There are many holy places in Tibet, places of pilgramage and places of retreat. Tibetans who are fortunate and able to make the journey, visit these places as a means of accumulating spiritual merit and establishing deeper connections with the Dharma.

Lama Sonam's vision is to begin providing such places here in the America, that Dharma has taken root and begun to flourish here, and that projects such as these will further deepen our connections and our practice.

The Jowo Project is building a full-sized replica of the Jowo Statue in Lhasa's Jokhang Temple, Tibet. The new statue will be housed here in the United States... but this is a process that requires the efforts of many people, both here and abroad.

In the view of Tibetan Buddhism, all great endeavors require an accumulation of wisdom and merit. As such, Lama Sonam is reciting the long life Prayer of the Dalai Lama in an effort to sustain peace in this world. Additionally, he is reciting the 8000 verse Prajñaparamita Sutra 113 times.

When we heard about Lama Sonam's efforts, a group of us in the Denver/Boulder/Fort Collins area of Colorado sponsored him to visit us and read in our homes.

The Prajñaparamita Sutra is a beautiful treatise on compassion and the nature of reality. It is also the foundation of Mahayana Buddhism in general and Tibetan Buddhism in particular.

The 8000 verse version is considered by scholars to be the earliest version written, dated to about 100 B.C.E.

During Lama Sonam's visit, we recived the full tranmission of this text -- a rare opportunity for all of us.

These pictures of Lama Sonam reading the text are from his session in Boulder. After two days -- a total of about 11 hours' work -- he completed his 73rd reading of the Prajñaparamita Sutra.

We are very excited about participating as pioneers for Dharma here in the West. Our donations will help build one of the first great places of Tibetan Buddhist pilgramage in America.

Afterwards, there was some time to relax and enjoy beautiful Colorado...

...including a visit with the Elk of Rocky Mountain National Park...

... And a driving lesson for Lama Sonam!