During the summer of '89, a small group would meet here one evening a week. This was the first structure ever purposed for non-christian spiritual communion in our area. Time spent here was informally referred to as 'rasayana' practice, from an old Indian term for alchemy. After a point, the group was quickly encountering limitations most effectively addressed through regular meditation and mahayana practice. It was here we first discussed news that two Tibetan lamas, brothers, would be giving teachings somewhere in Tennessee. Although most of us had read Alexandra David-Neel, Evans-Wentz, Lama Govinda and Chögyam Trungpa, none of us had ever met a lama. Weeks later, on autumn equinox, seven of us took buddhist refuge vows with the Khenpo RInpoches in a log cabin on the Cumberland Plateau.

A fire altar now occupies this spot on Turtle Hill.