The Stupa Project
The Stupa Project
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Goshen stone arrives for the stupa project
On Wednesday the 25th of June a large truck arrived at Aryaloka bringing 22 tons of 'Goshen' stone, which will be the facing stone of the stupa soon to be built. Our stonemason, Sonam Lama, uses this particular stone for many of his projects. "Goshen stone is an unusual variably colored variety of mica schist found mostly in New England region of the United States", according to Wikipedia. This particular stone is named for the locale of Goshen, Massachusetts.

Schist, according to about.com,"
is a metamorphic rock that comes in almost infinite variety, but its main characteristic is hinted at in its name: schist comes from the ancient Greek for "split". Schist is a rock formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and high pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other flat or elongated minerals into thin layers."

The stupa will be faced with the Goshen stone, while local 'rubble' or field stone will be used as fill. The rubble stone and sand to be used for mortar will come from approximately a mile away from Aryaloka. We had wanted to use local materials for the project, and it doesn't get much closer than that! Some field stones from the classic New England stone walls on our property will be incorporated as well, as Sonam appreciates the importance of linking a structure directly to its place.

The most recent stupa for Dhardo Rinpoche is on its way! From this hard material a beautiful form representing Bodhicitta will be built.