08/01/04 Rare Buddhist Relics Visit Chicago...

(Chicago, IL) A precious collection of sacred Buddhist relics will be displayed at Karma Thegsum Chöling (KTC) dharma center in Chicago as part of a world tour. 

                 WHEN:      Saturday & Sunday, August 14 & 15, 2004

                                    10:00 am to 5:00 pm

              WHERE:      Karma Thegsum Chöling Dharma Center

                                    2100 S. Central (1 block north of Cermak) in Cicero, IL

          CONTACT:      Ellen Sullivan  773-685-4970

                   COST:      Free, but donations are welcome

This is an extraordinary event.  Relics usually are enshrined in temples and only rarely made available for public viewing, much less taken outside their resident country.  The relics provide an opportunity to make a personal spiritual connection with some of the greatest Buddhist masters of all time.  Many participants have reported experiences of inspiration and personal healing while viewing the relics.

The collection includes relics of the historical Buddha and his closest disciples— Maudgalyayana,  Sariputra, and Ananda—as well as relics of many other Buddhist masters from the Chinese, Indian, and Tibetan traditions.  The exhibitions are open to the public and are free.

Many of the relics are extraordinary pearl-like deposits that have been found in the cremation ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters.  Buddhists believe these relics are formed as a result of the spiritual realizations of compassion and wisdom.  There also are Buddhist artifacts and a few tooth and bone relics in the collection.  Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike visit the exhibit for spiritual blessings.

When the tour concludes in 2006, the relics will be permanently housed in the Heart Shrine of the 500-foot (152 meter) bronze Maitreya Buddha statue currently being built in Northern India.  The statue will benefit the entire world by reminding people of every nation of the need for loving-kindness and peace—inner peace as well as peace within the family, community, and world.  The Maitreya Project, which is directed by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, also will benefit the people of India through its economic benefits and social programs, which include quality education and health care.

KTC Chicago is an affiliate of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) of Woodstock, New York, the North American seat of His Holiness the 17^th Gyalwa Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje. 

While in Chicago the Relic Tour also will be exhibited at:

      Wed. & Thurs., August 18-19

      The Healing Earth, 3111 N. Ashland in Chicago - 4:00-8:00 pm

      Sat. & Sun., August 21-22

      Theosophical Society, 1926 N. Main in Wheaton - 10:00-5:00 pm