Blessings of the Relics

Blessings of the Relics

Relics Born from Faith
Date of Advice:
January 2022
Date Posted:
January 2024

A student saw relics for sale on the internet and asked Rinpoche if they were valid and whether she should buy them.

You can ask me, but my mind is not pure. So many relics are available from Sri Lanka and Burma, so maybe people in those countries make all kinds. I was actually given some relics and I have very small ones. I wonder if they make a lot of money by selling these.

Anyway, it depends so much on faith. How much you able to believe, then you get that many blessings.

You know the story of the old mother who asked her son to bring her the Buddha’s relics, but he always forgot. The last time, he remembered, so on the way home he picked up a dog’s bone and gave it to his mother and said it was a relic of the Buddha. She really believed that it was a relic of Buddha; that she got a real Buddha relic. Then from that bone, small relics were born; the relic pills were born from her strong faith. The condition was the dog’s bone.

For people who bought these relic pills, maybe it’s better not to mention [that they could be fake] if they have already spent their money. Let them believe that they have the Buddha’s relics, then they will get so many blessings. The buddhas can benefit them through that.

I had relics of the Buddha and other great holy beings, but I never saw the relics multiplying. One student, I don’t think she saw Geshe Lama Konchog, but she got his relic and for a long time it has been increasing. She was wearing the relic around her neck. Many people had relics of the Buddha and other highly realized beings, and they multiplied. But for me it has not happened because my mind is like stone.

When people believe this is a buddha’s relic, they pay respect, prostrate, make offerings, circumambulate, etc. Then they get the same merits as actually having paid respect, prostrated, made offerings, circumambulated, etc., to actual relics.

From the sutras, it says that anyone who believes that there’s a buddha, a Mighty One, in front of them, the buddhas are always present for them and always bless their mind and liberate them from all the vices, including delusion and negative karma.

Heruka Relic from Mount Kailash
Date of Advice:
November 2015
Date Posted:
June 2021

Rinpoche gave this advice on how to think about the Heruka relic from Mount Kailash. This relic is often used to give blessings when someone is about to die.

The person who takes the relic can think it is Heruka’s holy mind dharmakaya, and their own mind becomes oneness with Heruka’s holy mind. They should think that strongly and keep the mind in that as much as possible.

If it is difficult to think of Heruka, then think the relic is the guru-buddha’s holy mind dharmakaya, the same.

Think all one's defilements and negative karma are purified.

One’s own mind becomes oneness with the guru-buddha’s holy mind, totally. Totally stay in that and remember it again and again.

Why Relics Glow
Date of Advice:
April 2014
Date Posted:
March 2020

In this advice, Rinpoche discusses the relics of holy beings and advises that seeing the relics emit light depends on people’s karma and merit.

This stupa contains a relic and powerful mantras. When held over the water, it blesses all beings that go below it or are touched by its shadow. Photo: Holly Ansett, October 2016.

When Lama Tsongkhapa’s tooth fell out he gave it to his disciple, Khedrub-je.1 There were two heart disciples, Gyaltsab Rinpoche and Khedrub Rinpoche, and normally there are statues of Lama Tsongkhapa and his two disciples. Khedrub Rinpoche is the one who usually has his eyes open. So, nine relic [pills] came from that [tooth relic.]

When I was in Tibet [in 1987] I received one of those nine relics. It was quite big. Another group had that Lama Tsongkhapa relic and in Taiwan recently light came from the relic. Light shone from that relic.

It seems it affected the relics of the other Kadampa geshes, Lama Atisha and his disciples, then another one and another one, and then the last one, Geshe Lama Konchog’s relic, which was also glowing. That happened and then after one hour the light stopped.

The relics went to Korea and again light came from those relics, in the same way. The light started coming from Lama Tsongkhapa's relic through to the last one, Geshe Lama Khonchog’s relic. So many people came to do prostrations there.

Student: Rinpoche, why did they glow like that?

Rinpoche: I think recently, some time ago, there was one relic where that happened. A Buddha’s relic manifested out and many relics were produced. That happened. So, light came from the relic, just like this time when it happened [in Taiwan and Korea]. I think for the people at that time, those people coming to see this have good karma; they have especially good karma.

Student: They have the karma to see that and to have that experience?

Rinpoche: Yes, yes, yes. This is special and it happened due to their merit. I remember in San Francisco I met a woman at a restaurant and the owner of that restaurant, one Chinese man, said he had become a Buddhist. He went to some place, some temple somewhere, and he saw light coming out of a relic but only he saw it. He said that from that day on he became a Buddhist. So, it seems to be people’s karma. He had the merit to see that. So it’s like that. That’s unbelievable, that it happened. It helps.

I think it’s a spiritual education for many people who don’t know Dharma, to enlighten their mind—to enlighten, to dispel darkness, to enlighten the mind. Like that, to bring enlightenment. It causes, it starts to [bring] omniscience to their mind. From this they can find faith and gradually they are able to develop their mind, to develop wisdom, Dharma wisdom, and compassion. They can develop these things for all living beings and from that they are able to achieve liberation from the oceans of samsaric suffering and achieve full enlightenment, by ceasing even the subtle defilements.

Notes

1 Read more about the original tooth relic and see an image of the relic pill offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche when he was in Tibet in this Mandala magazine article, Feb–Mar 2007. [Return to text]

Thanks For Hosting Relics
Date of Advice:
January 2012
Date Posted:
August 2017

Rinpoche sent this letter to a center in Brazil that had hosted the Maitreya Relic Tour.

To my dear ones,
Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am very happy that you were able to see the Buddha’s relics and the great yogis’ relics, and that the relics came to bless Brazil, the area and the country. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

Thank you for your Dharma practice, for your good heart [wishing] to benefit sentient beings, to liberate them from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and to cause ultimate happiness. Besides the happiness of future lives, also the happiness of this life and especially full enlightenment. This comes from your practice, Dharma, meditation, learning Buddhism, in order to bring sentient beings to enlightenment, so that’s great! Thank you very much.

Please continue to learn Dharma and do whatever is needed, and with that bring all sentient beings to enlightenment.

I hope Buddhism will develop and spread through your efforts learning, practicing and having realizations with your well-subdued mind—of renunciation, compassion, loving kindness, bodhicitta, right view and the root of the path, guru devotion, then also tantra realizations—in order to benefit many sentient beings.

With much love and prayers...

Blessings from the Relics on Tour
Date Posted:
September 2009

Some relics started to radiate light during a tour. Rinpoche gave the following message to the people working on the tour.

Light beams emitting from the holy relics means the enlightened beings are communicating to those of us who are able to see the light.

It will be very powerful if you fortunate ones coming to receive blessings from the relics make strong requests to actualize the complete path to enlightenment, especially loving kindness, compassion, bodhicitta, and clear light from the highest tantra, secret Vajrayana, and the resultant two kayas, in this very lifetime, without delaying for a second.

Dedication: "May I liberate numberless suffering beings from the oceans of samsaric sufferings and the causes of suffering – delusion and karma – and enlighten them as quickly as possible." You can also pray to generate loving kindness, compassion, and bodhicitta in the hearts of all the leaders of the world, and in the hearts of all religious people – not only Buddhists – and then in the hearts of the rest of all the numberless beings. "May they have perfect peace and happiness in this world – no war, famine, diseases, fighting, quarrels, poverty, all of these external living conditions. May they avoid the inner suffering of being without Dharma in their hearts. May they complete the path that ceases all suffering and its causes – delusion and karma – the complete path to enlightenment, which ceases the subtle negative imprints, which are obscuring us and causing us to hallucinate."

Thank you. What amazing good luck you have.

Relic Tour Brings World Peace
Date Posted:
September 2009

Rinpoche made the following comments on relics.

The relics are manifestations of Buddha’s actions to benefit sentient beings. By showing devotion to the relics one receives blessings, from blessings one receives all the realizations on the path to enlightenment. This is how the relics are bringing you to enlightenment. This is also how the relic tour is bringing world peace, through changing people’s minds in this way.

Through inner peace, then outer peace comes. This is how to be free from violence and the dangers of weapons, also the elements. All the disasters of the elements actually come from the mind, so through transforming the mind outer peace comes.

The relics play a very important role in world peace. I met the President of Kalmykia (in Russia) and he really wants the relics to come to Kalmykia.

There is not one single action that the Buddha did that is without benefit. Every action is to benefit sentient beings. When sentient beings see Buddha’s relics, they purify 100,000 eons of negative karma. When people offer service to Buddha’s relics, then in future lives they will be free from the eight things (such as no opportunity to practice Dharma), they will always have a perfect human rebirth, always be able to practice Dharma, to meet a virtuous friend, and buddhas and bodhisattvas will help them. There are many important benefits.

The FPMT is very fortunate to have these relics in the organization to be able to bring benefit in this way.

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