November 2006

Recently I had the unexpected and unforgettable honour of being in the presence of Shakyamuni Buddha, who was born Prince Siddharta in 563 BCE. It was made possible by the Maitreya Project: Heart Shrine Relic Tour.

It began when a handful of friends headed off to Ottawa for a fund-raising tour of Buddhist relics, which included items from His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Happy to take the hour drive together to Ottawa for a good cause, we set off with sheets of information procured from the internet. It was on our way there that we began to realize these relics were objects left behind in the ashes after enlightened beings were cremated. These venerated objects were the essence of spiritual realizations — expressions of pure mind.

The purpose of the tour was to offer westerners an opportunity to experience the energy of loving kindness that emanates from relics generated by those who have renounced all attachment and fully embraced compassion. It is said to be a great purification for the mind. Donations were being accepted for the building of the Maitreya Buddha project, which will house these and other relics within a 500 ft Buddha being constructed in Kushinagar, India, where Buddha passed into nirvana.

Within the Maitreya Buddha (‘maitri’ is Sanskrit for ‘love’) will be temples and places to commune with the energies of these sacred relics and to contemplate a loving, kind heart. Expected to be completed in 2008, it will be a monumental structure, with the grandeur of the pyramids, or the great stone Buddhas carved into the mountains that were mindlessly destroyed by the Taliban. Built to last a thousand years, the Maitreya Buddha complex will inspire compassion in the 21st century.

As we entered the large reception hall where the relics were displayed, we became transfixed by the altar that stood in the middle. Everything was a beautiful rich yellow. At the center of the platform sat a small seven foot version of the Maitreya Buddha, with indigo hair and elaborate yellow umbrellas offering shade. Smaller Buddhas faced the four directions and in front of each of them were bowls and bowls of water, also coloured yellow, like the silk table coverings. Two women began bringing each delicate container out, one at a time, carrying them carefully on their crown chakras. As the women finished, monks then stood up and began their singing prayers. We were transported.

Later, on the drive home, when we felt safe to break the rapture for measured moments to speak, we did compare where the Buddha-bliss first washed over us. Speaking for myself, it came as items began entering the display case just six feet from where we were sitting. I felt a fire at the bottom of my spine which slowly began moving up and into my heart and hands. At one moment I felt concern of being overcome, then it shifted into a most manageable ecstasy.

Before we began viewing the relics, we were reminded of what Buddha had said before he died; that when he was cremated there would be relics left in the ashes and that when we were in the presence of the relics, we would be in his presence.

Immediately after the monks finished singing, our little group was the first to be invited up to experience the relics. After washing the small Buddha, asking that the sufferings of every living being disappear and be replaced with joy and gratitude, I approached the first display case that had seemed to trigger the initial fire. The words ‘beautiful one, thank you for being,’ formed in my mind, said affectionately as if to a deeply loved friend, and the energy came in great waves of 'loving kindness'. This time tears of joy came over me. There in the case were all these beautiful little bowls of pearls and stones that had been left in the ashes of Buddha. The experience was deeply intimate, powerful, relieving somehow, absolutely affirming of the Oneness of all things and the power of love.

Many of the relics looked like pearls, others were like strips of saffron and gold, crystals, and smooth, tiny pebbles. Among the relics were some from Shakyamuni Buddha's contemporary Heart Disciples, who also reached enlightenment. A cluster of crystals were from His Holiness the First Karmapa, who also left his heart intact in his funeral pyre. These were physical expressions from beings who dedicated their lives to altruism and compassion.

At one point, moving through the displayed relics, I happened to look over at a friend, just as a great tear rolled down her smiling face only to plop onto a beautiful cloth that was part of the altar.

Later, as we drove off into the night, blessed by rain, we delighted at the thought of Monique's tear of joy, heading off to tour the world, and eventually being enshrined in what will likely be one of the most loving and living wonders of the world — the Maitreya Buddha of Kushinagar.