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We have commissioned a statue of the powerful yogi-saint, Padmasambhava or Guru Rinpoche, whose tantric powers overcame heavy hindrances to bring Buddhism to then wild-lands of Tibet in the 8th Century.
Having such a consecrated statue means Padmasambhava’s energy can be tapped into today in this time of degeneration with global warming, natural disasters, economic uncertainty, heightened world tension and epidemic diseases when peoples’ minds are turning away from virtue.
That is why our late Spiritual Director, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche, requested centres around the world to have statues of Padmasambhava.
“Building Guru Rinpoche statues will bring immeasurable benefit, peace, happiness, and freedom to the world. They will have immeasurable impact,” Lama Zopa said.
Our statue is beautiful, 92cm (three foot) high, made of bronze and gilded in gold. It is being made by a family of skilled artisans in Nepal so our commission is also helping preserve these sacred arts which are under theat.
Guru Rinpoche is commonly associated with the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism but having this statue in a gompa following the Gelugpa tradition will help create a harmonious environment where practitioners from all backgrounds can come together to learn and grow in wisdom and compassion.
Padmasambhava said:
“Listen, beautiful one having the form of a goddess,
For those sentient beings who have not met me,
Statues of me in the future
Will become the light eliminating the darkness of ignorance.
Whoever builds such statues of me,
Which become objects of offering and so forth,
All their future lives will become meaningful
And they will establish the banner of the teachings.”
The statue is an inspiring piece of religious art and will cost about $16,000. As it is about 92cm high, we are proposing 46 sponsorships – one for each 2cm of our statue– at $350 per sponsorship.
If that’s a push in these financially tight times, any donation you can give would be very much appreciated. Every little bit helps achieve our goal. Good news is that $3,000 was donated even before this appeal was launched.
(Thanks to our former Director, John Waite, who commissioned the statue on a recent visit to Nepal).