At one time we had staying in thecenter a Sanskrit scholar, a swami,anastrologer/astrologer/mathematicianwho had worked on the equationsfor lunar theory, the head astrologerfor the Hari Krishma movement, allat once. Now that was fun mix.Originally the house had eightbedrooms, but some <strong>of</strong> those roomshave been reclaimed for other usesover the years. I know I took overtwo <strong>of</strong> them myself, for variousreasons. In recent years the centerhas also been a refuge for a greatmany young musicians, who havecome to record in our studio or justcrash for the night. There have beenmornings when I have come into thecenter to find every bed filled, everycouch occupied, and sleeping bagsall over the floor - that kind <strong>of</strong> thing.Over the years, the center has heldmore and more conferences,teachings, and visits by dharmapractitioners and very high lamas.The list <strong>of</strong> distinguished Kagyulamas who have taught and/or givenempowerments at our center includeHis Eminence Tai Situ Rinpoche,His Eminence Shamar Rinpoche,Ven. Traleg Rinpoche, Ven.Thrangu Rinponche, Ven. KhenpoTsultum Gyamptso, Ven. KhenpoKarthar Rinpoche, Lama Namse,Lama Karma Drodul, Lama YesheGyamtso, Lama Lohdro Lhamo,Lama Kathy Wesley, and manyother dharma teachers.Today the center still <strong>of</strong>fersWednesday night dharmadiscussions along with meditationinstructions and the occasional lamavisit. There you have anintroduction, so let‟s look at thephotos and I will add someadditional comments there.Heart Center HouseHere is the main building tuckedaway in the center <strong>of</strong> a quiet block inBig Rapids, Michigan. Our home isright next door to it. You can see afaded Dream Flag flying on aflagpole in the upper right, the flagdesigned by the 16 th GyalwaKarmapa from a dream, which saidto him that as long as the dream flagwaves, dharma will grow andspread.Heart Center Mid-House ViewOn your left is the side entrance tothe Heart Center, and on the rightyou can see a little bit <strong>of</strong> our house.A patio-like area is in between thetwo houses. Mostly you can seesome <strong>of</strong> my Milkweed plants. We letthe middle and backyards grassyareas grow wild to attract morebutterflies, bugs, toads, andanything. The city won‟t let us do itin the front, but we mow around anyflowers, etc.
kinds <strong>of</strong> stupas and this one is an“Enlightenment Stupa.”The Main ShrineHere is a close-up <strong>of</strong> the mainshrine. It would be too complex tocall out all <strong>of</strong> the various statues, butsuffice it to say that our center isdedicated to Amitabha Buddha, theBuddha <strong>of</strong> the western direction,and also <strong>of</strong> death, dying, and thebardo. The large statue in themiddle is <strong>of</strong> Amitabha as well as thethanka painting just above it.Various <strong>of</strong>ferings are in the frontrow, but the water bowls had notbeen filled for the day when I tookthis photo.Shrine Room and StupaHere you can see the walkway up tothe shrine room on the left and thestupa on the right. You can‟t see thestrings <strong>of</strong> prayer flags, but you cansee one <strong>of</strong> our bird feeders on theextreme right, although now it issummer.The StupaThis is our stupa, around which wecircumambulate. It containsprecious relics and other items andhad to be built and oriented just so.You can see the circular walkwaysurrounding it, around which wewalk in a clockwise direction, sayingmantras and prayers. Stupas aresaid to represent the mind <strong>of</strong>Buddha for all beings, includinganimals, to see. There are eightHeart Center KitchenThis is the Heart Center kitchen,and many years <strong>of</strong> many mealswere prepared and shared here.The little stainless-steel bowl on thefloor tells me that we have a caninevisitor, a little female husky wholives here with my daughter <strong>Michael</strong>Anne.