After the second part was filled with cement the hallow area was filled in with gold, silver, silk, brocade, branches from a juniper pine tree. rolled prayer flags and most important a chip from the Dhamekh Stupa. When Denchen Yeshe was in Saranarth, India the Dhamekh Stupa was under re-construction. This is the place were Guatama Buddha set the Wheel of Dharma into motion. He unfolded his path to Enlightenment, the Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path and the Middle Way. This first sermon is call Dharmachakrapravartana. This chip from theDharmekh Stupa connects the east to the west.

     The dome was reinforced by rebar and then filled with cement. The center of the dome was filled with foam and then removed. This is the hollowed space for the image of the Buddha and relics. When the forms were removed the perfect shape of the stupa was painted white. The monks had arrived from Nepal and overlooked the rest of the construction.

     The spiral was manufactured at a local wood working shop. It was made of mahogany and painted by Lama Rinchen, LamaTenzin and Khenpo Konchog Tashi. Final parts of the stupa were put into place. The parasol is made of stained glass and the moon, sun and jewel is made of wood.

     Prayer flags were connected to the stupa by Khenpo Konchog Tashi which is shown in the beautiful picture as the sun rays and cosmic energy are reflected through his image.

     Tibetans know that no matter what stupas look like on the outside, they contained incredible blessings. Just to see them was a blessing. To touch them was a blessing. To hear the sound of the wind blowing around them was a blessing. And that was why they built them—for the blessings, just the blessings.

     The blessings of stupas are such that they benefit all beings, regardless of their connection or motivation. The state benefits. The local area benefits. There is benefit in all levels. But that benefit is increased by one's participation and one's bodhicitta. A stupa is especially beneficial to those who sponsor or build it, see it or hear the wind that blows by it, touch or remember it, but that does not mean that it is not beneficial to other beings. It is really more a question of the degree of benefit........

     One meaning of “stupa” is that it is a self-arising, spontaneously occurring phenomenon. In this sense, the configuration of the entire universe—conceived in traditional Buddhist cosmology as four continents surrounding Mount Meru as the central axis, crowned by the realm of the gods with the wish-fulfilling tree growing in it—can be understood as a gigantic stupa. On an inner level, the structure of the “vajra aggregates” of the subtle body, the way a person's mid-body aggregates and sense faculties—all the elements of the individual's experience of the world—fit together and interact, arises as a stupa as well and corresponds to the configuration of the universe as a macrocosm.

     There is also a direct correspondence between the architectural features of a stupa and the way the universe is structured. The base and the steps of the stupa correspond to the six realms of beings in the desire realm. The middle, spherical section—the bumpa, or vase—corresponds to the seventeen levels of the form realm. The spire and the ornaments on top of the stupa correspond to the four stages of the formless realm. The srog shing, or central axis, the pole that runs through the center of the stupa, corresponds to dharmadhatu, the basic space of all phenomena. ......

Excerpts from a teaching by Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche

FIRST CONSECRATION RITUAL - JULY 5, 2007

Stupa built with exception of Cover for the Dome opening

Participating Monks

Khenpo Konchog Tashi
Lama Rinchen
Lama Tenzin

Preparation of Offerings - Flowers - Fruits - Rice - Water - Incense were place on the Stupa -

The Monks used their Dharma Instruments- Drum and Bell

Core texts used in the consecration ritual focuses on two aspects of the Budhhas’ enlightenment: (1) the transcendence of craving (tangha) and consequently of ceaseless rounds of re-birth, and
(2) the realization of the interdependent and co-rising nature of reality, especially as it defines the cause and cessation of suffering . The consecration instantiates the Universal Buddha nature (dharmakaya) through the ritual transformation. Those present recited the following:

In the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha most excellent, I take refuge until enlightenment is reached.

By the merit of generosity and other good deeds, May I attain Buddhahood for the sake of all sentient beings. (Repeated 3 times)

SECOND CONSECRATION RITUAL - JULY 4, 2008

Stupa Completed - Dome opening cover which was hand crafted in Nepal and hand carried by Khenpo Konchog Tashi was permanently installed the month prior to the ritual.

Offerings as above for 1st ritual were placed on the Stupa.

Participating Monks

Senge Tenzin Rinpoche
Khenpo Konchog Tashi
Lama Nyndak
Lama Rinchen
Lama Tenzin

Dharma Instruments Used were Tibetan Horns, Drums and Bell

The text used was the reading from their ritual book, the same as above.

Senge Tenzin Rinpoche placed an ancient relic inscripted with teaching from the Buddha. The relic given to Dechen Yeshe by Lama Rinchen dates back to the 13th century. A Khatar was placed around the Buddha statue that is within the stupa dome.