Bariloche

It has been difficult to find time lately to update the blog, but I can share with you images from our most recent event in Bariloche, Argentina:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mxscczz/TourDeLasReliquiasBRC2011#

Limitless

“Our problem is that inside us there’s a mind going, “Impossible, impossible. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.”

We have to banish that mind from this solar system.

Anything is possible; everything is possible.

Sometimes you feel that your dreams are impossible, but they’re not.

Human beings have great potential; they can do anything.

The power of the mind is incredible, limitless.”

-Lama Thubten Yeshe

Photo credit: Merry Colony

The Cozumel event

Our event in Cozumel was the first one in South America, and a splendid way to begin our 4 month voyage!

To arrive in Cozumel, we first landed in Cancun, then drove about 1 hour south to Playa del Carmen where we got a 30 minute ferry to the island of Cozumel. The island is of incredible beauty, and I truly felt that I was not in Mexico. Cozumel feels like a country of its own. After spending 1 week resting and getting things organized, we were ready for the event which took place in the city’s museum on the main strip overlooking the beautiful Caribbean.

When we first arrived in Cozumel, we were informed by the museum that we could only set up the altar and shop on Friday, which was the very same day of the opening ceremony. This would mean that we would have had to set up in a hurry and be all stressed out and not have time to go back home and shower and get all pretty for the opening ceremony. Apparently there was a gallery opening on Thursday evening for a photographer, and he was using the very same space we were going to use. Then a few days before the event, we got word that the opening ceremony for the photographer was canceled and indeed we could begin the set up on Thursday evening. This was great news because we could set up the altar in a much more spacious way.

It is a beautiful thing to be able to create an altar for the Buddhas, and I really enjoy seeing the transformation of a space. Moya, the organizer, was able to gather many beautiful Thankas, (especially a large Shakyamuni Buddha that we hung from the ceiling) to adorn the room. Also, many students of the center brought their statues to place on the altar. Moya got some amazing flowers that completely transformed the altar.

Cozumel has a population of about 100,000. During the event, about 1,000 people came. This means that 1% of the island came to see the Relics, and this must be a record percentage wise! We were all very happy with the outcome. There was quite a bit of media done to promote the event, we went to a TV interview, and came out in a few newspapers as well. Everybody that came to the event came out very happy and we even received children from a local school.

Here are some more photos from the event:

A very fortunate newborn!!!

This is Ven. Nyinje, a Mexican monk. He came to help us during the weekend and also stayed with us at Moya’s house. We all had such a good time together, so much laughter and good times. Ven. Nyinje is a very easy going and funny monk, and very accessible. During the event, Moya asked him to be the resident monk at the FPMT center in Cozumel, which he accepted to everybody’s delight! He will also be the spiritual program coordinator.  He is the only Buddhist monk in the island, and many young people took a liking to him during the event.

Here is Paula helping at the Dharma shop we set up. We brought with us some beautiful items that we offer to people in exchange for donations. I like to think of this as an exchange of merit, and by no ways a commercial endeavor. This is not like selling a bag of potatoes, but rather a way where people can donate to Maitreya Project and we offer them a holy object.

May all beings be completely purified of all sickness, negative emotions, mental and physical ailments. May all beings be kind to one another, and abide in harmony and peace. May there never be any wars or conflicts. May the word ‘suffering’ never be mentioned again.

Ven. Nyinje and Ven. Begona giving blessings with relics of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche has asked that we always have music offeringS on the altar for people to play and offer to their teachers.It is especially fun watching children play the cymbals!

This was one of the most beautiful altars I have seen in my experience with overseas events. It was not big, but indeed very exquisite with many buddha statues, flowers and offerings.

Moya and Daniel

This newborn was just a few days old! How fortunate to receive such powerful blessings at a young age!

This was probably the biggest dog I have ever seen. It was a guide dog for a German man. I asked him what he used the dog for, as he was not blind. He told me that the dog helps him with his head, so I figure that the dogs warns the owner if something will happen such as a blood clot or something. This family was just wondering around the museum when I told them to see the Relics.

Here you can get a better sense of the space in the museum.

 

After the event, Moya and her husband Sergio invited us to a trip on a sailing boat to go snorkeling. We happily accepted the offer, as the Relic Tour event had ended and we did not have many days before having to leave for Cancun. We sailed for about 4 hours, keeping parallel to the coast. It was a beautiful sunny day, and we got to snorkel in the coral reefs which are very famous. I was told that the reef system in Cozumel is the second largest in the world, Australia’s being the first.

Cozumel receives many tourists, mainly from cruise ships. That day we say 4 of these humongous boats!

The snorkeling experience was wonderful. I was able to find myself a 5lb belt to help me sink to see the coral life up close. We were amazed to see a beautiful sea turtle gliding along, and we followed it for a few minutes. I had never seen a sea turtle in the wild. It also felt very auspicious to see it. I also saw some baracudas, poor things, they are so ugly looking!

On the boat we also brought along a Relic of Shakyamuni Buddha so that all the marine life underneath the boat would receive blessings. We remembered Lama Zopa Rinpoche, who in Santa Cruz a few years before had requested that a plexiglass sheet with mantras be toed by a sail boat to bless the water and all the beings in the Pacific Ocean. We had a Tsa-Tsa of Maitreya Buddha which we also placed in the ocean to bring blessings. Moya had 3 6″ stupas which were a bit broken, so we took them with us to place in the sea. Ven. Nyinge, Sergio and myself snorkeled to the edge of the coral reef, where the sea floor drops by many thousand feet to drop the stupas. It was amazing to see to such depths without seeing the floor. It was almost haunting. The color was a beautiful deep dark blue which faded into deep darkness. The stupas had a large flat base, so when we dropped them, they did not fall straight down, but rather rocked to and fro gently as they made their decent to the ocean floor. They sank upright, and for a few minutes we tracked the stupas as they journey down, getting smaller and smaller until they vanished into the depths bringing much blessings to the sea and all beings who live in her.

We also threw in a glass with a mantra given by Guru Rinpoche which Lama Zopa Rinpoche has requested to place in bodies of water all over the world. Any sentient being who connects with this water will receive blessings. I have this mantra glass for each city we visit on this South American Relic Tour, offered generously by Chiu-Nan from Lapis Lazuli Light. You can see the mantra in detail:

Good times!!!

I leave you with some of the amazing sunset photos I was able to capture.

OM AH HUM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relic Tour photos from Mexico

Here are some links with photos of the events in Cozumel and Cancun. These pictures were taken by somebody else.

Cozumel (images taken by Alberto Burciaga)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=10150150609265020&id=568335019&aid=335475&notif_t=like

Cancun (don’t know who took the images)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maitreya-Project-Canc%C3%BAn-Gira-de-Reliquias-/120852787985892#!/album.php?aid=25728&id=120852787985892

Enjoy!

Update

Dear all,

We are currently in Costa Rica on a 10 day event. I apologize for not updating sooner, but I have been very busy lately.

However, after this event we will  have 1 week vacation, and I am committed to updating all the cities we have been to with photos and stories. These include: Cozumel, Cancun, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

Thank you all for your patience.

Love,
Cristian

Another Beautiful Sunset

Today we woke up early to organize all the merchandise that we brought along with us. In total, we had 3 large suitcases filled to the maximum weight capacity of 70 lbs. During the events we put up a little shop and offer by donation many different Buddhist items such as statues, malas, incense, rings with mantras, Buddha images, prayer wheels,  pendants and so on. This helps us collect more donations for Maitreya Project.

We were done very quickly as we had lots of help from the others at the house. I spent the rest of the afternoon working on small projects that had to be done before we began the event in Cozumel, as this is the first stop of the many Spanish speaking events that follow in the months to come. This feels like base camp! For example, we made the switch from English to Spanish labels for the Relics display signs and all the explanation and suggested donation signs in our little shop.

Late afternoon we went to the beach to see the sunset and have a swim in the warm water. We arrived at the beach  just as the sun was playing in the horizon, in all is splendid beauty. We swam and saw many fish, such a beautiful underwater scenery. Tuesday we are planning to go snorkeling before catching the ferry to the mainland.

Here are some photos of the sunset:

I leave you with a photo that I took last year in Porto de Galinhas in northeastern Brazil. It was at night time and I had a small tripod which allowed me to set the exposure for 15 seconds. It came out pretty cool!

Arrived in Cozumel

We finally arrived in Cozumel, Mexico after a very long journey. Although we are currently in the South American Tour, we actually began in California with events in San Jose and San Diego. Both were great events, the first being held at a Vietnamese Temple and the San Diego event at a Cambodian Temple.

There will be 3 of us traveling as custodians with the Relics. Daniel from Puerto Rico flew in on January 25th. He had been traveling with Dekyi-Lee in the 2010 North American Tour getting acquainted and trained for the Relic Tour. Daniel is part of the Buddhist Center in Puerto Rico called Ganden Shedrub Ling, and he played an important role in organizing the 2 Relic Tour events in Puerto Rico in the past.

We work very well together, and I feel that this will be a very joyous Tour. Ven. Begona, a Tibetan Buddhist nun from Spain, joined us a few weeks later in Cozumel. I first met Ven. Begona during a retreat with Lama Zopa Rinpoche in North Carolina last year. I was actually in the look out for a Spanish speaking monastic to travel with the team in South America.  So now the team is assembled and we look forward to the adventures that await us.

I will write about the events in San Jose and San Diego later, this is just a “I made it alive” post!

We did not fly straight into Cozumel. We got a flight to Houston from San Jose that connected to Cancun. When Daniel and I arrived in Cancun at 7pm after 1 hour in immigration and 2 hours in customs, we were heavily sleep deprived but happy. The very next day we had a press conference at the B2B Hotel where the Relic Tour event would take place. Here are some photos of the conference:

Daniel (right) and I with a few of the Relics

We are staying at Moya’s house here in Cozumel. She is the director of the FPMT Cozumel Center and is also the Mexico FPMT coordinator. We are having a very good time and taking the opportunity to rest a lot as we were very wiped out when we arrived. I must admit that I have been sleeping in a little bit too much, but I don’t mind since it does get a bit intense once we are doing events back to back. Usually we have a vacation after every 4 weeks or so, but sometimes, due to scheduling, it can be after every 2 weeks or after every 5 or 6 weeks. The next vacation will be in Costa Rica.

We have been going to the beach almost every day to work on our tans and swim in the Caribbean waters.

Here are some photos I took at the beach today:

From right to left: Ven. Nyingje (in his beachwear), Daniel, Araceli, Ven. Begona (in her beachwear), Moya and myself.

I leave you with a photo from my collection:

 

“Be the change you want to see in the world”

Mahatma Gandhi

 

 

 

2011 South American Tour

Indeed it has been a long time since my last post, and for that, my apologies.

Right now I am with my father and his wife in Cuernavaca, Mexico, aka “the city of eternal spring,” working hard at relaxing before I embark on the upcoming Tour in South America.

This Tour is looking pretty amazing. We will begin with events in San Jose and San Diego in California, then will have events in Cancun and Cozumel in Mexico. Then we fly to Guatemala, and this will be the first time the Relics have ever been there. We next travel to Costa Rica for a 10 day event, also a first for the Relic Tour. From there, we fly south to Argentina for events in San Luis, Mendoza, Cordoba and Buenos Aires. Not all events have been confirmed though. After Argentina we fly back to California for 2 more events, one at Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel and the other is yet to be determined.

You can check out the Relic Tour calendar here:

http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/relic/calendar.html

I will do my very best to keep the blog updated with stories and photos. Sometimes life on the road takes over and I find myself having to prioritize my time (and the blog suffers).
Until my next post, be well, happy and healthy!

I leave you with a recent photo I took of a Buddha statue my brother gave me a few years ago.

Update

Dear All,
I am very sorry for not updating the blog, I have been very busy with the Relic Tour in South America. After June I will have more time, and I plan to continue updating then.

Until then, be happy!

Love

Cristian

Edmonton, AB

After the amazing crossing over the Rocky Mountains, we entered the great plains of Alberta. Just as we were swiftly engulfed by majestic mountains, without knowing it we left them behind to encounter nothing but flat land in all directions. Our first out of two events in Calgary was in Edmonton at a small but beautiful Vietnamese Buddhist temple.

The young abbot kindly offered opening and closing prayers during the event.

Most Vietnamese temples I have been to have a really cool neon halo behind the Buddha.

This particular statue was huge, perhaps 10 feet tall.

The man on the left is Dr. Stephen Aung. He organized the Relic Tour in Edmonton and arranged the Vietnamese temple to host. He is an acupuncture master and also a chi-gong master, a very special person. He has a personal mission of building peace stupas (monuments symbolizing enlightenment with precious items inside such as relics of Buddhis masters) all around the world, fulfilling his teacher’s wish to build a stupa in every continent.

An enlightenment stupa

Some time ago, Dr. Aung had an interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He asked His Holiness what he could do to help people in Edmonton, and amongst his answers, was a gift of the 8 Medicine Buddhas for his clinic. The photos shows them all, and they were fully consecrated with blessed and holy substances just a few weeks prior to the Relics arriving in Edmonton. The Relics are inside the yellow brocade bag.

Dr. Aung, Fred Rolland (right, used to be a custodian for the Relic Tour, travelling in Asia and North America with the Relics. He is a Lacota Song Lineage Holder, and works with youth by taking them out into nature. He is also very involved with conservation efforts in Canada), Dekyi-Lee and myself.

I leave you with a friendly Labrador jumping into a lake fetching a stick on a hot summer day in Portland, Oregon a few years back.

May all negative and destructive emotions and actions be quenched like a refreshing splash in a cool lake!

OM AH HUM