We anticipate being able to construct several types of “Hermit Meditation Caves” at our Heavenly Lake retreat facility in Buddha Town. The original concept was to construct special isolated structures to house those who are ready to do long intense meditation retreats (Traditionally that was three years plus a Tibetan fortnight, which was about three months and three days). They need to enable a person to live for years without any contact with the world. Anyone planning to do such a retreat would need certain approvals and receive the necessary initiations and Buddha-Dharma. We still plan on being able to do that, but while disciples are preparing for such a retreat from the outside world, we will also build caves more suited for shorter term retreats, both solitary and as part of group sessions. These facilities can help one prepare for a longer commitment.
The caves would have small bathrooms and be devoid of any electronic signals. They would also need a support system that would provide supplies and food as needed without any interaction necessary between supplier and the meditator. They would be quite small–eight-foot domes with an attached smaller dome for the RV-like bath. However, we anticipate building them slightly larger to better meet the needs of shorter retreatants. To the extent possible, they would rely on natural heating and cooling. Some may also be built without private bathrooms once we have adequate public bathrooms. They are, however, designed to be mostly built of the earth located on the site using techniques that most people could follow. Click individual photos to enlarge. For inspiration, click to see a report on how Dorje Losang, an accomplished disciple of H.H Dorje Chang Buddha III, lived in an isolated cave in China.
This is the foundation of a single dome. The required equipment (tampers, shovels, and wheelbarrows) are shown along with the rolls of plastic tubing and barbed wire used in construction and the pile of earth that will go into the tubes to form the walls.
A prototype meditation dome.
Another partially finished adobe dome with an attached dome. The main dome is larger than what is proposed for our Meditation Caves.
Several prototype single adobe domes.
An eight-foot dome that is a sleeping niche of a single ecodome that would be very similar to our proposed Meditation Caves in style and scale. The collections of balls on the right serve as steps to enable you to climb on roof. The metal is a trellis for vines that can provide privacy and shade. The person standing here is around six-foot, to give you an idea of scale.