DUDJOM TERSAR YESHE NYINGPO TEMPLE
World Peace Stupa
Following the suggestion of Dungsey Kathok Situ Rinpoche, Dungsey Namgay Dawa Rinpoche decided to renovate the World Peace Stupa up in our Orgyen Cho Dzong Retreat Center. With the help of Lama Pema, Rinpoche invited Lopon Jampal, who travelled from North Carolina. He arrived to the retreat center on October 10th with Lopon Lulu, who helped him inspect and design a plan for the stupa's renovation. The work began on Sunday, October 11th, 2020 at noon with Rinpoche and sangha members performing Ri Wo Sang Cho and Protector Practices to commence the work with auspicious temdrel.
After the practice was finished, Lopon Jampal and the volunteering sangha members started to break the layers of plasters and cement that were covering the stupa from the bottom to top. The process took the whole day.
The next day, Lopon Jampal and Lopon Lulu cut wood frames and mixed cement to lay on the stupa for its expansion. The work was done with the help of volunteering sangha members. Lopon Jampal and Lopon Lulu stayed until late at night to do the finishings:
The same process continued for nearly a week with volunteering sangha members traveling back and forth from the city to come and help even under harsh conditions.
On Saturday, October 17th 2020, to expedite the work, Lopon Lulu ordered a truck to come and fill the bottom of the stupa with cement. On that day volunteering sangha members also came to cook:
Stupa after one week of renovation:
While the stupa was being expanded with cement during the week, Lopon Jacque carved wood frames for the bumpa section of the stupa:
The next day, Lopon Lulu, Lopon Jampal, Lama Dorji and voluteering sangha members prepared the foundation of the bumpa to bring the carved woods prepared by Lopon Jacque up:
On Monday, October 19th 2020, after the cement on the base of the stupa was solidified, Lopon Lulu, Lopon Jamal, Lama Dorji along with Rinpoche and volunteering sangha members started to lay cement on the second layer of the base:
Two days later, carved woods were placed on top to expand the stupa's bumpa section:
Over the next two days, Lopon Lulu, Lopon Jampal, and a group of Bhutanese came to prepare the moldings for the stupa:
On the weekend, the Karmarong arrived to fill the bumpa section with cement:
Stupa after two weeks of renovation:
On Monday, October 26th, after the cement solidified, Lopon Lulu, Lopon Jampal and Lopon Jacque removed the wood frames from the bumpa section and smoothed it out:
The next four days, volunteering sangha members came to remove old bricks from the pathway up to the stupa and helped Lopon Lulu and Lopon Jampal sift sand to prepare the stupa's moldings:
Once the design for the moldings were done, Lopon Jampal poured silicone in to create the moldings. The next day, Lopon Jampal and Lopon Lulu took them out and started to mold designs for the stupa:
Stupa after three weeks of renovation:
On November 2nd, Lopon Jampal and Lopon Lulu took out the moldings and prepared them to be placed onto the stupa:
Over the next three days, Lopon Jampal carved the design for the window of the stupa's bumpa section, while Lopon Lulu, Lama Dorji, Michael and volunteering sangha members helped prepare the materials, smoothed the stupa, and cleared the pathway up to and around the Stupa:
The carving of the Stupa's bumpa section's window:
On November 6th, while the Stupa was being smoothed and the pathway up to and around it were being cleared, Lopon Lulu started to place molding designs onto the Stupa:
The next day, the Karmarong arrived to help smoothe the bumpa section of the stupa, while Lopon Lulu continued to place molding designs onto the Stupa and Lopon Jampal started to carve lion designs:
From November 8th to November 12th, Lopon Jampal started to finish the lion carvings while Lopon Lulu, Lopon Jacque and volunteering sangha members placed and polished the molding designs onto the Stupa:
The Carved Lion:
On Friday, a group of Bhutanese came to start painting the Stupa:
From Sunday, November 15th, Lopon Jampal started to carve the lions on the side, while the Bhutanese continued painting:
The Stupa after five weeks of renovation:
Over the weekend the Bhutanese came over to paint the details of the Stupa's bumpa section. While they were there, the Buddha Statue was also placed back in the bumpa section and Lopon Jampal began to carve the last two lines on the side of the Stupa:
The next two days, Lopon Jampal finished carving the lions. While he started to paint the details of the lions, volunteering sangha members polished the ones that were just completed and do touch ups on the other designs around the stupa:
On Wednesday, November 25th, the Bhutanese group started to paint the bottom section of the Stupa, while Lopon Jacque set up the strip light in the bumpa section of the Stupa:
From Thursday, November 26th to Sunday November 29th, the Bhutanese painted the details of the Stupa, did some touch up, and cleared the surrounding area around the Stupa. Lopon Jacque also set up the glass on the bumpa section of the Stupa:
Due to the weather condition during the winter, the Stupa project was put onto a halt and was eventually resumed on May 1st when the Karmarong arrived to work on the surrounding grounds of the Stupa. During that weekend, the Karmarong and Lopon Lulu prepared the foundations:
The Karmarong stayed at OCDR for two weeks to finish the project with the assist from Lopon Lulu. Once the cement was laid out, they continued by building the surrounding wall with red bricks and installed granite ledge on top:
The result:
In mid August, Lopon Lulu started to work on the siding of the path up to the Stupa:
