Do you believe in the relics?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/1ihbxt9/do_you_believe_in_the_relics/

created by ThatPunkGinger on 04/02/2025 at 06:57 UTC

12 upvotes, 16 top-level comments (showing 16)

*I don't mean to offend anyone with this post**

I recently went to San Francisco to visit a local monastery that was putting on a showing for the relics. They were transported up from Southern California. I am not a hardcore/super religious buddhist. These relics made me question my faith. I have heard that it is difficult to confirm whether shakyamuni Buddha was a real person and I wasn't sure how much I believed that the relics were actually his body parts. The monks would hold the relics over a lay person's head while they prayed and received his blessing. I did not feel comfortable receiving a blessing and it made me question my faith. At the same time, I feel like I missed a great, once in a life opportunity.

Does everyone believe in the relics? It felt a bit more "out there" compared to the rest of what I have learned about Buddhism.

Comments

Comment by Hot4Scooter at 04/02/2025 at 07:14 UTC

20 upvotes, 1 direct replies

There's a story in the Tibetan tradition of a trader who would regularly travel to India.

Every time he went, his dear old mother asked him to bring a relic of the Buddha for her to venerate. He never did, and on his umpteenth trip back home the trader started to feel a bit guilty about it. He looked around and saw a dog's tooth lying by the road. He quickly wrapped in some of the precious brocade he was trading and, back home in the valley, presented it to his overjoyed mother.

The old lady put the tooth on her shrine and from that day on it was the support for all her offerings, prostrations and praises. Over time, she became a very solid practitioner, and the tooth seemed to start radiating lights and, as relics often do, started to produce *ringsel* or *sarira*, little crystals like what is often found in the ashes of saints.

Point being that it's really much, much more important if our faith in the Refuge is genuine than if the relic is "authentic". With genuine faith, actually everything around us may become a representation of awakening that bestows blessings on our body, speech and mind.

And it's not just a story (I mean, it probably is, but things like this actually happen). I know somebody who really has genuine, heartfelt faith in the Refuge, with a simplicity my thinky constitution can't even begin to approach. Ringsel started appearing on their shrine out of thin air.

As some points.

Comment by krodha at 04/02/2025 at 07:50 UTC

14 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Often when realized adepts are cremated the relics or ringsel are simply present in the ashes, this happens in modern times as well.

Comment by NangpaAustralisMajor at 04/02/2025 at 07:28 UTC

11 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I believe in relics.

I have several gaus with relics, and a small stupa with relics.

When my root teacher died, there were many relics in his cremated remains. I am hoping to see them this year. They are in India.

I have been to exhibits (The Relic Tour) of many many relics of great teachers.

Comment by mtvulturepeak at 04/02/2025 at 07:24 UTC

11 upvotes, 0 direct replies

It felt a bit more "out there" compared to the rest of what I have learned about Buddhism.

If you are doing learning mostly from the internet/books, you may wind up in a bubble that excludes very common practices like relic worship.

Relic worship originates from the time of the Buddha, but of course it really ramped up after he passed away. Here are some suttas related to it:

index.readingfaithfully.org/#relics[1]
index.readingfaithfully.org/#stupa-thupa[2]

I believe that relics are a part of all traditional Buddhist traditions (i.e. not secular Buddhism, etc). In the Tibetan tradition the practice of placing a relic chamber on someone's head for blessings is very common. In Theravada this is unheard of.

1: http://index.readingfaithfully.org/#relics

2: http://index.readingfaithfully.org/#stupa-thupa

In some traditions, like Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka, people accept that the relics of the Buddha, his contemporary disciples, and arahats that lived in Sri Lanka in the ancient past are real. However unlike the Thai tradition, they don't believe that relics spontaneously appear or multiply themselves.

In Sri Lanka, part of the standard daily liturgy contains:

*Cetiya Vandanā: Paying Homage to Stupas චේතිය වන්දනාව:*

**Vandāmi cetiyaṃ sabbaṃ – Sabbaṭhānesu patiṭṭhitaṃ**

*Sārīrīka dhātu Mahā bodhiṃ – Buddharūpaṃ sakalaṃ sadā**

I show my humble reverence to all the stupas, in all of the places that they stand, the bodily relics, the Great Bodhi Tree, and all the Buddha images forever.

*Bodhi Vandanā: Paying Homage to the Bodhi Tree බෝධි වන්දනාව:*

**Yassa mūle nisinno va – Sabbāri vijayaṃ akā,**

*Patto sabbaññutaṃ satthā – Vande taṃ Bodhipādapaṃ.**

I show my reverence to this Bodhi–tree seated under which the Teacher attained full Enlightenment by overcoming all defilements.

**Ime ete Mahā Bodhi – Loka nāthena pūjitā,**

*Ahampi te namassāmi – Bodhirājā namatthu’te**

I, too, honor this great Bodhi–tree, which was honoured by the Leader of the World. My homage to thee, O king of Bodhi Trees.

In the Sri Lankan tradition (and maybe others) there are three types of relics. First, the bodily relics like bone, teeth and hair. Then there are the things that the Buddha used, like his belt, almsbowl, and even the Bodhi tree. Finally, all Buddha statues are considered to be a type of representational relic.

It's not surprising that someone might have doubts about the authenticity of all the bodily relics of the Buddha that are spread around the world. But in a worship setting, this can be handled by simply having confidence that the Buddha existed and that relics *do exist somewhere* and those (wherever they are) are what is being worshiped.

Of course if you don't believe that the Buddha existed at all, then that's the first hump to get over.

Comment by krodha at 04/02/2025 at 08:50 UTC

7 upvotes, 0 direct replies

The monks would hold the relics over a lay person's head while they prayed and received his blessing. I did not feel comfortable receiving a blessing and it made me question my faith. At the same time, I feel like I missed a great, once in a life opportunity.

I would not worry about the "blessing" too much. A blessing (sbyin rlabs) means a conferral (labs) of power (byin). *Byin* is defined in Tibetan as "the ability or power to transform the minds and vision/appearances of another."

In this way, "blessing" just means the power of one person to inspire another to follow the path in some way. That is all a "blessing" is. There is no magical force called a "blessing." For if there was, the buddha, being compassionate, would have blessed us all into nirvana long ago.

Truly *byin rlabs* is better translated as "to empower" than "to bless." Blessing in, for example, a monotheist type capacity is not a thing in buddhadharma. *Byin rlabs* instead has the connotation of empowering someone, in this case, empowering you or inspiring you to follow the teachings of the buddha.

Comment by seimalau at 04/02/2025 at 08:22 UTC

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Yeah, i treat them like a Buddha statue, Buddhist holy items.

It's really cool to look at them at my temple.

Comment by heikuf at 04/02/2025 at 07:15 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

From a scientific perspective (since this appears to be more or less what you are asking) – as far as I know, historians almost universally agree that Shakyamuni Buddha really did live in the 5th or 4th century BCE in what is now Nepal and northern India.

University Buddhist scholars will tell you that he existed and that what we know reasonably for sure about his biographical details is where he was born, where he passed away, and from what cause he passed away.

We also know *what he taught*, and that is what matters to us!

Based on that, you can draw your own conclusions about the relics… Some people believe in them, but don’t let that belief, very unlikely (or not), affect your trust in the Buddha’s teaching.

Comment by Astalon18 at 04/02/2025 at 09:06 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I am unclear if you mean do I believe the relics are real or if the relics have some inherent power?

To the first question, whenever someone says that something is a relic of the Buddha I am instantly doubtful. This is because I know the total supposed relics of the Buddha from Sri Lanka and Thailand combined in terms of weight is slightly over twice that of an average funerary pyre. We are not including relics from Cambodia or Burma.

However do I believe relics contain holiness? I think the Four Sites do have holiness as the Buddha Himself said to visit it. I do believe a genuine relic of an Arhat or Buddha also contains some holiness.

However I believe this holiness is more due to the sraddha and moral activities of the owner of the body and also the practitioners. Therefore when the Buddha said to revere the Bodhi tree and its descendants as relics and cetiyas/stupas as relics I accept it.

I also believe in mental sariras, relics left behind by the Buddha in forms of mental recordings to aid people on the path to Enlightenment. The number of people who while deeply meditating but experience a hurdle who suddenly gets transported to a sermon where they see/hear the Buddha preaching is too many to discount.

The Buddha is usually not directly interacting with them ( except to give them a knowing glance ) but is preaching to a crowd. The tradition is that these are teachings left behind by the Buddha to aid people in need.

Comment by NoBsMoney at 04/02/2025 at 07:08 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Yes I believe them. Why wouldn't I?

Comment by Konchog_Dorje at 04/02/2025 at 09:19 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Nothing is more important, for you, than your innate Buddha nature, and you can see them as one of the miracles of Buddhahood.

When you attain Buddhahood you can have all the qualities and relics of a Buddha.

Comment by ImpermanentMe at 04/02/2025 at 11:13 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I believe in the joy, the inspiration, and the positive impact they have on others. To me, that's enough.

Comment by genivelo at 04/02/2025 at 11:11 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Here is an excellent article about relics. It touches on pretty much all aspects of the discussion.

http://web.archive.org/web/20240222111029/https://tricycle.org/magazine/jeweled-demise/

Comment by panzybear at 04/02/2025 at 11:42 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Relics function the same as any other worldly object. They are not actually separate from you or me or the rest of creation, their separateness is an illusion. Don't place too much value on their literal status as relics and the worldly implications of that. They are useful tools for engaging with dharmic thought, and are best treated in that context.

Comment by keizee at 04/02/2025 at 12:13 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Yes they look very interesting. I remember seeing crystals of red, some that could look like bone, green bits, black bits etc. Supposedly king Asoka divided them to different countries so they can be worshipped.

I have heard that it is difficult to confirm whether shakyamuni Buddha was a real person

You have so little faith in our history. Its only been 2500 years and names of chinese emperors survived longer than that.