Maitripa Photos

The NW Dharma Assocation annual meeting was hosted by the Maitripa Institute. Here are some photos of their sacred space. Remember, it took place in February:

I love the way glitz and popular culture shows up on altars. That was a closeup of this altar featuring the Spiritual Director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, Lama Zopa:

This is an eleven-headed thousand-armed Avalokiteshvara, known in Zen as Kanzeon. The legends say the Bodhisattva's head split apart in grief when s/he saw all the saved ones immediately replaced by other suffering beings in hell.

and the one with the sword that cuts through delusion, Manjusri:

The editor used this next photo of mine in the Dharma News. The Manjusri is to the right of the large Buddha, and the Avalokiteshvara is two altars to the left: