessings!  

The sandblasting ended (finally...even if not successfully...), we could all spend time learning about casting from molds with Ani Sherab. She made the molds last week, and now she working hard to get all 16 lotus petals done, not just finish making them, but actually have them on the Stupa by the end of the day! This all happened yesterday, you can see the end of the sandblasting below this posting on yesterday's entry. I posted these on two separate days primarily because we worked so late last night to accomplish the goal...getting the lotus petals on the Long Life Stupa! 

Here's a shot of the material Ani Sherab is using to make the lotus petals. It isn't concrete, it is a plastic resin by Polytech which comes as a two part liquid which hardens when mixed... 

Here's the release agent Ani Sherab uses (she loves it), and her "tool set", which includes plastic cups, plastic knives, and putty knives, and she uses them all in this process... 

The petals don't all come out of the molds perfect, Sherab touches them up to ensure they are the best they can be... 

Thubten and Leigh spend some time watching the process. The material being used is fascinating to watch, as it transforms really quickly...it goes from clear liquid to solid plastic in a matter of minutes! That means you have to pay attention to what your doing though! 

When Norbu was on his way back from trying to get a new bumper for his truck, we called and asked him to pick up "something flexible, stretchy, which can be opened, but which can be tightened around the lotus petals to secure them, and which would also be flat, so the bungy cords wouldn't work because they are round, and the webbing wouldn't work because it isn't flexible...Norbu found some black rubber cords that fit the bill perfectly. 

Here are some of the petals, cured, dry, and touched up. Ani Sherab mentioned she was really thrilled it was working out. She said it's relatively rare that you can cast, finish and place a piece all in one day! Next step before heading out to the Park is a prime coat...  

After drying, we tried to apply some primer to the new lotus petals, and the paint beaded up. Sherab thought there might still be release agent on them, so we took them all inside for a bath... 

After washing, Sherab examined the petals and felt they were still too slick for the latex primer. She explained that plastic doesn't bond well to plastic (latex is essentially plastic). So she sent us off in search of not only oil based primer, but she wanted a spray on oil based primer! We looked at the setting sun and started to wonder about how this was going to happen. We started to think of who we could call to run by Poole's Hardware real quick, but then realized it was probably closed already. Fortunately, after digging through the paint closet at the temple, we unearthed the exact solution needed! : ) The petals dried quickly, and we then headed out to the Stupa Park to place them...until Ani Sherab asked where the rope and harness were...so she and I headed back to pick them up while Norbu stayed back at the Stupa Park... 

By the time we got back to the Stupa Park, Norbu was already removing the old lotus petals... 

Ani Sherab used a piece of webbing and a cellphone as a calculator to work out spacing for the lotus petals on the bumpa. They won't touch, so the spaces in between need to match... 

Ani Sherab joined Norbu up there to begin the process of placing the petals. Here they dry fit them using the webbing Sherab had marked off. Ani Sherab was roped in with webbing and a harness, while Norbu relied on his growing comfort working on top of Stupas! He admits he would have tied in if he'd known he was going to be staying up there... : )  

As always seems to be the case, Norbu and Sherab needed some tools once they got going up there, so we developed a delivery system on the fly.... 

The petals were placed using the rubber straps Norbu bought, and PC-7, an epoxy based bonding material Ani Sherab uses often for this kind of application.  

As the day drew to a close, Norbu and Ani Sherab put finishing touches on the placement of the petals, while Ashly, without instruction, took up a rag to clean the debris off the Stupa! Today I was working, so I don't know if anyone was able to make it up to remove the strap which was holding the petals in place while the PC-7 set up. If not, I'll be out tomorrow to do it, and to caulk. We'll see. : ) The coolest part is, Sherab thinks the new lotus petals look much better than the ones we replaced, so the damaged petals actually did us a favor! You never know.... 

May 26th...Late day but wonderful experience!

Long day, so this post will be short. : ) The good news is (sort of) that I work tomorrow, so I can finish posting for today after work tomorrow. I've posted the photos from the sandblasting attempt out at the Stupa Park. Not what we'd expected (what is these days?), and we decided it just wasn't going to work...That ended up spawning a whole new approach, which will be evolving over the next few days. Ani Sherab has encouraged us to really work towards a visual plan (something you can show folks) and work towards that (indicating we should aspire to finish the base properly, rather than just paint it). So that was actually a great thing! : )

It was really awesome to get back out to the Stupa Park, it is so peaceful out there. It is a hike, so not for everyone, but beautiful! I'll post photos of the Park tomorrow, from when we were working on the Lotus Petals.

I'll again finish by inviting all who can come to visit the Stupas! Especially while Ani Sherab is here (she's great for telling stories!), but any of us would love to answer any questions you may have when you visit, or show you around. We'll of course leave you alone if you prefer. But all of this, every effort, has been made to bring these Stupas to you, and all beings in the world. Stupas exist only to bring benefit to beings, without judgment or hesitation, no matter who you are (or what species for that matter). So come on out if you can, they're here for you! If not, keep checking in here! We'll share the experience with you right here on the web!

When I arrived this morning Norbu had already been out working. He and Quang were loading his truck with supplies they'd need to sandblast out in the Stupa Park...