Volunteer Trail Work Opportunity at
Peace Park Followed by Free BBQ!

Receive a MONTH of UNLIMITED FREE Hikes with The Mid-Atlantic Hiking Group for Volunteering for This Event!

Active MEMBERS of The Mid-Atlantic Hiking Group who participate in this volunteer work day will receive a month of free hikes (regular 2 dollar hikes only, sorry, no free camping trips or special events) with The Mid-Atlantic Hiking Group. The free hikes will be for the 30 day time period immediatly following this volunteer event. These are provided by me personally, and are a token of my appreciation for helping us take care of some of the trails and areas we frequent! In order to receive your free hikes, you MUST RSVP on this page (contacting me after the event to let me know you were there but did not sign up will not result in receipt of this incentive). Ater the event, please confirm with me that you did attend and participated in the event for its duration. Thanks so much for your time and for participating in this community building event. Not only is this for a great cause, it will be a ton of fun too and I appreciate that you are considering helping us to improve this outstanding area!   

The trails at Peace Park are in high need of some loving care! If you've never been here before, it is one of the most serene and interesting places to hike...(Read trail description below). It also has a fascinating parrot sanctuary (parrots will be on display while we are there).

Another group hiked this park recently and ran into some pretty tough patches...During the walk they ran into some nuns and monks who were doing trail maintenance at the Stupa park. They told them they are still working on clean-up from the Snowpocalypse. (There were many blow-downs) and would absolutely love some help on the trails.

Some Pics of Areas In Need of Care

Supplies They Have Available to Us

We are scheduling four hours for us to help clean up the Blue and Green garden areas and/or whatever else is needed. If you have tools to bring, that is awesome. The nuns have told us they'd provide us with tools if we do not have them. As far as equipment, they have about 8 pairs of gloves, a couple of line trimmers, 2 chain saws, several hand tools (rakes, shovels, hole diggers, etc) a couple of sets of loppers, and pruners. Please bring any loppers or a line trimmers that you might have. Also, if you have work gloves I would advise you bring them since their supplies are limited.

FREE Post Cleanup BBQ 

We can rest afterwords by joining a BBQ they will prepare for us which starts at 6 p.m. and hosted by the park.

Across River Road from the KPC Temple in Poolesville, Maryland, is a 65-acre Peace Park, open to the public during daylight hours. You do not have to be a Buddhist to enjoy the peaceful miles of walking trails that lead to meditation gardens and magnificent stupas, consecrated structures that are considered to embody the mind of enlightenment.

Sacred Structures in the Peace Park

The focal point of the park is the golden Migyur Dorje Stupa, 35 feet tall, dedicated to physical and spiritual well-being. The stupa contains relics of Migyur Dorje, 17th c. teacher of the founders of the Palyul Lineage. Asian stupas enshrining Migyur Dorje’s relics have long been known as sites for miraculous healing. Inspired by this, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, Spiritual Director of KPC, specially dedicated KPC’s Migyur Dorje Stupa as a place of pilgrimage and spiritual refuge for those with physical and mental afflictions. The customary practice is to walk clockwise around a stupa, making wishing prayers for the benefit of all those, including oneself, who are suffering. Offerings may also be made on the altar bench in front.

The Peace Park is also home to a Long Life Stupa Park, located in the northwest area of the property. This park consists of nine stupas. The central 18-foot stupa is dedicated to the long life of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. The outer circle of smaller stupas consists of a traditional set of eight, each slightly different and symbolic of a significant event in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Click Here to Learn more about KPC’s stupas Meditation Gardens

Five other smaller stupas are sheltered in wooden shrines in five meditation gardens, located at the four points of the compass and at the center of the Peace Park. The central garden is called the White Garden, and is the metaphysical center of the property. The White Garden is dedicated to the Buddha Vairocana, who embodies the quality of the spacious mind, free of contrivances and concepts. This quality represents the purification of ignorance. The garden is located on a lush flood plain and is entered by crossing a graceful arched bridge. Plantings in this garden are white to promote meditation on the associated wisdom.

The gardens at the four points of the compass are similarly dedicated and decorated. The Red Garden, in the western direction, symbolizes discriminating wisdom, the purification of desire.The Buddha associated with this wisdom is Amitabha, Buddha of Limitless Light, whose practice is particularly important at the time of death. The Red Garden is easily accessible from River Road, as is the Yellow Garden, at the southern point. The Yellow Garden symbolizes generosity, the purification of pride, and is associated with the Buddha Ratnasambhava.

With a pleasant hike to the back of the Peace Park, you can reach the Green and Blue Gardens. Green, in the North, symbolizes concerned activity for the benefit of all beings, the purification of envy or jealousy. That garden includes a wetlands always bursting with new green life, as if moist with the very breath of compassion. The Blue Garden, in the eastern direction, symbolizes mirror wisdom, the quality of the imperturbable mind. Mirror wisdom is the purification of anger. The Blue Garden is at the highest point of the property, reached by a sloping trail, with a springtime view of flowering trees and flowing streams.

Also located in the Peace Park is a meditation garden in the Zen style, including a small meditation shelter with benches. This garden is also easily accessible from River Road.

Wildlife

The Peace Park is a wildlife sanctuary. It is not uncommon to see deer, an occasional skunk, fox, rabbits, or opossum. Birders! More than 100 species of birds have been found in the Park, including the Great Horned Owl.

Access

The park is open from dawn to dusk. If you want to visit earlier or at another time, you are welcome to bring your dog for a walk on a leash anytime.

Hope to See You There for This Special Volunteer Event!