Toosday

We had a wonderful Chenrezig puja at our KTC center last night. The two female custodians of the relics brought them to the center last night. They were encased and placed before our shrine. Almost 30 people attended this special puja and it was very exhilerating. Here are some photos:

Three members of the KTC JAX Board of Directors with the two organizers and attendents at the special Chenrezig puja. The relics are contained within the yellow silk casing to the right of the people.

The encased relics on the small table before Bardor Tulku Rinpoche's seat. In front of the casing are offerings. Michael Turnquist, Founder and Director of KTC Jacksonville sits to the right of the relics.

The goal of the Relics Tour is to bestow blessings on those who view the relics, to inspire practitioners, and to raise funds to build a shrine in India that will permanently house the relics. I know funds were raised. I have confidence that blessings were received by those who viewed the relics and worked for their safe arrival and departure. I can say that I was greatly inspired by being in the presence of the relics. It is almost an indescribable feeling to be in the same room with relics from the historical Gautama Buddha and the 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. To view the writing of Yeshe Tsogyal in two fragments from letters she wrote to Padmasambhava sent shivers up my spine. It was a very physical response. I have a sense that the full impact of this experience is not yet perceivable by me or others.

Also on view was the relics of Lama Tsongkhapa, a 14th century teacher from the Amdo Province in Eastern Tibet. He taught:

"If you knew how hard it is to acquire,
Living the average life would be impossible.

If you saw its great benefits,
You would be sorry if it stayed meaningless.

If you thought about death,
You would make preparations for your future lives.

If you thought about cause and effect,
You would stop being reckless."