stupa and shrine hall

"When a great teacher passes away, his body is no more, but to indicate that his mind is dwelling forever in an unchanging way in the dharmakaya, one will erect a stupa as a symbol of the mind of the Buddhas."

                                                                                      H. H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

   

                                           Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Jangchub Chorten

stupa of enlightenment

(jangchub chorten)

One of Rinpoche’s root teachers and major influences was his late father, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, one of the most respected Dzogchen masters to escape from Tibet. Traditionally, stupas can have 8 major meanings, each with a corresponding design. Dedicated to Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, a stupa was built in the style of The Stupa of Enlightenment. In 2005, a preliminary consecration was held on the land. This ceremony was presided over by several Rinpoches and lamas and attended by hundreds of people. The stupa was constructed to very precise specifications and filled in the traditional way with tens of thousands of tsa-tsas (a miniature replica of a stupa containing relics of the Buddha, and mantra scrolls). Relics of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche and many other great masters were placed inside, along with sacred texts from the Buddhist canon. This beautiful stupa creates the opportunity to accumulate merit by making offerings and circumambulating the sacred site. Pervaded by blessings or spiritual influence, the environment around a stupa provides a particularly auspicious and peaceful place to meditate.

                                             Yangsi and Rinpoche

shrine hall

The Shrine Hall will seat approximately 100 people and will provide a place where students can gather together for intensive group practice, teachings and small seminars. Sangha, the community of Dharma brothers and sisters on the spiritual path, offers valuable support for practice.  Our hope is to have the new Shrine Hall completed by the end of July 2010. Architectural renderings of the future Shrine Hall will be displayed as they become available.

                         Rinpoche's Tibetan tent on Yeshe Rangsal land, August 2008             

Over 40 of Tsoknyi Rinpoche's students now live in Crestone as of September 2008. Others may wish to come and practice on the land. Intensive and solitary retreat has been an essential aid for practitioners to deepen their practice. For this purpose, 10 individual retreat cabins will be built in the future. They will be financially sponsored by students wishing to practice in a blessed retreat setting.

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