Every visit to the stupa brings a wonderful opportunity to meet someone new, and the potential to deepen their experience. Tonight I went fairly late, after the sun had set and the light set the red rocks ablaze - but before darkness had fallen. There was a man sitting under the shade structure, a man circumambulating, and three women gathered around the information board, talking animatedly.

The women eventually made their way to the stupa, where they each put a water bottle on the stupa itself. Because it is considered inauspicious to put offerings directly on the stupa - we have a beautiful marble top table for just that purpose in front of the stupa - I gently directed them to make their offering on the marble. When they replied that they wanted to bless their water and was told by such-and-such-a-person this was how to do it, I was taken aback for a second. Even though we have guidelines about how to use the stupa, how to benefit from it, there is always a situation that is not covered, a question that is not answered. So, I told them to carry the water around the stupa with them as they were making prayers. They smiled and thanked me, and the first woman - a frequent visitor who was bringing her two friends - told me that it was only a matter of time before the stupa was visited by thousands every day and moments like these, with just a half dozen of us, would be rare. It made me even more determined to create the rest of the vision, the temple and activity center and stupa park, so that we can at least offer our visitors a place to sit and a cup of tea!

Feng Shui

Last night at the stupa, Chris, John, and I met some neighbors who had visited before, but didn't know much about the stupa. We told them a little about the construction, what was inside, and how to use it, and Chris spoke about the configuration of the land itself. Lillian Too is a famed Feng Shui expert and author, and she visited a few years back and gave her thoughts on what we had. Sylvia Somerville touched on it briefly in this 4 Corners article:

Even now, one can feel the sacredness of the land. There is a feeling of anticipation that seems to whisper in the trees and waft through the air. There is a sense of purity, promise and possibility. During a recent visit, Lillian Too, one of the world’s leading Feng Shui experts, remarked how the land couldn’t be more perfect. It has the most auspicious configuration of mountains that embrace it on all sides, of sloping ground and water pathways. It is a place where the earth rises up to meet the spirit.

There is a palpable difference when you are on the land, I know it may sound crazy, but you can feel it. Sedona is quite an amazing place in and of itself, but the stupa land has an even deeper sense of purpose and promise. I hope you all get the chance to experience it some day.

Chanting the Seven Line Prayer

Every evening this week between 6PM and 7PM, a group of the nuns have been gathering to chant the Seven Line Prayer with traditional Tibetan instruments, the damaru (drum) and bell. The sound carries and can be heard as one walks up the path to the stupa, and is absolutely enchanting.

Right now it is an informal practice, based on everyone's schedules, so we're not sure if it will be every night. Please come and join us, we'd love to have you!