BUDDHIST COMPLEX SHARES ITS SPLENDOR.

Byline: Michelle Locke Associated Press 

Like the pioneers who forged their way west to the sparkling promise of the Pacific, Tibetan Buddhism has found a refuge on a windswept outpost of California's North Coast.

Perched on what was once an overgrazed meadow, the Odiyan Buddhist Center - billed as the largest Tibetan Buddhist Center in the Western Hemisphere - is a towering monument to the ancient religion, looking down over dark green firs to the endless sea.

On a clear day, the colors are dazzling - copper-plated domes burnished under an azure sky, formal gardens glowing a vivid emerald and a 113-foot gold-leafed monument, brilliant as the midday sun.

Sounds emphasize the stillness - the delicate chime of bells strung overhead, the snap of prayer flags billowing in the wind, the solitary cry of a bird wheeling its way to the sea.

Those who helped create the fabulous temple see more than a piece of the Far East imported to the stunning vistas of the California coast.

``It's the phoenix rising from the ashes of the destruction of Tibetan Buddhism,'' says Sylvia Gretchen, who has been involved in the 21-year project since its inception.

Odiyan is the brainchild of exiled Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku, who also founded Berkeley's Nyingma Institute for the study of Buddhism as well as Dharma Publishing and Dharma Press.

Work began in 1975, with a crew of up to 50 full-time workers living on site.

The crew was short on money, which mainly came from donors and from revenues of Tulku's other projects, but long on effort and ingenuity.

They needed lumber, so they learned to mill their own wood. They needed steel beams, so they negotiated with the state Department of Transportation for beams from a dismantled freeway. Marble flooring came from schools where it was being discarded as part of earthquake retrofitting.

``This was calling every night to donors. This was starting a little bakery to provide funds. This was selling sandwiches,'' says Gretchen.

Organizers estimate they spent $10 million to $12 million on materials. They say they don't have a cost estimate for the finished product, although with its unique architecture, religious meaning and rich furbishings they believe it is probably priceless.

Numbers behind the finished product are colossal: Six major temples, a 113-foot gold stupa (a traditional Buddhist monument to enlightenment), four libraries with thousands of sacred texts, more than 800 prayer flags (brightly colored squares printed with prayers), 1,242 prayer wheels and 200,000 clay offerings.

The prayer wheels, large copper cylinders, are a story in themselves. Inside are about a mile of printed mantras, or prayers. Turning the wheels is believed to activate the energy of the prayers.

In a 20th-century touch, electric motors keep these prayer wheels moving, producing a smooth hum - and the occasional squeak. Another modern footnote; some smaller prayer wheels carry microfilmed mantras. The grand total? About 100 billion prayers per minute, at least according to Sally Sorenson, an Odiyan student.

The complex's main building is the three-tiered Odiyan Temple built in the shape of a three-dimensional mandala, a geometric design that symbolizes balance and order. The copper-plated roofs tilt up at the corners (an architectural challenge) giving the temple a slightly flyaway look.

To the west stands the 11-story Vajra Temple. The octagonal building, made of steel and glass, contains 108,000 statues of the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Padmasambhava.

The complex is essentially a private retreat for serious students of Tibetan Buddhism. However, a $25 tour, which includes talks and refreshments, is being offered to the public this weekend and the weekend of June 15-16.

The development of the center has been watched with interest in Buddhist circles, said Richard Payne, dean of the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley.

``I think it will be an important location for people to practice in a fairly intense and extended fashion,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1) Prayer flags line the path to the Main Temple of the multimillion-dollar Tibeten Buddhist complex.

(2) Volunteer Brad Calkins fixes the prayer wheels inside the Odiyan Temple.

(3) Lama Pega does masonry work on new water fountains around the Vajra Temple in preperation for this weekend's opening.

Associated Press