This elegant garden can be found in Arlee, Montana right between Missoula and Glacier National Park. We stopped as we were traveling South towards Missoula for the Pearl Jam show in Jeff Ament’s hometown. It is a quick stop and well worth your time. I gotta say, your chances of seeing one thousand Buddhist statues on a large piece of land in the United States is pretty slim.
The garden follows the shape of a Dharma Wheel with each spoke representing the Buddhist noble eight-fold path. There were multiple signs asking that we travel in the clockwise rotation to embrace the meaning of “always moving in the right direction.”
A 24 foot tall statue of Yum Chenmo, “The Great Mother” sits in the middle surrounded by one thousand buddhist statues. A white plaque is mounted below each statue demonstrating the name of the donator. The grounds were well kept with colorful lush and fresh cut green grass that must be well watered because the surrounding mountains are dry and brown.
I would love to learn more about Buddhism. One of the hikers on my Machu Picchu trek briefly explained the philosophy of the “religion” as we hiked along the Inca Trail. From my understanding, Buddhism is more about being a good person, being mindful, benefiting yourself by helping others and exhausting as much negativity as possible. How can you argue with that?
To learn more about the Garden of One Thousand Buddhas or to make a donation, please visit their website here.