Crestone -- Meditation-thon 2005 -- Claire Givens Interview
Crestone(Part I) | Meditation-thon (Part II) | Givens(Part III)
Crestone, CO. Jan. 2005 by Karen Sorel
Crestone is a small town in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, comfortably nestled on the west side of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The town is home to practitioners from various spiritual groups around the world because it is near the Baca Grande Estate, owned by the Strong Family. The family has given land grants to groups representing the world’s wisdom traditions, including several Tibetan traditions.
For the Kagyu lineage, the land holds a stupa, containing relics of HH XVI Karmapa, and several retreat cabins. KTTG (Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomang) was founded in 1980 by the H.H. the16th Karmapa. His choice was in part because the climate and topography are similar to Tibet. He also had vision of establishing a center in the area. Two hundred acres of land have been dedicated to fulfill his wishes, including the development of an institute dedicated to the study of traditional Tibetan medicine, along with a monastery and retreat facilities. A stupa and several cabins for retreat have been built. A practice center is also established in the home of one of the local practitioners.
Intrigued by the idea of visiting this area, I took the opportunity over the New Year’s holiday to visit the area.
The stupa and land around it were a beautiful destination for a hike. At the suggestion of my bed and breakfast host I parked a distance from the stupa and hiked up to it. The first enchanting sight was an informal shrine near the road leading to the stupa. Gifts of numerous travelers adorned the rocks and the small shrine that has its home among them. Tibetan prayer flags identified the spiritual beliefs (and probably deities) residing here.
The half hour walk up to the stupa allowed a lot of time for contemplation. The quiet atmosphere enhances the walk – the sounds of cars, people, are for the most part absent. Signs are posted along the way to notify visitors that people are in retreat here, requesting that they not be disturbed.
Views along the pathway up are inspiring too. The expanse of the San Luis Valley is spread out below. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are above. Tibetan prayer flags flap in the breeze, they line the route up to the stupa. Pine tree scent, the wind. It is easy to repeat a chant along the whole length of the hike – “Om Mani Padme Hung”
Evening is a time when one can encounter several people heading up to the stupa. And much of the time they retained a reverent silence. Most circled the stupa at least three times, and stayed to enjoy the sunset. I hiked up two evenings in a row. The second evening a man came up followed by a puppy. He broke the silence with encouragement for the puppy, and it followed him on his circumambulations, tail wagging, appearing to skip happily behind him.
The front of the stupa is covered with the gifts of pilgrims who have come. Numerous scarves – katas and other bright-colored scarves are crowded along with other precious objects people have left. Some sticks of incense were available to burn as well.
A space is also available for meditation in the home of one of the local members of KTTG. My bed and breakfast host urged me to spend some time meditating there, so I also had the chance to enjoy the solitude of a beautiful practice space.
Crestone is a two-day drive from the Twin Cities area, and offers a variety of opportunities for retreat and to see lamas who travel through to give talks at the various centers.
To visit Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomang’s web site click here.
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