There was a blank spot on my schedule that day. In fact, the whole day was a blank. Normally I would go out and play golf. But instead, I went to see an exhibit.
I had been told a few years earlier, by an expert, not to miss this exhibit. Robert Thurman, the man who brought Tibet to the western world, was speaking at a “We The People” event at Jerry Brown’s house, before Brown became mayor of Oakland. Thurman mentioned in his talk that the Buddhist relics were being assembled for the first time in 2,000 years. Do not miss it when it comes to town.
I had no idea what a Buddhist relic was. Trinkets and baubles, I guessed. Some-thing like the ultimate Antiques Roadshow. But there it was, staring me in the face, in the events section of the day’s newspaper. The relics were on exhibit, this day only. So I went.
I had no idea I would be blindsided that day.
The line was longer that I expected. But nowhere near as long as it should have been. If people in this town were told what was really on exhibit, that line would have been miles long…like it was in India, a month before the exhibit arrived here.
Inside that gymnasium at the Pacific Asia Center in Oakland were the remains of The Buddha. Specifically, his relics.
This takes a little explaining.
Before The Buddha died, he told his students that he would leave something be-hind. He instructed them to look in his ashes after he was cremated.
What his followers found were strange things that looked like pearls and jewels. These were called his “relics.” The Buddha had told his students that meeting his “relics” would be the same as meeting him in person.
For over 2,000 years The Buddha’s relics were scattered, in many different monasteries. They were guarded, they were treasured like no treasure on earth. Only recently were they gathered together, in one place, by Lama Zopa Rinpoche, so the world could experience them. Rinpoche has a dream, to build a temple in India where the relics will be safe, and open to anyone who cared to see them.
I knew absolutely none of this standing in that line. My only relation to Buddhism was what might be referred to as the zen of golf. Like many golfers, I have had experiences on the golf course that could be called spiritual—where everything becomes One, and I am just a small part of it, but clearly integrated into the whole. To me it felt like being one with the land…and the ball just seems to go where it should, with little effort on my part. Score is not the object of the game when this hits. Numbers are irrelevant.
At one time this was called “The Zone.” But the feeling is deeper than those words could possibly convey. It is beyond any competitive dimension, beyond that which the tongue can speak, as an old Paiute medicine man I knew might have said.
I told Thurman about it…and he told me, “Do not miss the exhibit when it gets here.”
So there I was.
When the line advanced beyond the doors of the gym, I was rather amazed. There was a small altar on the stage. That’s it. I wondered what they were all staring at, on the four sides of that altar, below a golden Buddha maybe four feet tall.
Finally we made it up the steps to the stage, and as I approached this altar, some-thing very strange happened…something welled up inside me.
It seemed to come from my center, behind my belly button. Maybe a little higher. Enormous energy overcame me. I had no idea what was happening.
This did not come from the outside. I was clear about that. This energy came from inside me. And I could tell it had always been there, inside me…something had tapped into it, or opened it.
It felt like the life source of the universe. Enormous energy.
It was not the feeling I had on the golf course, where everything felt One. It was not necessarily the feeling of love, though love might come from it. And it was not an anxiety attack, as I first feared.
It just felt like the source of the energy of the universe, always a part of me, now realized.
I looked to see if something was causing this. My eyes went to a small dish which held some darkened teeth, or bones. Underneath were the words, “Shakyamuni Buddha.” Around it were other dishes, holding something that looked like pearls. There were a couple of things that looked a bit like spider webs or cotton balls, but jewelry, glistening with many colors.
I was dazed.
As I made my way down the steps, off the stage, a monk introduced himself to me with a friendly smile. He asked me if something had happened up there. I said yes. “Why don’t you come with me,” he said.
We went to a back room, where a man was sitting, dressed in yellow and red robes. Obviously a lama, I thought. I was asked to sit down.
The lama asked me to tell him about my experience. I explained the best I could.He smiled. Then he told me that this did not always happen, but that it was also not that uncommon. I was the ninth person to see him today, to tell of such an experience. He explained that meeting the Buddha’s relics were the same as meeting him in person, that the relics were powerful.
I was being de-briefed.
He explained the history of the relics. He said that most people experience a sense of well-being viewing them. But he also said that The Buddha always taught according to one’s ability.
He said that what I experienced was an extraordinary gift.
He asked me if I had done any meditation, and I said no. I told him I was just a golfer who had had some spiritual experiences on the golf course. That was the ex-tent of my spiritual experiences.
This seemed to interest the lama.
“These experiences of yours on the golf course, they were something you had to find for yourself, through discipline and diligence, is this true?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said, adding that I never knew when it might happen.
He smiled at me again. Then he told me a little secret.
“The other eight people who came to see me today,” he said, “Four of them were golfers, with experiences like yours.” ~~
Award-winning golf writer Ron Salsig played golf for the University of California Berkeley golf team, and has covered the game as a journalist for many years. He can be reached at rsalsig@pacbell.net
The Buddhist relics can be seen on the web at www.maitreyaproject.org/en/relic/