[Buddha-l] Buddhist stupa to be moved from NM Petroglyph Park

[Christopher Fynn]

On 25/09/2012, Richard Hayes <rhayes at unm.edu> wrote:

> http://www.daily-times.com/ci_21619585/buddhist-stupa-be-moved-from-nm-petroglyph-park
>
> Buddhist stupa to be moved from NM Petroglyph Park
>
> ALBUQUERQUE (AP) ― A Buddhist stupa has been order removed from New Mexico's
> Petroglyph National Monument.
>
> The National Park Service said Monday that park service will remove the
> religious item from the park this week after getting an opinion from the
> Department of Interior's solicitor general. The solicitor general ruled last
> month that keeping the Buddhist stupa violates the Constitution on
> established religion.
>
> The agency purchased the ten-foot structure containing Buddhist relics in
> 1990 after acquiring lands for Petroglyph National Monument. But the group
> Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility later asked the National
> Park Service to review the constitutionality of keeping the stupa and the
> federal land management policies.
>
> Rick Frost, spokes for the agency, said the stupa will be given to the
> Buddhist community in Albuquerque.
>
> Richard

Was this stupa already there when the NPS acquired the land? If so,
what is the harm in keeping it there? Or is the NPS also going to
start removing existing natural features that may be sacred in Native
American religion? Perhaps the US Treasury should also remove "In God
We Trust" from US currency notes.

Here in Bhutan we have stupas at almost every turn of village
footpaths and trails. They are rather nice and are said to keep the
local earth-spirits, nagas, etc. pacified.  I recently helped pay for
the renovation of a substantial stupa on a hill overlooking one
village. The people there
told me that, since its restoration, the crows and wild boars have
stopped attacking their crops.