The Holy Relics Visit Brisbane

This weekend, I took part in the most extraordinary event. The Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour visited Brisbane and it was hosted by our very own Langri Tangpa Centre. Now many of you are probably wondering: "What exactly is a Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic??"

When a great spiritual master passes away and his body is cremated, beautiful pearly or crystal objects are often found in their ashes. This was what happened when Buddha Shakyamuni passed away and his relics were divided into eight portions. Amazingly, the tour that visited Brisbane contained relics from Buddha Shakyamuni so it was such an honour to be able to see this. Since Buddha's time, many of his Great Disciples in both the Indian & Tibetan lineage have also passed away and following their cremation, they too left behind precious relics. These relics are often collected and placed in large permanent stupas (Buddhist shrines made of varying precious materials) so future Buddhists can continue to pay their respects to these inspiring teachers.

Shakyamuni Buddha's Relics

Lama Tsong Khapa's Relics

Volunteering at the Holy Relics Tour was an interesting experience, filled with mixed feelings. There's always a lot of excitement that follows the Holy Relics. Great Buddhist Teachers revere the relics and whenever they come into contact with a relic, will behave as if they are in the presence of the living Buddha himself, or the Great Master to whom that relic belongs. As a reasonably new Buddhist, I've never met any of these Masters so when I viewed the relics, I didn't experience any strong or overwhelming feeling.

Milarepa's Relics

Never the less, I have always been grateful to the Buddha for his skillful and practical teachings. Buddhism has given me a means to live my life that helps me to cultivate harmony with those around me. Most importantly, it's given me the bravery to confront my own faults & strive towards improving my mind. So in that sense, it was wonderful to see the relics of the Buddha and these amazing Masters. These were people who spent their lives living in virtue and their relics are powerful reminders that even an ordinary person, like myself, can vastly improve my mind & attain enlightenment to benefit others. It's a wonderful inspiration. I'm also reminded of living masters, such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His attitude & tireless energy to benefit all sentient beings, even the Chinese, remind me of what Buddhist practice is truly about. I sincerely hope to one day follow in this amazing man's footsteps. I can think of no better way to live my life than being able to love all beings equally, just like the Dalai Lama.

Relics from His Holiness Kyabje Ling Rinpoche

So even though I didn't experience any 'great revelation' during the Relics' tour, I'm reminded that true practice isn't about miraculous flashes. After all, even miracles are empty of concrete existence. They just like a dream, a flash of lightning, an apparition. Yet there's also no mistaking the serenity and calm that surrounds the Relics. Throughout the tour, a vast mixture of people visited. There were devout Buddhists, spiritual seekers from other traditions or just every-day Aussies who were just mildly curious about the whole thing. Yet everyone seemed happy & content. Even the pets that were brought by their owners seemed just as happy to be there, bathing in the Relics' athmosphere.

Great Tibetan Masters' Relics

A close up of Lama Yeshe's Relics

On Saturday evening, we harnessed that energy into a Shakyamuni Puja and remembered that great teacher for what he did for the world. His skillful teaching showed us an alternative way to live, one that involved kindness, wisdom & compassion... the kind of love that doesn't leave anyone out, not even your enemies. What a gift indeed.

For those of you that didn't have time or couldn't make it to the relics, visit the The Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour and you'll be able to find out what their next destination is. I hope you have an opportunity to see the Relics in this lifetime. I think it would be most worthwhile.

Yours truly,
Demi.

The Tragedy of Revenge

When I was young, I could spend hours with my head in a book, engrossed in many tales of far away lands where the desperate heroes or heroines had to overcome great adversity to realise their dreams. And in every story, there's always a wicked villain. There's always some bad nasty who did their utmost to thwart the would-be prince or princess. Yet despite their wickedness, the heroes would always prevail and live happily ever after. After all, it was only fair and that was justice.

In the 21st Century, I've come to realise that despite the iPods, Google, Facebook & Twitter, most of us still feed that child-like desire for Justice. When we hear that a thief has been caught, we say "Hah! Gotchya!" or if we're too polite to say it outloud, we smugly think, "Good riddance, another social miscreat taken care of!" 

Frankly, if I had a dollar for everytime someone wished ill of a speeding driver, or a bad-mannered patient, or a loud-mouthed dinner.... well, the list is practically endless and I'd make Bill Gates look like a pauper.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm certainly no Bodhisattva (though I desperately wish otherwise!). Too many times to count, I've caught myself thinking the very same thing you have. God, I wish so-and-so would just disappear off the face of the earth and just stop making ME miserable! You might wonder what's so bad about that. After all, if somebody's annoying us, shouldn't we have the right to tell them to damn-well bugger off?

The problem with "Justice" however, is that it's our sense of justice. When you reflect honestly, truthfully and with every bit of your open-mindnesses, it doesn't take long to realise that Justice always revolves around what I want and what I don't want. That's a lot of relativitiy happening... and given that the current population of the earth has already exceeded 7 Billion, how do we all agree on what "Justice" means exactly?

A week ago, I watched Niels Arden Oplev's 2009 "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo". One of the main characters, Lisbeth Salander, is a young withdrawn woman, who has already seen her fair share of suffering & hardships. In the movie, she is a victim of sexual assault but soon works out a way to get one better on her attacker. In short, she executes what we all dream of: "An eye for an eye."

As a Buddhist however, I didn't find much to celebrate in her seeming victory. I sincerely believe there is a far older force at work in the universe and this is what many Buddhists recognise as Karma. The Law of Karma is very much a law of Cause & Effect. It's even summed up in one of the teachings that Jesus Christ gave quite neatly which is, "Do to others what you would wish done onto you."

See the tragedy of revenge, is that every action we do that is motivated by anger, ill-will, malice, jealousy or any one of the host of negative emotions, means that the outcome of that very action is also going to be negative. In the short term, if might appear that we got our dues and conquered our Enemy, but our action will soon generate another Enemy to take its place. We can bear arms again and try to fight the next Enemy with more anger & hatred but even if we win, another will simply manifest. It is inevitable that the day will come when we lose and during this whole process, we suffer unbearable heartache.

The Law of Karma is an intricate & complex teaching. I can't even begin to comprehend its mundane aspects, let alone the finer workings hidden to the ordinary human mind. But the rule of thumb is, any action that is motivated by ill-will or selfishness, never produces good. It only creates bad results and unless we change our ways, we will experience these results over and over again, life after life after life...

This means that the responsibility lands squarely on your shoulders. You have the powere right this very moment to decide what happens in the next chapter of your life. When shit hits the fan, I'm always reminded that there is in fact a choice. I can charge into the madness all-guns-blazing and begin yet another long, endless battle. Or I can just pause, take a deep breath and really try to examine the situation. Why has this happened to me? Why do I feel so victimised? What part do I have to play in this situation? What can I do to defuse the situation without blowing up everyone around me?

I've learnt over the years that it's easy to fight back with harsh words, mindless actions & cruel intent. But being kind, compassionate, wise & mindful in the face of adversity.... well that takes the greatest kind of courage. During our lifetime, we are fortunate enough to have a living example of that courage. His Holiness the Dalai Lama never ceases to remind me of what the mind is capable of, especially when I'm most tempted to give in to my old Samsaric ways and just make the situation worse.

I'm not suggesting that we all roll over and be blindly intolerant to wrong doing in the world. If you have the resources & capability to prevent wrong doing, then do so but always, ALWAYS, pause to examine your intentions first. Why do you really to act out? Is it because we're protecting those weaker than ourselves or are we just protecting our Ego? These are important questions to ask, least we become prey to strange preverted ideas of Justice. Think Hitler here. Above all else, always be on guard against your own brand of self-serving logic.

So here's a challenge for you. If you're curious about Karma, now is the moment to do some investigating and find out more about it. If you're not curious about Karma, then I challenge you to give up the role of the Avenger and become a Peace-Maker instead. We all know the world would be a far better place if there were more people working on making peace with their families, friends and co-workers instead of plotting how to stab them in the back!

As for myself, I will continue to challenge myself to abide as sincerely and completely as possible by the Laws of Karma. May I do no harm onto others, even to the smallest Ant, the smallest fly, the smallest Sentient Being. And when they do harm onto me, may I have the strength to refrain from striking back. It's my choice after all and I choose not to become the vehicle that delivers your karmic debt. May I have the courage and ability, to one day take on all the karmic debts of all Sentient Beings. Now wouldn't that be something to blog about!

Dear Internet. My name is Demi and I'm a Buddhist. While I'm usually reluctant to introduce myself as such, I've been practicing now for 6 years and with each passing day, Buddhism and I become more deeply interwoven.

You might say, okay, so you're a Buddhist - what's the big deal? Well I guess like any other religious practioner in the 21st century, I have to treat my religious beliefs with care & caution. It's not that I get attacked or vilified for my religious beliefs (which in itself, is a luxury many others on this earth, don't possess). However, the majority of people I know, especially friends in amongst my generation, don't even acknowledge the relevance of any sort of religion let alone practise one. And only six years ago, I too shared their views.

Like every other person on this earth, I was busy ticking off the checklist of mundane life. Did I have a job? Yes, I'd found work as a radiographer that guaranteed steady, comfortable income. Did I have good friends? Yup, I'd become familiar with a wide variety of people from various cultures, thus ensuring I wasn't completely ignorant of the Aussie culture or the world at large. Did I have love? So far, so good. I'd met Craig when I was 18 and so far, the relationship was thriving. I was also in good health; had a fond & warm relationship with most of my family members and not in any significant debt. Set for life right?

Not quite... Despite my tireless efforts to ensure that I had everything I needed to ensure constant happiness, this wasn't reflected in my experience. During my uni years, I suffered from depression which I thought was due mostly to being homesick (I was studying in Brisbane while my family were in Cairns) and the stress of passing exams. As the years went by, I learnt to manage my depression but I always kept my guard as every now and then, I'd experience mini relapses. Even when I finally graduated and was (thank goodness!) finally free of the assignments & exams, I had to prepare myself for the responsibilities of work.

I was only 21 when I started radiography and naturally, quite inexperienced and unprepared for the trials and tribulations of working in healthcare. It was very much sink or swim; I think I mostly flopped & floundered and somehow, my vain efforts got me through my first year as an intern. This was a year of long hours, cranky bosses and difficult workmates.

I had to wonder, where exactly was the happiness & contentment I was seeking? It certainly didn't mimic the glorious success protrayed on tv shows or the movies. And no amount of stuff I brought with my hard earned cash could keep stress at bay for long.

Which brings us to that faithful night at the Cairns airport. I'd just finished visiting my family and yet again, that familiar feeling of homesickness was visiting. I did what I always did. I ignored it and what better distraction, than a good book?

I was looking for a decent fiction, preferably supernatural or fantasy but oddly enough, the book that caught my eye was a small, slim lined book that was titled very modestly, "Buddhism for Busy People." It seemed short and sweet... and hey, surely it wouldn't hurt to become more knowledgeable about one of the oldest religions on earth. Besides, I had family who were Buddhists (actually, they were more like Daoists but I was that ignorant of the subtle differences at the time) so I made my purchase and starting reading.

Little did I expect how that book would change my life. Its pages were like a key, unlocking a part of me that had long waited to be cultivated & nourished. Reading about the basic principles of Buddhism (such as reincarnation, karma, the way reality existed & what Enlightenment truly meant) generated a deep feeling of coming home. That night, a new life outlook was revealed.

It was actually another 6 months, before I was brave enough to find a local Buddhist Center and learn more. The rest is history but without a doubt, I decided I had found my path.

Now the purpose of this post isn't just to plug Buddhism. The goal of starting this blog is to chart my ups & downs as an ordinary Buddhist as I try to make sense of the madness of the 21st Century. Yes, it's not easy being Buddhist, especially when you're the only Buddhist in your family and your husband raises his eyebrow at your very unconventional asian altar. It's never ceases to exasperate Craig or my parents (who are both vets) that I insist on saving ants from water and refuse to kill them. And maybe you might find my struggles familar. You might even have some tips to share with me!

So on that note, let's leave it there for now. Hello. My name is Demi and I'm a Buddhist.