Relics for the heart

The pearl-like beads of crystals often evoke deep emotions from those who behold them – inspiring some to pray for peace, to do charitable acts, to delve within themselves and explore their spirituality.

These pieces are said to be the sacred relics of the Buddha, his closest disciples, and other Buddhist masters throughout the centuries.

Since 2001, these rare and precious relics have been displayed all over the world in an effort to share their blessings with people of all faiths and spiritual traditions.

This weekend, the Heart Shrine Relic Tour will make its way to Spokane, where people who view the relics can also take part in blessing ceremonies, talks on Buddhism and an interfaith panel discussion on compassion, forgiveness and world peace.

“We thought it would be a wonderful thing for people to experience – nothing like this has ever happened in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene,” said the Venerable Thubten Chodron, founder of Sravasti Abbey in Newport, Wash., and one of the visit’s organizers. “The relics can inspire people to live better lives and to have more faith – not religious faith, but faith in humanity.”

More than 1,000 pieces in all, the relics were found among the cremation ashes of the Buddha and other Buddhist masters. Known as “ringsel” by Tibetans, some of the crystalline beads were salvaged from statues in Tibet, where they had been enshrined for thousands of years before the Communist occupation in 1959.

The relics were collected over the years by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Chodron’s teacher and a renowned spiritual leader. In March 2001, he released the collection for worldwide exhibition, allowing tens of thousands of people to experience them at temples, meditation centers and other locations. Eventually, the relics will be placed in the “heart shrine” of the 500-foot-tall statue of Maitreya Buddha in Kushinagar, India. The collection includes donations from the Dalai Lama as well as other Buddhist masters from a number of traditions and countries. Others also came from monasteries and museums.

The relics embody the masters’ spiritual qualities of compassion and wisdom, according to Chodron, a Western Buddhist monastic in the Tibetan tradition.

“Being with the relics can be quite powerful,” she said. “Seeing the relics brings to mind the spiritual qualities of these masters and how they lived their lives for the benefit of others. … It inspires and uplifts the mind and gives people a tremendous sense of hope and inspiration in their lives. That optimism then makes it easier for someone to act with virtuous and wholesome motivation.”

People who have experienced the Heart Shrine Relic Tour in the past describe it as a rare, inspiring event – an opportunity to see rare objects of beauty while deepening their spirituality.

Barbara McDaniel, who lived in Coeur d’Alene until she moved to the abbey in Newport almost four months ago, described the relics as “little jewels in glass cases.” She first saw them a few years ago in a Vietnamese temple in Seattle. Although there were many people in the room, being in the midst of the relics made her aware of the bond she shares with others, she said.

“It cultivated this idea of loving kindness and a realization that we are all interconnected,” McDaniel said.

During blessing ceremonies throughout the weekend, visitors will get the chance to have the relics placed on their heads, according to organizers.

People’s experiences with the relics often depend on their attitude and state of mind, Chodron said. There’s a tendency to think of the relics as having a power of their own, she said, but it’s really “an interactive process between the heart and mind.”

“Instead of expecting the relics to give you some zap-wow experience, people can come in with some contemplation of wanting to have a good heart and to open their heart to other human beings,” Chodron said. “If they come in with that attitude, then they will have a good experience.”

Chodron, an author and speaker who has studied and practiced Buddhism for more than 30 years, established Sravasti Abbey in 2003. The only monastery of its kind in the region, Sravasti is a place for monastics but is also open to the public, to people seeking a quiet place for meditation and to learn more about Buddhist teachings.

As part of the Heart Shrine Relic Tour this weekend, Chodron will speak about inspiration, blessing and ways to create peace. She’ll also talk about the Buddha and other masters and the techniques they used to transform their minds, let go of anger and generate “a sincere love for others.”

“By practicing a spiritual path, people can free themselves from self-centered thoughts, from anger, from delusion, resentment and greed,” Chodron said. “We’re not inherently evil people, but we can transform ourselves if we put energy into practicing the path.”

Virginia de Leon can be reached at virginiad@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5312.