Last week I visited this stupa in Birmingham where a portion of the Buddha's relics are enshrined. It is said that the relics will literally increase in amount if offerings are made. What that means is coming and paying ones respects to the memory of the Buddha and making offerings of flowers, candles, food and incense and other good things. One also makes an offering of bows out of gratitude. In Taiwan I heard that thousands of people came to pay their respects to the Buddha relics when they came, as part of a world tour, to one of the large temples. It is also said that the relic will dissapear if they are forgotten.

The Buddha relics are enshrined in the base of the Pagoda.

Many people, including myself, are sceptical about the authenticity of such relics, there are after all SO many of them. I had that doubting question in my mind while visiting this stupa. "Could it possible be true that we, in Britain, have something so valuable", "Where are they, is that them in that glass container on the altar"? My mind questioned and my eyes looked but could not see or find. I made my bows wholeheartedly in faith. Several days latter a chap wrote me an e-mail asking if the Buddha had given any teachings on what hinders practice and one of the monks from Throssel found this for me.

The Hindrances

There are five kinds of hindrances (Nivaranas) which often arise during meditaton: sensuous desire (kamacchanda), ill-will (byapada), sloth and torpor (thina-middha), restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkuca) and sceptical doubt (vicikiccha). Sensuous desire pulls the mind away from meditation. Ill-will agitates the mind by dissatisfaction at what one is achieving. Sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and sceptical doubt blind and disturb the mind and one's practice. The Buddha compared sensuous desire with water mixed with various dyes which distort a reflection; ill-will is like boiling water; sloth and torpor is like water overgrown with slime or choked with plants; restlessness and worry are like water agitated by the wind; and sceptical doubt is like muddy water. Just as in such water one cannot see one's reflection clearly, so in the presence of these five hindrances one cannot see things as they are. Various ways of overcoming them were taught by the Buddha. Most methods centre on raising awareness that they are only temporary states of mind and recognising them as the hindrance they are to one's progress.

[Extract from the book "Emptying the Rose-Apple Seat" by Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma]

By amazing coincedence the late Venerable Rewata Dhamma was the monk from Burma who tirelessly worked for years to raise the money to build the stupa and adjoining Vihara (monks residence) in Birmingham where the relics are enshrined.

The altar with offerings. This is sited in a shrine underneath the stupa.

The reliquary on the altar contains a portion of the relics.

A final reflection: I note that sceptical doubt is like muddy water causing one not to be able to see things as they are. The question of the authenticity of these, and other such relics, falls by the wayside in the light of this teaching.

For more information about the Birmingham Buddhist Vihara and Dhammatalaka Peace Pagoda go to www.birminghambuddhistvihara.org

Thank you Karen for the use of your high speed line to get this blogger entry onto the internet.