"Tara Mandala is a ‘tersa’, a land of hidden treasures, and a sacred place of Tara. Thousands of yogis and yoginis will reach realization here."
-Adzom Rinpoche

"We talk about the 500-year plan rather than the five-year plan."
-Tsultrim Allione

For more than ten years we have lived lightly on this land, getting to know its ways, the air currents, the animal migration corridors, and the positions of the sun and moon during various seasons of
the year. As part of our educational retreats, we have worked to restore the land - bringing a message to young and old about ecology and living in harmony with the earth.

Continuing to hold these values, we are now ready to build the permanent structures that will create a firm base for individual and group retreats that foster peace and wholeness in the individual and in our society. At this auspicious moment, we acknowledge the many hands and hearts that have helped us accomplish our mission so far.

Buildings and Phases:

PHASE 1: $2,000,000

INFRASTRUCTURE:
Utility building for water filtration and purification systems, solar power storage, a workshop and storage. Solar panels and backup power systems, underground wiring and road improvements.

COMMUNITY BUILDING:
The Community Building will be the administrative and facilitating center of Tara Mandala. Meals will be prepared, served, and eaten here. Administrative business will be carried out here. This building will contain a kitchen, dining room, reception area, offices, bookstore and bathrooms with showers. This building will serve as the operational center for Tara Mandala.

CORE BUILDING FOR THREE-YEAR RETREAT:
A small temple for gatherings and teachings, plus storage and distribution of supplies to support those in three-year retreat. Small individual hermitages for long-term retreat.

Two leadership gifts totaling $800,000 have created a firm base for the capital campaign. These gifts will enable us to begin construction of the Community Building in 2004.

PHASE 2: $1,500,000

TARA MANDALA TEMPLE:
The temple will be designed as a three dimensional Mandala and will be the first temple dedicated to the female Buddha Tara in the Western hemisphere.
First floor, symbolizing enlightened body, the Nirmanakaya: Meditation and Teaching Hall with sculptures of the mandala of 21 Taras and wall frescoes.
Second floor, symbolizing enlightened speech, the Sambogakaya: Library, Translation Center, repository for Tibetan texts and meeting rooms for teacher-student dialogue.
Third floor, symbolizing formless enlightened mind, the Dharmakaya: Small, round, luminous space devoid of ornament.

RETREATANT HOUSING:
20 rooms with individual sinks, collective toilets and showers.

"Because the land itself is steady in the awareness of Tara, it is a place of great blessing which facilitates and encourages relaxation into the very ground of being. The teachers, founders and staff support a deep process of personal exploration that is balanced through interconnectedness and rejoices in collaboration."
- Carol Hoy

PHASE 3: $1,000,000

BARN-WORKSHOP: space for herb processing, pottery and other cottage industries that generate sustainable income for Tara Mandala.

RESIDENT HOUSING: 10 resident cottages with sinks, privacy, gas cook stoves and wood heat stoves.

ELDER HOUSING: residences for elders wishing to do long-term retreat.

Total funds required for all phases: $4,500,000
Learn more about supporting our capital campaign here.
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What We Have Accomplished:
• The land, 600 acres, has been fully paid for, securing Tara Mandala for future generations.
• Five retreat cabins and six yurts have been built and are already serving both long and short-term retreats.
• Many people have come from all over the world for both group and solo retreats.
• Teachers from Buddhist and other wisdom traditions have been inspired to support our vision for a place of sanctuary in chaotic times.
• A twenty-foot stupa, a Buddhist reliquary, acknowledged by many as “the most beautiful stupa in America” was built from local stone ornamented with hand carved snow lions. It contains many important relics including eighteen from Shakyamuni Buddha.
• Native American elders have led ceremonies and vision quests to initiate teenagers into adulthood during family retreats. Some of these children now return to serve as staff and to do retreat themselves. Our Ute neighbors have, from the beginning, supported our presence here.
• Land restoration efforts have included the creation of five ponds, the planting of hundreds of native trees and shrubs, soil building, and the reseeding of native grasses.
• A large vegetable and medicinal herb garden has been planted, and a successful medicinal herb cottage industry has been established to help support our activities.
• A spiritually-oriented bookstore and mail order business have been established.

Spring 2002 brought several significant improvements on the land.
•We built four flush toilets with sinks and running hot water in two small buildings near the kitchen. For everyone who has experienced years of portapotties, this was a great improvement. They are low water use toilets and feed into a wetlands. We did flush rather than composting toilets because of the possible fly contamination in the nearby outdoor kitchen.
•Our new well, replacing the one that dried up in 2001, was made possible by a grant from the Nalanda Foundation and Lynn Hays and Nancy Nordhoff. It produces a gush of 25 gallons/minute, and performed perfectly even during the worst drought in 100 years which followed.
•The container and cement foundation for a large composting toilet near the gompa yurt was constructed.
•Roads were improved and gravel added in key places.
•Two new yurts were erected on platforms with nice sun decks. The largest is a 20' yurt called ‘Cat Hill.’ It overlooks the sweat lodge, stupa, gompa and future temple sight. It receives great solar exposure and is outfitted with a gas stove with oven, a small sink and counter space and a wood stove.
•A second yurt, called the ‘teacher’s yurt’ replaces the teacher’s tent where so many amazing things have happened including Adzom Rinpoche being surrounded by a round rainbow while teaching under the tarp in 2001. This is a 16' yurt with a deck, stove, and other amenities.
•‘Stupa View,’ the 14' yurt above the stupa got a propane cook stove and a kitchen counter.
Now all three of these yurts are functional for the year-round staff and retreatants.
•‘Luminous Peak’ cabin got lots of use this year and inspired us to build another cabin further down the road toward the hidden valley. This is now enclosed for winter with windows, doors, roof and walls, awaiting spring to be finished with interior walls and an adobe floor. It’s bigger than any of the other cabins and will be great for long term, as well as couples retreat.
•In order to prepare for the winter retreat with Adzom Rinpoche we also installed a propane heater in the large 30' ‘Padma’ yurt beyond the ponds. It became a dormitory for that retreat and continued to serve multiple purposes over the summer.
•Plans for the temple and community building with a kitchen/dining room and housing are being discussed and planning is moving forward.

These accomplishments have been achieved in wilderness living conditions. Guests have camped out, while permanent residents have lived in tents during the summer and canvas yurts through the winters that can see temperatures go well below zero. We believe it’s time to provide more support for those coming to Tara Mandala.
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