Cats and dogs to chooks and even Eddie the blue-tongue lizard took part in the annual animal blessing ceremony.
Howrah teenager Caitlyn Smart was one of several pet owners who headed to the Mawson Place Waterside Pavilion for the ceremony, which was held as part of the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour.
Caitlyn found a tick-riddled Eddie at Park Beach two years ago and has nursed him back to health. She plans to release him back into the wild later this year and figures the little lizard can use all the help he can get.
In Hobart for the weekend after stops in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour gives the public the rare chance to view a precious collection of sacred relics of the Buddha and other Buddhist masters, some dating back 2500 years.
Resembling pearl-like crystal, the relics were found among cremation ashes of Buddhist masters. Buddhists believe they embody the spiritual qualities of compassion and wisdom and are deliberately produced by the Buddhist master at his death.
The animal blessing ceremony involved a relic-filled Buddhist stupa being gently placed on the animal’s head before it was blessed by Buddhist nun Lindy Mailhot from the Chagtong Chentong Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre.
Tour manager Andy Melnic, who travels the world with the relics, said the exhibition was popular with people of all religions who were curious about Buddhism.
“On opening night we had a few hundred people here. People seem very interested,” he said.
“Funnily enough, we’re not actually aimed at Buddhists, we’re aimed at everybody.”
Source: The Mercury
