Stupa Update
In the Fall of 2017, the marble pieces of the great stupa were sitting in a warehouse in the East Bay waiting for the rains to stop so they could be trucked up to the Mendocino retreat land and the erection of the monument could begin.
Craig Janke, who had been so instrumental in all the phases of this project from its earliest inception, came to me one day and told me he thought maybe he had found someone who could help us get the stupa built. I confess I was doubtful, since I knew nothing about this person, his character, skills, or ability to commit to such an enormous undertaking. In my heart I knew it was going to take a kind of miracle to get this enormous and challenging task completed.
Craig had met Tom McEntee at an art class in the East Bay and when he told Tom about the stupa project, he was very interested and in the early Winter of last year, Craig brought Tom to meet me. He was subdued and modest—a man of few words. I had the feeling he was not especially impressed by me or KDK, but he said he would like to help with the project and I thanked him and said we would see if it would work out.
When I talked again to Craig, he was even more enthusiastic about Tom and felt sure he was the right person for our project. I was still doubtful and asked what Tom knew about stupa-building. The answer was nothing, but he had worked in many kinds of building construction, knew how to run heavy equipment and machinery, was thoughtful, artistic and a sort of Renaissance Man. I gave Craig the go-ahead and they went up to the land and began to dig the foundation. When I came to the land I was astonished to see Tom’s enthusiasm, focus and skill. I really enjoyed watching his concentration as he worked alone or with Craig.
Although Tom was not a Buddhist and was quite new to the Dharma, he had natural spirituality and a lot of curiosity about the symbolism of the stupa and the various rituals that were performed as it was being erected. After the foundation had been dug, there was a ceremony in which we placed guns, swords, knives and other weapons of all kinds into the foundation on which the stupa would rest. The purpose of these objects is to magnetize harmful and demonic energy so it can be neutralized and purified by the immense power of this symbol of enlightened mind.
As Tom helped me accomplish this, I could see his interest growing. In the days to come, he assisted me with many other rituals associated with the consecration of the stupa and his quiet, intense concentration made me feel very happy and peaceful.
The more we worked together the more I realized how extraordinary it was that this person had simply appeared out of nowhere, with no connection to me or the dharma, to help us with this task that required almost super-human ability and commitment. Craig had been absolutely right: here was our miracle!
