Shakyamuni Buddha is the historical buddha, the one we most often refer to as simply “the Buddha”. According to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, Shakyamuni was the fourth of the “1,000 Buddhas of this Fortunate Aeon”, each of whom is predicted to teach on Earth.

Kasyapa Buddha preceded Shakyamuni Buddha. He was the third buddha of this aeon. The first two buddhas were Krakuchand Buddha and Kanakamuni Buddha.

Relic and Source

• The large relic came from Tibet and was offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2002. It was originally enshrined in a statue of Gyalwa Ensapa in Tibet. When the statue was destroyed during China’s invasion, the relic was secretly saved by a Tibetan family.

  A Tibetan monk of the Sakya tradition then purchased it and the relic was split into three parts; one part was offered to His Holiness Sakya Trizin, another to His Holiness Chogye Trichen and the third part was offered to Lama Zopa Rinpoche.
  
  His Holiness Chogye Trichen placed the relic offered to him inside the crown of a 3-storey Maitreya Buddha statue in a monastery beside the Great Stupa in Boudhanath, Nepal. Those who were present said they observed rainbows in the sky around the stupa when he did this.

• The smaller relic came from the Tibetan Government Relic House. Wangyal, the physician of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, offered it to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1999.