Buddhist relics and shrine pass through Regina

For only the second time in seven years, remnantsofBuddha are passing through Regina.

The items are part of theMaitreyaLoving Kindness Tour, a traveling shrine and relic exhibitionthat has been road tripping throughout North, South and Central America.

Hosted byDarkeHall in central Regina, the weekend-long eventshowcases spiritual artifactsfrom the historical Buddha, as well as from other men who've studied Buddhism and earned the title of master.

"Wehave 44 masters' relics. They are the [items] that stay after the masters are cremated. They appear in the ashes. They are the result of love and kindness, and compassion," saidMarthaCabral, one of two tour managers.

"We have many [relics] that are from the historical Buddha, princeSiddartha, who wasShakyamuniBuddha.And we even have one from a previous Buddha;KasyapaBuddha," she said.

Many of the relics include pearls and shiny stone-like objects. Other relics include a tooth fragment from Kasyapa Buddhaand some leftover hair from a Buddhist master after he was cremated.

Cabralfirst started volunteering with the tour in 2007, traveling with the shrine and relics whenever they visited her home country of Mexico.

In January of this year, she started as a manager with the tour as it travelled through South America and into the southern United States.

At the Regina exhibition, Cabral and her co-manager,Lourdes Castro Mercado, have set up the relics as part of a shrine dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha of the future.

Mercado is a Buddhist nun; she and Cabral will be giving blessings to those who view the shrine and ask for the blessings.

The shrine's also open to anyone who simply wants to show up and see it.

The blessings are open to anyone too, even to pets and animals.

"It could be [for]dogs, cats, spiders. Whatever you can have," Cabral said with a laugh.

The shrine is open until 6:00 p.m. CST on Saturday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m CST on Sunday.