The Temple of the Great Contemplation, located at Merigar, in the foothills of Mount Amiata in Tuscany, Italy, was conceived and designed by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and inaugurated by H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in May 1990.
The paintings, inscriptions, and decorative motifs adorning the temple were described and rendered in sketches by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in his manuscript Merigar’s Temple of the Great Liberation Through Seeing which was used as a guide by the artists and artisans who came from Tibet and other lands to paint and embellish the temple.
The execution of the paintings, inscriptions, and decorations was mainly carried out in 1994. The painters for the interior panels included lama and artist Drugu Choegyal Rinpoche as well as Tsering Wangchuk and Sönam Palmo from Tashi Jong monastery in India. Many other skilled artists assisted.
Inside the temple above each of its eight glass windows are rectangular wooden panels portraying masters from various religious traditions of Tibet who were also Dzogchen practitioners.
On the western side at the center of the west panel there is the figure of Samantabhadra, symbol of the profound emptiness of the dharmakāya with on his right side Vajrasattva, symbol of the infinite richness of the saṃbhogakāya. Appearing to their right and left in alternate order is an extraordinary representation of the Twelve Primordial Masters of the nirmāṇakāya dimension, the twelfth of whom is Buddha Shakyamuni on the extreme right. Finally, on the extreme left is Shenrab Miwo, founder of the ancient Bön religion.
On the southwest panel is Master Garab Dorje surrounded by the masters, male and female, of the Dzogchen Semde lineage; on the south panel are depicted masters of the Ancient school, the Nyingmapa, with Guru Padmasambhava flanked by Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal at the center; on the north panel is Machig Labdrön surrounded by treasure discoverers or tertöns connected to the Chöd teaching; on the northwest panel are masters belonging to the Bön Dzogchen lineage as well as Dzogchen masters of the Buddhist tradition, such as Rigdzin Changchub Dorje, Ayu Khandro, and Nyagla Pema Dündul; on the southeast panel we find masters of the Kagyüpa school with Marpa and his famous disciple Milarepa in the central position; on the north-east panel appear the Sakyapa masters with Sachen Kunga Nyingpo at their center; and finally, on the eighth and last panel on the eastern side of the temple we see masters of the Kadampa-Gelugpa school with its supreme head, H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
Now that thirty years have passed since their creation the wonderful paintings of the various lineages of masters on the these panels have become damaged and need immediate and expert renovation.
For this work to be carried out with the utmost care Merigar and the Dynamic space of the Elements have requested specialists in restoration to come to the Gar to undertake this delicate work. In order to cover their time and expenses please consider participating in this important undertaking with a donation to help to preserve the work of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu for the future.
In addition, last summer the Dynamic Space team worked on renewing the decorations of the outer ring ceiling inside the Temple. Last year they managed to finish five sides of the octagonal ceiling. Next summer they will be completing the remaining three and are also requesting donations to help them complete this work.
Donations can be sent to:
Bank account: Merigar Dzogchen Community – Loc. Merigar 58031 Arcidosso Grosseto Italy
Banca: INTESA SAN PAOLO SpA Filiale di Arcidosso – GR
C/C 3503
IT35E0306972163100000003503
Codice BIC o SWIFT: BCITITMM
For more information please go to the donations page.
For further information, please contact [email protected]
Many thanks to all!
