Crystalisations of the Buddha Mind
By Peter Tadd
Loving kindness resides in every person’s heart and is the basis for respect, peace and happiness both individually and globally. The mission of ‘The Maitreya Loving Kindness Tour’ is to bring the blessings of spiritually potent relics from the Buddhist faith to as many people around the world as possible, through events that encourage respect, openness, happiness and conditions for peace.
The tour presents each of us with spiritual objects; tangible products of wisdom and compassion. These are ‘ringsel’ or pearl shaped crystals that miraculously appear in the cremated ashes of realised masters and saints from as far back as the historical Buddha and some of his direct disciples, and from as recently as 2002. The relics on this tour were kept safe in monasteries, temples and in private hands. Ringsel are not only associated with the transition of death however. This tour includes ringsel that fell like rain out of the sky during a ceremony to the Buddha of Purification, Vajrasattva.
The effects of these relics is not only that they fill our senses with beauty but some attendees report unexpected and lasting healing. Others are moved so deeply that they are unable to express it in words. My co-host Tich Walsh felt a lasting smile of the Buddha.
Ven Choden Rinpoche has said, “Being in the presence of the relics is the same as being in the presence of the actual, living Buddha himself… People should understand this is what is happening.”
Teri Teri Gram gave his thoughts at a 2003 event in San Francisco, “I think everyone can benefit from seeing the relics because you can’t put a religious title on love, or God, or anything, you know we all have just come together to pay our respects to the god that is within ourselves as well as in others”.
But their magnificence and very existence present a question about reality itself. Reality is the basis of Buddhist inquiry. The Buddha, that is, all the Buddhas that have existed and the future Maiterya Buddha, will continue to awaken our collective consciousness to the true nature of Mind and the meaning of Existence. All have expressed a singular theme; that loving-kindness is the way forward to understanding self and the meaning of life, and that the heart and the mind are one.
Buddhism is full of beautiful terms on the path of enquiry into reality. Samsara refers to the cycle of death and rebirth in the material world and also the flow between worlds. Teachers are venerated as ‘rinpoche’ meaning ‘precious ones’. The direct path to enlightenment is called ‘vajra yana’ – ‘the diamond vehicle’ and the mind of the Buddha is also often referred to as diamond-like for its purity and strength. Whether we call it Buddha Nature or Holy Spirit, everyone of us has this essence.
Entrance to the events of the tour is free, all that is required is an open mind and a pure heart. People can stay as long as they wish and there are large areas for sitting and meditation. Gracing the event in Cork this August we were honoured to have Ven. Lama Panchen Ötrul Rinpoche, the spiritual director of Jampa Ling in Cavan, to confer blessings with the relics.
