By RICHARD VARA
Houston Chronicle Religion Editor
The Houston community will get a rare glimpse of relics of the Buddha and many of his revered disciples in a display open next weekend at Jade Buddha Temple.
The relics are on a worldwide tour to raise donations for the construction of a 500-foot-tall Buddha statue and shrine in Kushinagar, India. Once the tour is completed in 2008, the relics will be placed in the shrine.
“When you see the relics, there is a connection between you and the Buddha,” said Abbot Hung-I Shih, spiritual leader of the Chinese Buddhist temple in southwest Houston. “Through relics we know Buddha was on Earth 2,500 years ago, and it is the proof.”
The relics generally consist of pearl-like crystals and small bone fragments found among the ashes after the cremation of the Buddha and his most venerated followers.
Among the relics on the tour will be those of the Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, and his closest disciples, Maudgalyayana and Sariputa. The tour also features relics of venerated teachers and disciples from China, India and Tibet.
A hair from the Dalai Lama is included. While not a relic, it is considered a holy object since the Dalai Lama is regarded as the reincarnation of a holy teacher.
“When we see the relics we also want to remember the Buddha’s teachings,” Hung-I said. Seeing them encourages Buddhists to live out the teachings of kindness and compassion taught by the Buddha.
The relics are also reminders of the supernatural, he added. Some of the relics have the power to grow in size or transform themselves into several relics, Hung-I said.
“Yes, it is miraculous, but we don’t emphasize this part too much because in Buddhism we have the basic concepts of the changing nature of things and impermanence,” he said. “We don’t want to encourage people to see relics as some kind of opportunity to have miracles in their lives.”
The tour was organized by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, a revered Tibetan Buddhist leader, to help fund the Maitreya Project. The project includes the large-scale Buddha statue and shrine under construction on 750 acres in Kushinagar. Kushinagar, a place of pilgrimage, is believed to be where the Buddha died.
The massive statue and shrine are being constructed to last 1,000 years, according to the project’s Web site, www.mai-treyaproject.org.
Many of the viewers of the relics will experience peace and tranquility, Hung-I predicted.
“I feel this is an opportunity for us to remember Buddha’s teaching on loving kindness and compassion and right understanding. This will enhance harmony for the society,” he said.
View the relics
Heart Shrine Relic Tour
Where: Jade Buddha Temple, 6969 Westbranch Drive
When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. July 31 and Aug.1
Admission: Free
