How did you become a builder of stupas?
I’m an architect by trade and building stupas first came to me through my connection with Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche. He, along with Lama Ole Nydahl, was my teacher.
When we met over 30 years ago, Lama Ole Nydahl was my “hook” to the dharma and then Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche taught me how to construct stupas. Rinpoche transmitted to us the knowledge of stupa construction following the tradition and school of the 15th Karmapa Khakhyab Dorje (1871–1922).
During his intensive and long travels around the world Rinpoche would always stay for a few days in our home—at that time Maggie’s and mine—in Griesheim, Germany.
“No matter what type of stupa it is, if you’re meditating in front of it… your meditation gets extra power based on the stupa’s blessing.”
One day, Rinpoche sent everyone there away, except for me, and asked to do some shopping. He asked me to bring a pencil and paper and to sit near him. Then he started to read the old texts of the 15th Karmapa about the construction of stupas, and asked me to draw what he was reading.
At that time, I was able to understand some basic Tibetan words and numbers. Rinpoche spoke a little English, and we were able to communicate.
Step by step, line by line, a detailed technical drawing of the Tibetan stupa appeared on the paper. Somehow I realized that this occurrence had some special value, so I gave a name to the drawing and marked down the date on the paper. I still have this valuable drawing today!
After some years had passed, I realized that this was the Kagyü transmission for the construction of stupas, as given by the 15th Karmapa and Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche. Each of the stupas that we have built in the West is faithful to this example and tradition.
Can you tell us a bit more about the different types of stupas and the stupas built during summer 2017 in Siberia?
Stupas (Tib. Chorten) are constructions symbolizing many different things and qualities. Philosophically put, they symbolize the victory of wisdom over the darkness of ignorance.
Stupas are three-dimensional models of the state of enlightenment and represent Buddha’s enlightened body, Buddha’s speech and Buddha’s mind.
There are eight types of Tibetan stupas, which commemorate events in Buddha’s life, including his birth and passing away. Teachings concerning these stupas can be found in the sutras.
The ninth type of Tibetan stupa is the Kalachakra Stupa; teachings about Kalachakra are described in the tantras.
All Tibetan stupas are constructed on the basis of a very precise modular system. The dimensions of each part and the correlation between the stupa parts are precisely given, and describe the ideal order in the micro and macro cosmos. This modular system must be followed and cannot be interpreted.
In Siberia this year we have built two stupas: a Stupa of Enlightenment and a Stupa of Complete Victory.
The Enlightenment Stupa in Krasnoyarsk can be recognized by the four square steps below the big vase. Near Lake Baykal, in Tankhoy, the Stupa of Complete Victory has been constructed, with three round rings below the vase.
When considering the outer shape of the eight different stupas, only the elements below the big vase (Tib. Bumpa) are different between each type of stupa. The rest of the outer stupa elements are equal.
Are there any stylistic differences between Western-built stupas and those in Nepal, India, and Tibet?
As I mentioned before, our transmission for building stupas comes directly from the instructions of the 15th Karmapa. This is what Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche passed on to me.
Nevertheless, I try to implement our Western tastes for what is attractive and what isn’t attractive. In the West, generally “less is more” is a more elegant approach. One major function of a stupa is to attract people visually and therefore it should correspond with what the local culture considers good taste. Stupas as a three-dimensional model of universal perfection should be very harmonic.
So it’s not just about repeating exactly the ancient traditions. We are not changing the important message and inner life of the stupa but we are very slightly adapting it to our modern times. This is the reason I have taken all decorations out of the stupa. If you compare our stupas with the ones in Kathmandu or Tibet, you will not find many colors and ornaments.
It’s my interpretation in our society of “less is more.” In Asia, the typical feeling is that “more is more;” more color, more things, more decoration is better and considered wealthy. We judge things a bit differently and Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche was so great that he was not trying to convince anyone to go in a particular style. After we had once talked about “less is more,” Rinpoche said to me, “From now on I will take care of the inside of the stupa and you, Wojtek, take care of the outside.” This was our deal.
Tell us a bit about the first stupa you ever built, the Kalachakra Stupa in Karma Guen, Spain.
In southern Spain in 1991, Pedro Gomez of Karma Guen asked me to plan the first stupa. Pedro was totally fascinated by the Kalachakra Stupa he had seen in the Tibetan Karma Guen during his journey to eastern Tibet and wanted to repeat this form of the stupa in the Spanish Karma Guen.
Due to the guidance from Rinpoche at the time, it was the fourth Kalachakra Stupa ever to be constructed in the world.
To plan this first stupa was a very fascinating and—at the beginning—a very complicated process. I had to learn how to communicate with Rinpoche on technical subjects. When you don’t know exactly the language and customs of your project partner, and yet the product you are talking about should be so precious and not common, this is quite a task!
It was necessary to find out what part of the ancient instructions we had to follow without any interpretation, and what we could adapt to our modern technology and conditions. Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche made all the necessary connections and organized examples and the necessary pieces for the inside of the stupa.
It took two years of preparation in total. At first, nobody believed we would be able to construct this stupa.
It was Hannah Nydahl who was the first to be convinced that we would manage. Later on we were able to convince more people of course.
And what happened after this first experience?
After the inauguration of this first stupa that I had opportunity to plan and construct, I was quite sad, thinking to myself, “What a pity, such a fantastic adventure is over and it will never happen again. Such a crazy thing won’t happen again in my life.” But here we are in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and we are already completing the thirtieth stupa I have had the opportunity to plan!
Between then and now, things kept functioning in the following way. Year after year, Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche was asked to construct new stupas, and he would hand the “visual” job to me, while he, with Maggie’s help, would take care of the stupa’s spiritual and internal life. Each time we completed a project, I would think, “this stupa is the last,” but year after year, new projects kept appearing.
After Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche passed away in 2003 I thought that now I really would not construct stupas anymore. But some years passed and the conditions came together again. I have finished two stupas that Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche had already started: the one in Valle de Bravo, Mexico and then the second Kalachakra Stupa in Greece.
To construct the second Kalachakra Stupa was really something special—we have constructed two out of six of the currently extant Kalachakra Stupas. Over the course of a decade, as a Western organization of modern Buddhist idealists, led by Lama Ole Nydahl, we have left quite a big footprint in the world history of stupa construction.Nowadays, as a result of these efforts, there are about fifteen Kalachakra Stupas constructed around the world. Most of them have been built in recent years.
Tell us about the challenges of building two stupas in a single summer in Siberia.
This was a huge task. We are used to hearing about big enterprises like NASA or Boeing moving things from one part of the world to another. We get used to it and it seems to be nothing special. But us, a group of idealists?
To accomplish the construction of two stupas in Siberia we had to move about one hundred twenty tons of granite over 7,000 kilometers from southern Poland to eastern Siberia. Five road monsters loaded with twenty-five tons of stone each made their way across, from the place where the stones were excavated and cut, to the construction site. I still do not really understand how it happened. How the Russian friends organized it all was a truly amazing feat!
Every stupa has its unique challenges connected with the place, people, financial and cultural aspects. The challenges here in Siberia were the huge distances between the building site in Siberia and Poland, where the granite was excavated and cut into precise pieces. The architect also lived in Germany, which amounted to a 7,000-kilometer commute and a five-hour time difference.
Stupas are built to a very strict and precise modular system. The Siberian stupas are seven meters high and are made out of sixty tons of natural stone and forty tons of concrete. There are also many metal elements used inside and at the top. Stupas are also filled with thousands of different objects like tsa-tsas (clay forms) and mantra rolls.
To coordinate everything—to collect and produce all the elements needed for the construction—was a really a big task. Thanks to many different factors, and in large part due to the modern ways of communication, it was doable.
The Krasnoyarsk sangha decided to build the stupa out of granite rather than concrete, as granite will hopefully last for centuries. But how to find that material for a good price and then bring it all the way to Siberia? We checked for local sources, but unfortunately the red granite that occurs naturally in Krasnoyarsk was no longer available.
We had checked the possibilities of acquiring stone from China, but the sources were unsecure and expensive. So we went with a company in Poland due to having worked with them in the past, and also for the good price they gave us. We knew their quality level and knew that they would produce the perfectly cut granite elements required for the stupa, because they had already done so several times in the past.
To transport the stone elements we decided to use trucks. Rail transport was too complicated and expensive. I honestly didn’t believe that someone would be brave enough to transport such a load across 7,000 kilometers. But luckily, a friend of the main organizer, Andrey, owns a transport company and agreed to take on the job.
On Facebook, we reported the progress of each truck, showing their actual positions on a map. This meant that friends from all over the world were able to participate in making wishes for a free and open route over that vast distance. The journey for each truck took about two weeks.
Along the way, an additional challenge was the bureaucracy and customs controls. Unfortunately, at the moment, there are a lot of trade and customs restrictions between Europe and Russia. The Russian customs asked for extremely precise and excessive documentation. Each stone and metal piece had to have an official stamped paper proof of what it was, what kind of material, with dimensions and weight. It was quite difficult. Furthermore, they checked all of this in Novosibirsk, thousands of kilometers past the Russian border. Imagine if the trucks had had to turn back! Luckily, this wasn’t the case.
The top of the stupa and some of the inside elements are made out of metal. In a stupa of this size there are about 500 different pieces and they all have to fit together very precisely.
Usually, when constructing stupas I work closely with a metal workshop in southern Poland—they give reasonable prices and already know the technology of the stupa. This time the workshop was no longer available, as the owner is slowly closing his company and preparing to retire. Fortunately, Andrej found a local company working with stainless steel close to Krasnoyarsk. It took some time to get all the screws and welding traces in the proper place and of the right quality, but in the end they have done a very good job.
Coordination of the construction of two big stupas being constructed one after another was quite a task as well. We had to work within the time schedule of Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche, and he gave us eight weeks for all his activities. This is a lot of Rinpoche’s precious time, but was just enough for the construction of two stupas.
The next challenge was that the climate allows construction to start only in May—the harsh Siberian winter with the temperatures around minus forty degrees keeps the earth frozen right until May. Good coordination and day-to-day time planning were necessary to achieve success.
What advice would you give to groups that want to construct stupas?
First some practical advice: The ground where the stupa is going to be constructed must be owned by the sangha and not by a private person. All legal permits for construction must be established. This is because to remove a stupa once it is constructed—for example if a new landowner would not like it—brings a lot of negativity.
Pure, idealistic motivation, friendship, solidarity and oceans of patience are qualities one should bring to the project. A realistic concept about the budget and bringing together of what the local sangha would like to have, compared to what is affordable, is always preferable. In general, you should have an open mind and be ready for everything.
This is because, when working with centuries-old Tibetan traditions, you might need to arrange things by the seat of your pants. Having a good architect would also not be the worst idea! And finally, you have to have unlimited trust in your teacher, and in your own mind.
