With the consecration of the Stupa of Enlightenment, Dhagpo Kagyu Ling welcomed its first support for offering and virtue accumulation, representing the very manifestation of Buddha’s mind.
This stupa is so named because it was first built in India on the occasion of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment. Its shape symbolizes all the qualities of the buddhas.
Gendun Rinpoche told all those gathered for the occasion, during which abundant light and food offerings were made.
This is a particularly auspicious day and all the wishing prayers that we express today will carry a special power. If you are short of ideas, you can express the wish to develop compassion as vast as Chenrezig’s compassion, wisdom as vast as Manjushri’s wisdom and power in activity for the good of all beings as powerful as Vajrapani’s power.”
The day began with the Dorje Sempa puja in front of the stupa. As an article in Tendrel, Issue Number 32 of September 1993, reports, ”The consecration of the stupa was proceeding calmly under bright sunshine when suddenly Rinpoche, who was tossing rice, let his dorje slip out of his hand in his gesture of offering. It flew off in a flash of gold and rose up in the sky before falling a few meters behind him!” One of the photographs in our album captures this moment.
In the afternoon, a tsok accumulation was held during which Rinpoche gave a kata to those who had built the stupa. The day ended with the Mahakala ritual.
A documentary shows all the steps involved in the stupa’s construction from building the structure itself to the rituals performed at every stage to consecrate all the substances inside. “Lama Gendun had asked for a peace stupa to be built here,” recalls Yves Clément, one of the stupa’s builders who had resided at Dhagpo since 1976 and specialized in carpentry. Gendun Rinpoche chose the site—precisely where, a short time before, a dowser consulted to find a spring that could be tapped to supply water for the residents had identified the junction of two rivers. The drilling plan was abandoned in favor of installing the large concrete blocks upon which the stupa stands. The construction lasted two years.
In consultation with Lama Jigme Rinpoche, Gendun Rinpoche, and Lama Zimpenla, the plans, based on the same model as the stupa at Dhagpo Kundreul Ling were finalized by Nicolas Henry, who had completed the first traditional three-year retreat.
Every element, from base to summit, carries a symbolic and spiritual meaning, along with its own history. “There’s not one inch inside that is not filled—with mantra scrolls, tsatsas, relics of the Buddha, of the Karmapas, and with a large mandala drawn here,” explains Yves. The sokshing, or tree of life that is placed in the center like a spine also has its own story. Through a connection of some practitioners at Dhagpo, “we went to the Pyrenees, to visit someone who had a large meadow surrounded by hundreds of cypress trees. Lama Gendun and Lama Zimpenla had told us to cut the cypress tree but that it had to be facing eastwards. It’s precise. It’s a real science, nothing is left to chance! We brought it back in our truck and carved it here on-site into an obelisk measuring about two-and-a-half meters, with a double dorje painted at one end.” Holes are drilled in it to create small niches that house relics of great masters, most often brought back by Jigme Rinpoche. Then the whole structure is placed in a large protection tube.
Specialized craftsmen worked on different parts of the stupa; a local coppersmith carved all the copper pieces for the top of the stupa, which included elements drawn by Max in consultation with the lamas. A cutlery factory near Thiers designed special containers for plating, or applying the gold and silver to the parasol, the moon, and the sun using electrolysis. As for the Buddha statue, it was brought back from Nepal by Jigme Rinpoche. Throughout the process of construction, people made donations.
The further one goes towards the top of the stupa, which is hollow inside—made of wood casings and a large mold in the shape of a ship’s hull—the more precious the substances become. Yves remembers the final filling stage, carried out by Lama Thubten, a specialist in the matter from Tsurphu (Tibet) and who had completed a traditional three-year retreat in Rumtek. “Two of us were up on the stupa, and we passed things to Lama for filling, but it was deep, so we were holding him so that he wouldn’t fall to the bottom. We placed the two large vases that were filled to the top on the edge of the stupa when I saw a huge black cloud coming towards us. I thought we’d better put a tarp up. There was a strong gust of wind that blew the second vase over. Lama had prepared a spare one. It all lasted five minutes. We don’t know what happened,” Yves recalls.
The presence of a stupa is a blessing. As Gendun Rinpoche explains,
“Before he physically disappeared, Shakyamuni Buddha personally gave instructions about building stupas because without stupas, there can’t be any accumulation of merit and without accumulation of merit, there is no possible liberation. A stupa produces all benefits, relative and ultimate. It dispels negative influences, protects from illnesses, wars, famines and conflicts, increases everything that is positive in the world, improves harvests, protects life, and brings harmony. This support represents the purity and strength of purification of all the victorious ones. Seeing and touching it is like receiving an empowerment. In Tibet, and especially in the Kham region, people often didn’t have the physical and material means to attend an empowerment. That’s why there are so many stupas in this region. All of stupa transmission in Tibet goes back to Atisha after the Indian king Lang Dharma had destroyed all the stupas that had been built on the instructions of Guru Rinpoche. Lord Atisha reestablished this tradition everywhere. I rejoice that this tradition is now spreading to the West.”
Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s Sukhavati Garden now houses the great stupa of Shamar Rinpoche as well as eight stupas commemorating eight moments in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, along with stupas in homage of Gendun Rinpoche and Lama Purtsela.
These photos come from our archives or were collected as part of the research for Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s 50th anniversary. We have not been able to identify all the authors. The use of these photos is solely for informational purposes within the context of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s 50th anniversary celebration. Their use is limited to this event and our website and is not for commercial purposes.
Event
To mark this event, on March 8, in the presence of Lama Jigme Rinpoche, we will gather at the Institute to practice the Guru Yoga of the 16th Karmapa and carry out recitations and offerings around the stupa.
The practices will also be streamed online.
These photos come from our archives or were collected as part of the research for Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s 50th anniversary. We have not been able to identify all the authors. The use of these photos is solely for informational purposes within the context of Dhagpo Kagyu Ling’s 50th anniversary celebration. Their use is limited to this event and our website and is not for commercial purposes.
