When my parents were visiting me for the USA Independence Day holiday weekend, we went to see the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya on July 5th. We drove up near Red Feather Lake, Colorado, to the Shambhala Mountain Center to see the Stupa.
The drive itself was quite beautiful, through Poudre Canyon, then through Larimer Country road 36. Well, it was a dirt mountain road, so I had to be alert when going up the switch-backs. Nothing like fitting a Ford F350 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee onto a small dirt road with only a few inches to spare!
When we arrived at the parking lot, since we didn’t know where to go, we followed the signs and found our way to the main area of the Shambhala Mountain Center. It looked like multiple retreats were happening at once, as it looked like all tents and cabins were being used. My Dad went to ask for more information and we found ourselves speaking with a volunteer and he helped direct us where to go to head up to the Stupa. (I wished I would have remembered his name, but we did see him on the way out and were able to thank him.)
We continued to walk up a dirt path marked with flags to show the way. After a few minutes we found ourselves near an information sign, that had a donation box (to help with the upkeep of the Stupa). After passing that, we found a bridge with Tibetan prayer flags. We crossed and continued our hike.
Breaking through a group of trees, further up the trail, we were able to see the Stupa and a Torii (which belongs to the Shinto shrine on the same grounds). I had seen pictures of the Stupa before, but I didn’t realize how big it actually was!
When we got closer to the Stupa (just before the first set of stairs leading up to it), we saw a place to leave an offering, or a place to leave a memento for someone to be remembered. Based on how many objects were left, it seems like many had passed by there in recent months. That’s assuming that mementos are not left there indefinitely.
The Stupa was very ornate, with golden statues, Buddhist iconography, a Mandala wheel’s, and blue pillars helping to support the Stupa. The top of the Stupa had wires leading to four poles that were a good distance from the Stupa base. My guess was they were to prevent lightning from damaging the Stupa.
My Dad, whose curiosity has lasted for all of his life, decided to go look in the Stupa. I had looked in before and saw people in meditation and felt that I should go in. I almost tried to stop my Dad, but decided to let him do what he wanted.
While he was inside, I walked around the Stupa and started getting a strange feeling, which had accompanying thoughts. Though I would like to explain what happened, I think in detail would not be appropriate. The short version is: I got a “spiritual bitch-slap” that helped me see that some things I was doing in my life weren’t the best for me.
Besides the friendly people who were around, the scenery was the most wonderful part of the visit. While the Stupa was beautiful, it does fall short of the beauty of Nature, but the design and construction of the Stupa is still intricate and amazing.
The walk back to the parking lot was quiet as I was deep in thought and I think my parents let me have the silence. If you are looking for a beautiful place to go, and are interested in Buddhism or are not put off by Buddhism, the Grand Stupa of Dharmakaya is a good choice.
I will go back.
To see all photos from this trip, please see Great Stupa of Dharmakaya.
