According to the organisers, the display includes relics of Sakyamuni, who was born as Siddhartha Gautama 2,500 years ago and is recognised as the first Buddha. Also on display are relics of the Buddha's disciples, Maudgalyayana, Ananda and Sariputra, as well as relics of Lama Atisha and other saints from the Chinese, Indian and Tibetan traditions. Of the hundreds of relics on display, some were salvaged from statues destroyed in Tibet during the Chinese occupation, and others were gathered from museums and private collections, including the Dalai Lama's.

'The relics are highly respected but they are not divinities for us. In Buddhism we cannot pray to physical forms,' Mr Brahma, 35, said. 'But to see them is definitely a powerful experience.'

The event, held at the Buddha Dharma Vihara, a two-year old Buddhist temple in Seminyak, Bali's most upmarket tourist area, was a quiet, reverential affair, attended mostly by devotees and their friends. After the opening ceremony led by the Tibetan monk, 41-year-old Thubten Jangchub, attendees took some time viewing the ringsel, which were kept inside stupas - small golden shrines. Next some people meditated, while others prayed under the waft of burning incense. Several talked of having received blessings.

Mama Dipa, 66, was among them. 'I am old and I feel blessed that I was given the chance to see these relics. Something which is strange is that I have been sick, but I have prayed to get the strength to come here and I am fine now.'

Hemas Adi, 50, a regular at the temple, said he felt an 'overwhelming feeling of peace'.

He is also among those who believe that the ringsel have magical, holy powers that can bring good fortune and wipe away the effects of bad deeds. 'I believe the relics are special and it is a great privilege to have them here.'

According to the organisers, the relics can change hues and even multiply through the devotion of believers and their prayers. Even Hendro Purnomo, 50, who is a Catholic, said he felt some vibrations while viewing the ringsel. 'My religion has many relics from our saints, but I was curious to see the relics of the Buddhists. I did feel a sort of vibration and energy coming out of them. But when I came for the blessing, I didn't feel anything.'

A Protestant woman, aged 29, said she felt 'a deep sense of peace after the blessing'.

Patrick Zaffini, 52, the main organiser behind getting the relics to Bali, played down the relics' alleged magical powers, but emphasised their importance as a means to bring people of various faiths closer.

'The purpose of the relic tour is to inspire people of all spiritual traditions to come together to experience the blessings of the relics,' said the French national, long-time Bali resident whose father was a Buddhist and whose mother was a Catholic. 'It is not just about Buddhists. Giving, without asking anything in exchange, is a positive act that can inspire loving kindness and compassion.'

He said Bali was a good place to foster inter-religious understanding. 'It is a spiritual place,' Mr Zaffini said. 'It is a mainly Hindu island, but there are Buddhists, Christians and Muslims, too, both from Indonesia as well as many other countries.'

Risnawan, deputy chairman of the Yayasan Pandita Sabha Buddha Dharma Indonesia, said the relics could play a role in introducing the tolerant aspect of Buddhism to other faiths, thus fostering a far greater sense of religious understanding. 'It is a good way to introduce our values and create mutual understandings,' he said in Jakarta.

Buddhism is the second oldest religion in Indonesia after Hinduism. It reached its peak during the Sriwijaya's dynasty rule, which from about the 7th century until the 14th century was the largest Buddhist kingdom in Southeast Asia. Indonesian Buddhists are mainly followers of the Theravadin tradition and only represent 1 per cent of the country's 240 million people, who are mostly Muslim.

It is one of the six religions allowed in the country, and it has been unscathed by the religious tension that, over the past decade, has at times tainted relations between Christians and Muslims, as well as between the various Islamic sects. Buddhists are perceived as being tolerant, and many, even within the Buddhist community, have frowned at the position taken by some Buddhist groups which recently blocked the entrance of - and filed a police complaint against - the trendy Buddha Bar in Jakarta, the first Asian branch of a French franchise which has outlets around the world.

Alim Sudio, secretary general of the Yayasan Pandita Sabha Buddha Dharma Indonesia, said: 'The name of Buddha has already been commercialised, and this form of protest is not justified.'

Mr Zaffini added: 'Even though a Jesus Bar or Mohammed Bar would have already led to riots; Buddha Bar is not touching the Buddha.

'I am not passing judgment. People can protest if they want. But it is not my style. And I would, however, recommend them to rise above it, maybe by visiting this exhibition and feel the connection with higher spirituality.'

After Bali, the tour will travel to Surabaya and Yogyakarta, two mostly Muslim cities in Java. In Yogyakarta, the exhibition will be hosted by the Catholic Sanata Dharma University.

The relics tour is the brainchild of a US-based Tibetan monk, Lama Zopa Rimpoche, who is the spiritual director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition. Mahayana Buddhism emerged in the first century AD as a more liberal, accessible interpretation of Buddhism and, contrary to the Theravadin tradition, it allows for the veneration of celestial beings, Buddhas and bodhisattvas, ceremonies, religious rituals, magical rites and the use of icons, images and relics. It is the primary form of Buddhism in North Asia and East Asia.

Started in March 2001, the tour of relics has visited several countries and dozens of cities, and has so far been viewed by an estimated 2 million people. This year, it has already stopped in the United States, Mexico, France, Russia, South Korea and Vietnam, and after Indonesia it is expected to go to Sri Lanka.

The tour is partly meant to raise awareness of an ambitious plan to build a 150-metre tall, bronze Maitreya Buddha statue in Kushinagar, India, devoted to 'loving kindness'. Kushinagar is the place where Buddha discarded the last of his earthly coils. Originally, all the relics were meant to be enshrined into the heart of the statue, which is expected to be finished by next year. But the success of the tour has led to second thoughts, and it is now believed that some of them will be seconded to a permanent travelling exhibition.