Revered relics

Nearly two years has passed since Rochel Rittgers drove to Cedar Rapids to see the Maitreya HeartShrine Relic Tour at Unity Center of Cedar Rapids.

It was the first time the collection of sacred relics of the Buddha and other Buddhist masters from Tibet, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and other countries appeared in Iowa.

Rittgers said she and a friend went for the tour's opening ceremony.

“We, in fact, did see some artifacts, but we experienced so much more,” she says.

Rittgers says she felt a sense of peace as soon as she left her car. That inner calm stayed with her as she viewed the relics, which resemble pearl-like crystals.

“It was so powerful, we drove home that night and drove back the next day,” Rittgers says.

In fact, she made the trip each day the relics were accessible to the public. When the tour left Cedar Rapids, she sent a letter to organizers to thank them for bringing the relics and experience to the public.

She ended her note asking if there was a chance the tour would visit the Quad Cities.

“They said yes and that I'd be the host,” Rittgers remembers with a laugh.

That may not have been her original intent, but after months of planning, she says she's honored to play a part in bringing the tour to the area. “I feel it's just the ultimate gift to the community,” Rittgers says. “The gift of eternal peace.”

The collection of sacred relics - small pearl-like crystals called ringsels - were discovered by monks in the cremation ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters, including the Buddha. Devotees believe these relics embody the knowledge and compassion of the enlightened.

The ringsels will be on display Sept. 6 through 8 at the Figge Art Museum, 225 W. Second St., Davenport. Eventually, the relics will be enshrined in a bronze statue of the Maitreya Buddha being built in the Bodh Gaya temple complex located in northern Bihar state in India. They have been viewed by more than 1.6 million people since the world tour launched in 2001.

“As a global city on the Mississippi River, in the heart of America, Davenport has long served as a crossroads where people of different origins, cultures, and faiths have come together to form a dynamic community. For that reason, it is fitting that Davenport, a regional center for the arts, will serve as a host city for the Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic Tour,” Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba says in a statement. “Apart from its educational and cultural value, this tour's message of peace and interfaith cooperation are certainly ones we can use these days.”

Rittgers stresses that the exhibit is non-sectarian; people of all faiths and non-faith are welcome.

“The purpose of the tour is not about worshiping Buddha, but about spreading love, kindness and peace, which is a universal message,” Rittgers says.

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If you go:

• Maitreya Heart Shrine Relic Tour
• Figge Art Museum, 225 West 2nd St. in Davenport
• Friday, Sept. 6: Opening ceremony from 6 to 8 p.m.; doors open at 5:15 p.m.
• Saturday, Sept. 7: Open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; pet blessing from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the south patio of the museum.
• Sunday: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; children's blessing from 11 a.m. to noon.
• Free admission.
• For more information, visit www.facebook.com/BuddhaRelicsQuadCities.