For Release: June 14, 2022

Contact: Shelley Sims, ssimskpc@gmail.com, 928-300-9917

Consecration of Buddhist Statue to Pacify War, near Washington D.C.

In the Washington, DC region, there are hundreds of monuments to famous generals, historic battles and the glory of war. Soon the area will become home to a golden, 13-foot-tall statue — handcrafted by a Nepali monk and Maryland artisans — that is dedicated to ending suffering, pacifying war and ushering in world peace.

The statue, Guru Rinpoche, will be consecrated in the Peace Park of Kunzang Palyul Choling (KPC) Buddhist temple in Poolesville, MD on Tuesday, June 14, beginning at 10:00am.

The result of a global partnership between practitioners of an ancient Buddhist lineage and contemporary American artisans, the preparation, fabrication and installation of this monumental statue is a melding of the rich sacred traditions of the East, and the technological artisanship of the West.

The project was initiated by Her Eminence Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo Rinpoche. The consecration ceremony will be led by Khenpo Tenzin Norgay and Khenpo Pem Tsheri Sherpa, Buddhist lineage teachers in the United States. They will be  joined by lamas, monks and nuns conducting sacred rituals, chants and prayers. The consecration ceremony is akin to awakening Guru Rinpoche, in which the ordinary becomes the extraordinary, as he is invited to live in the statue, filled with prayers, wealth vases, medicinal herbs and ritual objects prepared by monks and nuns under a Buddhist lineage master in Nepal. The statue then becomes the actual Buddha himself, fully endowed with enlightened qualities.

The platform, throne and canopy in Maryland were crafted by local artisans. For all of them these were projects outside their normal business operations. They all were up to the creative challenge and did magnificent work. The throne, crafted by a local welder, Robert Willingham https://robertswelding.com/, was crafted in his workshop and brought to the site where it was filled with offerings, after being bolted to a cement pad, poured by Jose Milla https://mccontractorsmd.com/.  The throne was then filled with offerings and blessed by Buddhist Lineage teachers, and both throne and canopy frame were spray painted by Steve Thomas, https://theautobodyshop.com/. The exquisite designs on the exterior were painted by renowned Tibetan artist, Lama Gyurme https://www.lamagyurmed.com/ according to detailed Buddhist texts. The symbols on the throne each speak to the path to enlightenment. The canopy roof was done by Rick Corley https://www.corleyroofing.com/home.

For more information: email KPC at kpc@tara.org, call 301-710-6259, go to http://www.tara.org   or follow on https://www.facebook.com/KPCBuddhistTemple.

Kunzang Palyul Choling is a Buddhist Temple in the Nyingma Tradition, founded by Jetsunma Akhön Lhamo. The Guru Rinpoche statue joins other sacred statuary and monuments on 72 acres of land at 18400 River Road, Poolesville, MD. The public is welcome to visit the grounds from dawn until dusk.