Finally, Thanksgiving Part III

Really, I am trying to be more consistent!  Ha!


I owe you a post about visiting a Buddhist Stupa while in Colorado in November.  Forget about the fourth Thanksgiving part.  I was just going to mention all the elephant in the room moments when nobody would ask me about my step away from Christianity, but I knew that they knew (maybe they didn't know that I knew that they knew...) and it was weird.  There's that post.  Other posts I would like to write include

• the Mennonite pastor's response to my email (so overdue!)
• reflection on 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Guy P. Harrison
• reflection on True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post Fact Society by Farhad Manjoo
• even reflection on... Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, who has great insights on spirituality and wellness 
• information on where I'm now spending my Sunday mornings and Thursday evenings and why
• parallels between reluctant doubters and Elna Baker
• and more!

 Time to get back into this blog thing!

So, it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  I was staying with Teresa for a couple of days while my parents stayed with my brother and his wife.  Teresa had heard of a Buddhist retreat center somewhere in mountainous nowhere land, Colorado.   Naturally, with my church hopping and religious exploration, we decided that it needed to be a part of my trip.  It took about two hours to reach the Shambhala Mountain Center

I'll be honest.  My knowledge of Buddhism and of the center was pretty slim.  We reached Shambhala after about 90 minutes of curvy roads and Barenaked Ladies, parked the car, then began the 15 minute trek toward the Stupa.  A word on stupas, taken directly from the Center's website:

"Around the time of the Buddha's death, stupas began to be no longer used as a shrine to the dead, but to honor the living; to remind people far into the future that they, while living, have the seed of enlightenment. A stupa is calling to you, and you are the stupa. Its stability and reverence is based on compassion--to project the mind of the teacher as example, for the benefit of future generations.

A stupa is intended to stop you in your tracks. It is an architectural representation of the entire Buddhist path. The body, speech, and mind of an enlightened teacher is contained therein--a reminder of a timeless quality which one senses in old monuments. The Tibetan word is choten, meaning a receptacle for offerings and implying support for lay people to express devotion and connection to the Buddha mind."

 I hadn't read that yet, but I will say that after hiking this dirt path for 15 minutes (which, I read, symbolizes the long path to enlightenment)surrounded by a trail of colorful prayer flags, when I did see The Great Stupa in all its unexpected grandeur, I was stunned.  It looked at me and said "I know you're not sure about me and the tradition I stand for, but you're feeling humbled, aren't you?  I have that affect."  After capturing the stupa with our digital film, Teresa and I headed inside, being sure to take off our shoes before entering.

My level of guilt/holy spirit (depending on what you believe) peaked upon entering due to this ginormous Buddha.  I couldn't help but feel like if God was real, he wasn't enjoying watching me tour this sacred Buddhist monument.  Quickly, fear was replaced with curiosity and interest.  I mean, this was about religious education, not rebounding to another belief system.  The interior was stunning!  Amazingly enough, this stupa was built with volunteer hands (over a period of 14 years), only completed in 2001.  It is the largest sacred Buddhist monument in all of North America!  The Dalai Lama himself visited and blessed the Great Stupa in 2006.

Teresa and I quietly checked the stupa out while a couple of people meditated peacefully.  There were about ten shrine-like areas containing information on Buddhas and small offerings people had left.  These were not gifts to gods, since Buddhism is non-theistic, they were offerings to those who had achieved enlightenment.  It is thought that the more offerings a stupa contains, the greater its energy and power will be.

 

I was most intrigued when I found the area in front of the huge golden Buddha containing notes/ prayers written on small sheets of paper.  I'm probably a terrible person for looking at these, but curiosity got the best of me and I peeked at a couple.  I found the note below to be classically seeker-like.  "Please help us all to find peace."  

 

Visiting the Stupa brought me face to face with another religion.  I've been learning more about Buddhism since November, but am still a far cry from an expert.  I like that meditation is such an integral part of it.  I like how it requires no belief in a god.  I don't think I could ever accept reincarnation as truth, or completely buy into the four noble truths or the eightfold path to nirvana.  The way I'm seeing it right now, mostly every religion or belief system (save Westboro Baptist Church)contains a few reasonable, beneficial aspects that all would do well to believe in, but there are also many "laws" or "truths" that are less rational and even harmful to believers and society.  I felt fine admiring the lovely Stupa and reflecting upon the peace that meditating within its walls has probably brought dozens of visitors.  But this was mostly an anthropological visit, not a spiritual retreat.  If you're ever in the area, do go see it. 

Even Babar has  :)