sunday afternoon

I don't know if you have any thing you often do on Sunday afternoons.   

One thing I have never done on a Sunday afternoon is to visit a beautiful Buddhist stupa in a stunning natural setting.  That is just what I did yesterday (Sunday afternoon) with family and friends.   

Although I grew up in India, and visited Buddhist stupas there, I didn't know their meaning and significance then.  I learned, from a brochure and sign at the site,  that stupas are rare here in the West, and it is considered great good fortune to be able to actually visit and see one.  Every stupa is filled to the brim  (and this, as you see in the picture, is a big one!)  with scrolls on which mantras and prayers are written,  sacred relics and objects, blessings from lamas (Buddhist holy men)  etc.   Once the stupa is filled with all of this, it is sealed up, but the energy of the prayers and sacred objects radiates out from the stupa into the world, and is especially beneficent to those who come to the stupa in a spirit of prayer and reverence.   Of course, as at all sacred sites, some people come with no sacred intention, and simply as tourists or out of curiosity.   As with most things in life,  your intent and focus shapes what you experience, and you get out of it what you put into it.   I don't believe there is anything is any building or object in and of itself, which has sacred power.  It is the faith, the belief, the intent of the human heart which imbues it with whatever power and blessing is experienced.    I don't believe that there are only certain places or buildings or objects that are sacred.   Rather,  those considered sacred point to the larger truth that everything created by God is sacred.   But most of us humans need to be reminded of this by learning to cultivate a spirit of reverence and prayer with respect to specific days, places, or objects so that we can grow into the larger spirit of seeing the sacred in all of life.   

      I must confess that walking around the stupa and the grounds, hearing the hundreds of colorful prayerflags fluttering in the breeze, and seeing the beauty of the architecture and the lovely statue of the Buddha overlooking the stupa helped me see the surrounding red rock landscape with a fresh perspective.  Whoever chose the site for this Buddhist stupa knew what they were doing!  

      I suggest that you consider an occasional visit to a sacred site revered by people of one of the world's wisdom traditions some time, and see how it might expand and feed your soul.