Seven Reasons to Support Padmakara Garden

1. Make new events possible.We plan to introduce Kum Nye Tibetan Yoga dance, lama dance, family programs, and other programs that take full advantage of the new stone-paved central courtyard that Padmakara Garden will feature.

2. Add additional classroom space to expand our capacity for weekly courses and programs. Padmakara Garden will include an outdoors gazebo-style classroom, perfect for Kum Nye Tibetan yoga, meditation, and other programs.

3. Create and strengthen community. This multi-use space, particularly the stone-paved courtyard, will support an expanded capacity of attendees for Buddhist holidays, ceremonies, and celebrations.

4. Create a sacred space for contemplation and meditation. This is a space for retreatants, students, and visitors to practice, reflect, and simply be. A healing natural quality – lush greenery, water features, gentle chimes – will be complemented with sacred art, in a garden-scape designed for practice, including a new hillside path for walking meditation and areas to sit and meditate. The garden will be open to the public, free of charge, between 9 AM – 7 PM from Monday – Friday and on Sundays, and between 9 AM – 5 PM on Saturdays.

5. Create a unique cultural heritage meditation garden for the benefit of the general public, giving something new to the East Bay community. We are inspired by the example of the Japanese Tea Garden in SF; while our space is more modest, we are committed to using high-quality materials and relying on bespoke design that incorporates modern architectural accents with traditional Tibetan sacred art. We envision that it could draw visitors from the Bay Area and beyond who might appreciate it as a beautiful example of a Tibetan sacred garden sanctuary.

6. Support the continuation of these teachings, and the next generation of this community. We are the one of the first Tibetan Buddhist centers in the US, and as part of Tarthang Tulku’s mandala of organizations, have put forth an incredible amount of energy into supporting the sangha in Asia. Now it’s time to grow our roots here in the Bay Area. We are also an entry point for those who wish to become more involved, ranging from part-time volunteers to those who dedicate their lives to supporting Dharma projects.

7. Nyingma Institute is a non-profit, all volunteer-based organization. We rely strongly on private donor support and individuals like you in order to accomplish our mission to provide programs for the well-being of our students and the general public, sharing healing wisdom and a path of inner freedom.

What will be the most noticeable changes (in Phase 1)?

• The space will be unified, no longer divided between the Main and New Houses by a pinch point.
• A courtyard with beautiful stone paving and a lotus medallion design in the center will replace the loose flagstone paths that were in poor condition.
• Stairs leading up to the garden will be moved and rebuilt.
• A new path for walking meditation that loops above the garden on the hillside.
• Bamboo groves that create a lush, protected space.
• New stepping stones and foliage between the Prayer Wheel House and the courtyard.
• An expanded pond with refined edges that stretch along the east edge of the courtyard, with small spouts of water falling from one of the retaining walls.
• The retaining wall along the east edge will be rebuilt and finished with a stone veneer.
• New flagstone paving around the Prayer Wheel House.
• Platforms added for 8 stupas along the west side of the garden, along the Main House.
• An expanded deck, which will have an overhang or roof-like structure added later.

Other important changes: 

• The retaining wall on the lower level alongside the building is falling apart. We will remove some of the soil from the slope and replace it with a new, lower wall.
• A new drainage system for the garden will be installed.
• An electrical connection will be installed, so that we can add safety lighting and use speakers for events.

What’s staying the same? 

• The Prayer Wheel House, Enlightenment Stupa, and smaller stupa will remain in their present places on the north side of the garden. We will update the casing and roof of the Prayer Wheel House at a later point.
• We are saving as many of the trees and plants as possible.

Cost and Phases of the Project

Costs

As a completely volunteer-based and volunteer-run non-profit, we will do as much as we can ourselves with skilled volunteer labor. However, we still need to cover the not insignificant costs of permits, materials, and specialized professional labor and equipment rentals for many stages of the project.

Phase 1

This current campaign will fund: proper drainage to protect the property; replacement of worn-out retaining walls; refinement of the pond and water features; creation of a smooth, level outdoor plaza or courtyard; foundations for a new open-air classroom; foundations for eight Stupas along the western edge of the plaza; and a donor plaque.

Phase 2

At a later stage, we will install various new sacred art monuments, including: eight Stupas on the western edge of the garden; traditional water prayer wheels on the hillside that interact with the new water feature; and eventually a large statue of Padmasambhava or the Buddha on the hill alongside a ceremonial bronze cast bell.