Traveling Anodos

When my parents were visiting me for the USA Independence Day holiday weekend, we went to see the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya on July 5^th. 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.

Back in April of this year, my sister defended her dissertation to get her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She and my brother-in-law were going to drive through Denver and visit for a night. Due to logistical maneuvering, that wasn’t possible. So, up to Seattle I went! (Thanks to them both for the flight!)

I got in late and after they picked me up from the airport and we got back to their condo, we all crashed for the night. We woke up the next morning about 9am, we walked down the street for some coffee and breakfast food, then we were on our way to visit the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America.

The grounds were beautiful, but I couldn’t figure out how to capture the beauty. I do highly suggest visiting. Reading the Shrine’s website will provide anything you want to know about it. Fortunately, Rev. Barrish (the head priest at the Shrine) was there and we talked a little bit about amulets and about a special ritual taking place the next Sunday. Too bad I wasn’t able to go. I will be returning to Tsubaki Grand Shrine again.

From the Shrine, we headed back to Seattle to Pike Place Market to walk around. It reminded me of the flea market here in Denver, though Pike Place Market is much larger and extensive. Near one of the entrances (closest to the first Starbucks) was the Golden Pig. I don’t know anything about it, though my sis and I sat on it!

We walked from Pike Place to the pier, to get lunch at the Crab Pot and on the way we stopped on the pier for some pictures. Before pictures were taken, I just looked across the Puget Sound. Though I heard the waves massaging the seawall, under the pier, I was and still am amazed at how calm the Sound looked.

Not far from where the pier picture was taken, we found a Hobbit hole! I’m sure it’s just a sewer access door, but I would like to remember it as the Hobbit hole door.

The Crab Pot was a restaurant I wanted to try since I saw it on Man vs Food and I wasn’t disappointed: the food was delicious! And the shrimp were fun to play with, too. If I remember correctly, I think they were fighting over something petty, like who got eaten first.

From the Crab Pot, my sister and brother-in-law drove over most of Seattle showing me the places they enjoyed, found interesting, and were very familiar with (like where my sis went to school). One of the sights they showed me was the Fremont Troll (pictured right). The neighborhood wanted to rehabilitate the area and a competition was held to find what should go under the bridge. The Troll won and was built in 1990 (information used from Freemont Troll). If you look at the picture closely, there is full-sized Volkswagon Beetle in the left hand of the troll!

A photo that I wish I would have taken was the largest statue of Vladimir Lenin in North America. We drove past it and I didn’t think about getting a picture at the time. I will get a picture of it next time.

After the Troll, we headed over to see the Ballard Locks. I hadn’t seen a lock before, though I had a basic understanding about how they worked; it was pretty cool to see it working in person! The barnacles that were growing on the walls, near the water, reminded me of the BioShock games (and now that I think about it, maybe even “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie series).

While at the locks, all three of us saw a heron intently watching the water. We all knew he was hunting, but it was great to see a heron hunting as I haven’t seen a heron before (I don’t believe), I’ve never seen one hunting before, and we were about 7 feet above him. Unfortunately, we were a little too loud and he flew off.

Before we went to bed that night, we went to O’Shan Sushi Restaurant which was VERY good and the prices were reasonable, compared to sushi in Denver. And to top their good sushi, they had a great house sake (which I should have asked what it was). If ever in the Ballard neighborhood, in Seattle, try O’Shan Sushi.

What surprised me about Seattle was how friendly everyone was.  When I moved to Denver almost 13 years ago, I thought Denver was fairly friendly, but Seattle now is the friendliest city I’ve visited yet; I hope that friendliness doesn’t go away.

My Seattle experience was very quick- I was only there for about 36 hours(-ish)! Though the trip was short, thanks to my sister and brother-in-law, they kept the schedule packed enough to allow me to see the overview of Seattle and not feel rushed. I believe I will go back.

To see all photos from this trip, please see Seattle April 2010.