What are the relics in Buddhism?

Visiting the Buddha's relics

Relics are sacred objects in Buddhism, translated as body bones, remains, etc., which means dead bodies or remains. Usually refers to the remains of the Buddha (i.e. Buddha bones and Buddha relics). There are two types of relics: whole body relics and broken body relics. The fourth chapter of Devadatta in the Lotus Sutra says: "After the Nirvana of the King of Heaven Buddha, during the kalpa of the time when the true Dharma resides in the world, seven treasure pagodas were built for the whole body's relics." This refers to the whole body's relics. "Chang Agama Sutra": "People accumulated famous incense, put thick clothes on it, held it in Zhuwei, and collected the relics." This refers to the broken body relics.

In Buddhist scriptures, relics are divided into two categories: one is the Dharmakaya relics, which are the Buddhist scriptures mentioned by Sakyamuni. The second is the relics of the living body, which are the solid objects left over after the cremation of Sakyamuni. This type of relic can be divided into three types, according to "Fa Yuan Zhu Lin": one is the bone relic, white; the second is the hair relic, black; the third is the meat relic, red. But it is all because it is round, bright, and unbreakable, and is completely incomparable to the jewelry in the world. Buddhists believe that only those who devoutly worship the Buddha and gain enlightenment and Dharma will naturally crystallize relics, which are easily accessible to ordinary people.

According to legend, after the Buddha passed away, his disciples burned Sakyamuni's body with incense and fire, and found 4 teeth, finger bones, skull, hair and other objects in the ashes. These are the relics. The disciples carefully collected and preserved the relics of Sakyamuni's true body, buried them in the holy land of Rajagaha, and built a pagoda to support them. When Buddhists could no longer pay homage to the Buddha himself, they turned their devotion to the relics left by the Buddha. In this way, the relics have been given an incomparable sacred meaning

Sakyamuni's relics come in many forms: ① relics (granular), which are handed down from generation to generation; ② teeth (now in Sri Lanka); ③ finger bones ( Existing in Famen Temple today); ④ skull; ⑤ clavicle, etc. Most of the relics passed down in China are in the shape of balls, which are hard and cannot be broken by hammering.

Buddhist scriptures say that after Sakyamuni passed away, two spiritual teeth remained in the world. One spread to Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka), and the other spread to China. It was said that this one from my country first arrived in Xinjiang, and then in the fifth century it spread to the capital of Southern Qi, which is now Nanjing. It was sent to Chang'an during the Sui Dynasty, and spread to Yanjing during the Five Dynasties, which is now Beijing. In August of the seventh year of Xianyong's reign (1071) in the Liao Dynasty, this Buddha's tooth relic was enshrined in the "Xianxian Pagoda" built specifically for it. In 1900, the Zhaoxian Tower was bombarded by artillery by the Eight-Power Allied Forces. Afterwards, the monks cleaned up the remnants and found a stone letter containing the Buddha's tooth relic in the base of the tower. This is the spiritual tooth relic of Sakyamuni.

Buddhists think that the Buddha's relics are rare and rare, so they are willing to offer them respectfully. And they often believe in the location of the relics, which is where the Dharmakaya is. Therefore, offering relics is like worshiping the Bodhi tree, Vajra throne, and footprints of the Buddha's enlightenment, etc., in order to establish a cause and condition worthy of the Buddha's hearing of the Dharma and quickly achieve Bodhi. Volume 59 of "Great Wisdom Treatise": "If you offer Buddha's relics as much as a mustard seed, the blessings will be boundless."