Over 25 years ago, in 1980 on a snowy November day, a mysterious man dressed completely in white robes arrived at Vidette Lake in Deadman Valley 30 kilometres east and 50 kilometers north of Kamloops. He claimed to have found the Centre of the Universe and introduced himself to the then owner of the Vidette Lake Gold Mine Resort in Kamloops, British Columbia. Not knowing what was happening, the owner replied “Welcome my friend,” and invited him into his cabin, a former 1860's Fur Trading Post.
The mysterious man turned out to be an apprentice monk who had been sent from San Francisco to verify the existence of the Centre of the Universe. Tibetan monks believe that the Centre of the Universe is located on the earth and using a series of tests, it can be verified. The Rinpoche, or Master Teacher, in San Francisco had simply pointed to a location on a map that he had never seen and claimed that it was the spot. He then sent the apprentice to the Kamloops area and on to Vidette Lake to conduct a series of tests. This was the white-robed man who showed up in 1980.
Once the apprentice monk had conducted a few tests and it was determined that this could very well be the Centre of the Universe, he returned to report back to his Master Teacher. The next visit that occurred was in 1984 and this time the Master Teacher and an entourage of followers attended. At the end of the tests including the calming of spirits by burning aromatic fuel in a fire, it was verified that this spot, on top of a grassy knoll with a commanding view of the valley and lake, was the Centre of the Universe.
