Cultivating Compassion
Garden of 1,000 Buddhas: a place of peace and quiet reflection
Daniel Martynowicz
Gochen Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche (bottom left) leads the consecration procession around the interior of the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas north of Arlee.
Daniel Martynowicz
Exactly 1,000 Buddha statues adorn the interior walls of the garden. From a a bird’s eye view, these walls make up the spokes of the Dharma wheel.
Daniel Martynowicz
Dancers perform the Dance of the Dakinis of the five Buddha families during one of the final events for the garden’s consecration.
Daniel Martynowicz
A young girl blows a conch shell to signify the start of lunch.
Daniel Martynowicz
Daniel Martynowicz
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JOCKO VALLEY — White Coyote Road lies just a few miles north of Arlee on U.S. Highway 93. A short stretch of pavement much like any other in the valley, you could pass it at speed and never know it was there.
However, unlike other roads in the valley, White Coyote Road contains a beacon of peace and quiet reflection, a garden which cultivates the human soul rather than tomatoes and carrots. Less than a quarter mile down White Coyote Road sits an embassy of the East in the EWAM Garden of 1,000 Buddhas, and Sunday marked its consecration by Gochen Tulku Sang-ngag Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist Lama. He and several of his followers met at the garden to celebrate 11 long years of hard work and dedication to create a place whose merit, “will be immeasurable such that it will infuse the wind with blessings that will be carried to lands far and wide.”
The atmosphere was one of peace and tranquility as several Buddhist monks prepared the grounds for the ceremony. Dressed in flowing orange and burgundy robes, Rinpoche led the procession around the garden with several of his followers from far and wide. After a few short prayers and a dance to commemorate the occasion, he posed for pictures and smiled while looking out over a decade's worth of hard work.
