100,000 Stupa Project

Building stupas helps develop so much peace and happiness for numberless sentient beings. As a result, wars, disease, and desire will all be pacified. Instead of feeling hopeless, people will gain courage. This is about peace—for the beings who see it, for the whole country, for the entire world, for all sentient beings.—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

We rejoice in all of the merit you have created this year and pray that you flourish in 2025. A special thank you to our precious donors, stupa sponsors, staff, volunteers and for the blessings of so many amazing lamas this year including: Geshe Tenzin Zopa, Yangsi Rinpoche, Geshe Thubten Sherab. We continue to thank Geshe Ngawang Drakpa who supports our project with pujas and advice. Rejoice!

What is Planned for 2025 and Beyond

Main Stupa: Buddhas and Taras

This year we sought advice on the type of statues to place in the niches on the ground floor of our Mahabodhi Stupa. Thankfully, Venerable Roger was able to consult Khandro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drönme), who advised: “It is very good if you have in all the spaces (niches) Buddha Shakyamuni in one and next Green Tara, so alternate these two statues in all the ‘niches’ available. This is very good, especially for the success, quick success, of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Holy Wishes.” With the invaluable help of Kabir from Root Institute, we were able to enlist Ratnakar, a talented sculptor in Rajasthan, India, to create eighteen sculptures each of Shakyamuni Buddha and Green Tara. We anticipate the statues will be ready to ship to us in January 2025. The statues then will be mounted onto the niches with a verse placed beneath.

We will be opening up sponsorship opportunities for these Buddhas and Taras in the coming year.

Visit Us!

Our Project Site is open on Sundays: 11:00 am – 3:00 pm (weather permitting)

We will be at the Stupa Project to welcome you with a warm cup of chai and opportunities to enrich your practice.

Gift items, including watercolor stupa cards, available as souvenirs. Come for a visit!

Contact Denice Taylor Macy, Director of 100,000 Stupa Project, for more information at [email protected]

Holy Objects for World Peace

My wish is for FPMT to build many holy objects everywhere, as many as possible. Making it so easy for sentient beings to purify their heavy negative karma and making it so easy for sentient beings to create extensive merit. Which makes it so easy to achieve the realizations of the path and so easy to achieve liberation and enlightenment.

—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

The vision for a 100,000 Stupa Project emerged in the late 1990’s. Tangible progress began in 1999. In the following decade, extensive architectural planning and land analysis work was done to build the 11,000 sq. ft. building modeled after the great Borabudur in Java, Indonesia.

In 2011, after years of working on planning for the Borabudur Stupa, and finding many obstacles, Rinpoche met with Khadro la and it was observed that building a replica of the Mahabodhi would be the best plan to move quickly to get our stupa built. At that time, Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche became the central pillar to our Founders Mandala by pledging $50,000 to support the building of our stupa. Research and planning was underway in 2012. In January of 2013, the Chew family from Singapore became the second members of our Founders Mandala, followed by the John and Lucille Cayton family bequest. We are looking for more visionaries to join us bringing the building of this great project to completion.

After only a year of design and engineering, in January 2014 we received our permit approval to build the stupa at Land of Medicine Buddha!

The bhumi puja (earth blessing) was held on Friday, April 25, 2014, and on the following Monday, April 28, 2014 construction began.

Two years later, on May 22, 2016, we filled the 9th and final chamber of the central tower. Many hands helped pass along the holy objects – sutras, mantras, tsa-tsas, etc. – from the truck, up the ladders, all the way to the top.

Our artist built the Namgyal stupa at the top of our stupa and began working to apply all of the decorative facades to the Mahabodhi.

In 2019 we built the first of the three planned mandala walls which will serve as a location for the thousands of stupas to be dedicated

We continue to cast stupas, work in the gardens and apply decorations.

What Was Accomplished from 2020 to Present

—Fulfilling two of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s pieces of advice:

• Garden/grounds: A River of Nectar flows! When Rinpoche came to inspect the Stupa Project in 2019, he discussed with the Project Manager, Denice Macy, ideas for beautifying the grounds. Before the 2019 visit, Rinpoche had mentioned that a Japanese style of garden would be pleasing. As Rinpoche and Denice discussed ideas for landscaping, Rinpoche expressed the wish for a river with mantras placed inside to bless any beings who drink or touch the water. With input from feng shui master Peter Lung, a River of Nectar arose. Water flows slowly down the hillside, over six mini waterfalls. At each waterfall is placed a stone carved with the OM MANI PADME HUM mantra. The mantra stones are carved in six languages: Tibetan, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hindi, and Mongolian. Statues, dragons, and other animals—from Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s house in Aptos—were placed along the banks of the river.
• Lighting the Stupa: Following Rinpoche’s advice, colored lights in the four directions were installed during Losar this year and offered every evening as well as blue lights inside the shrine. The five color lights correspond to the colors of the five tathagatas.