Not finding that bliss of enlightenment touted by Hindu pundits, he followed his own path to the Bodi tree where he awakened to the Reality Within and became the Buddha. Such was the effulgence of his joy, wisdom and compassion that, although he never intended it, a major world religion was launched. Of the estimated 100,000 American-born Buddhists in the United States, there has to be a healthy representation on the North Coast.
Every major branch has dedicated adherents here practicing the gentle tenets of their teachers.
They are not greatly organized, mostly unaware of their own numbers and don't proselytize the teaching that brings light and kindliness into their lives. Deborah Mendelsohn of Arcata has been following Vajrayana Buddhism since attending a weekend retreat two years ago in Junction City at Rigdzing Ling. Off state Highway 299 at Dutch Creek Road in Trinity County, the 268-acre temple is on a mesa created in the last century by the ravages of hydraulic strip mining. Today, the exposed plateau is landscaped and healing. At the entrance is a 30-foot monument representing the figure of Guru Rinpoche, responsible for bringing Buddhism to Tibet 1,200 years ago.