According to Buddhist belief, a relic is said to contain the physical embodiment of the Buddha himself. It is believed that these sacred objects, places, and trees have unique properties that can assist believers in their path to enlightenment. The holiest Buddhist relics are housed in a number of temples and stupas throughout the world, attracting devout believers and tourists alike.
Here are eight of the most sacred Buddhist relics, the stories behind them, and their significance for Buddhist religious practices.
Context: Understanding Buddhist Relics
According to Buddhist belief, after the Buddha died and achieved Parinirvana, his remains were taken to the town of Kushinagar and cremated by his followers. The Buddha’s ashes were then divided into eight parts by his disciples and distributed among the local kings and clansmen. As recorded in sacred texts such as the Mahāvaṃsa, many years later, one of the Buddha’s most powerful followers, Emperor Ashoka of Maurya, further redistributed a number of these first relics across his empire and enshrined them in approximately 84,000 stupas.
The Buddhist belief concerning the end of the time suggests that all of the Buddha’s relics will eventually be gathered at the Bodhi tree before the predicted arrival of the Maitreya Buddha, a holy figure who will recover the teachings of the Dharma and bring about the destruction of the world. Therefore, Buddhists believe that relics serve as objects of veneration and symbols of religious and political authority.
For the most part, a Buddhist relic can be divided into one of four distinct categories. The cremated remains of the Buddha are known as Saririras and are often fragments of bone and teeth. Objects such as clothing and utensils that once belonged to the Buddha are known as Paribogika. The teaching relics of Siddhartha Gautama are the Dharma, and revered images of the Buddha are relics known as Uddesika.
The ashes of the Buddha, known as Saririras, are the crystallized remains of Siddhartha, which were found in his ashes after his cremation and came to represent the intense spiritual energy he left behind. Notably, these relics are said to have special qualities, with their size and number increasing with time and devotion. A relic can also take on various shapes and colors and correlate to the different parts of the Buddha’s body.
1. Lumbini: The Relic of the Buddha’s Birthplace
According to Buddhist belief, Lumbini in western Nepal is considered to be the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama. Due to its deep religious significance, Lumbini is considered to be a Buddhist relic in its own right. Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been born in the Lumbini area in 623 BCE and achieved enlightenment in 528 BCE. As such, the area has become a major pilgrimage site. Today, the area is home to the Lumbini International Research Institute, as well as a number of historical temples that are situated at sites closely related to the Buddha, such as the Puskarini, a sacred pond where Siddhartha’s mother is said to have bathed on the eve of his birth.
Lumbini’s connection to the birth of the historical figure of Siddhartha Gautama was seemingly confirmed in 1896 when archaeologists discovered a commemorative pillar that had been erected to celebrate the visit of Emperor Ashoka, one of the Buddha’s most devout followers. Along with the Bodhi tree, Sarnath, and Kushinagar, where the Buddha acquired enlightenment, gave his first sermon, and passed away, respectively, Lumbini is an important stop for any Buddhist pilgrim.
2. The Bodhi Tree: Where the Buddha Attained Enlightenment
The sacred Bodhi Tree, also known as the Mahabodhi Tree, is located in Bodh Gaya India, and is regarded as one of the most sacred relics in Buddhist belief. According to scripture, Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha in 500 BCE after meditating under the tree. While the original Bodhi tree has long since perished, the current Bodhi tree that stands at the Mahabodhi Temple site is thought to be a direct descendant of the Buddha’s original tree. As a result of the significance of this site, the Mahabodhi Temple is one of the most important destinations for Buddhist pilgrims.
Buddhists believe that Siddhartha sat under the sacred Bodhi tree and meditated for seven weeks without moving. After Siddhartha became the Buddha, a shrine was erected at the site known as the Animisalocana Cetiya, which served as a sanctuary for the enlightened one’s first disciples. The Bodhi Tree was especially revered by Emperor Ashoka the Great, who celebrated it annually and built a large monastery complex nearby.
3. Sarnath: The Place of the Buddha’s First Sermon
Worshiped as a relic, Sarnath is located in the modern-day province of Uttar Pradesh in India and serves as one of the holiest sites in Buddhist belief. According to the history of Buddhism, after he had achieved enlightenment underneath the Bodhi Tree, Siddartha traveled to Sarnath and gave his first sermon there. This first preaching by the Buddha is significant as it inspired the enlightenment of his first five pupils, who established the monastic tradition of Buddhism. As recorded in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Buddha specifically stated that Sarnath became one of the four sacred pilgrimage sites that his disciples had to travel to in order to follow the path to enlightenment.
4. Ramagrama Stupa: The Last Remaining Stupa of the Divided Buddha
After the earthly vessel of the Lord Buddha was cremated by his followers, his remains are said to have been venerated in stupas at eight locations, including the Ramagrama Stupa. The religious importance of the relics at Ramagrama Stupa for Buddhist believers is significant as the relics located at the seven other stupas were subsequently removed and distributed across the world. The artifacts at Ramagrama were never disturbed. As a result, this religious site serves as a direct link to the time of the historical Buddha.
However, according to the religious text Mahavamsa, the relics interned at the Ramagrama Stupa were secretly moved to Sri Lanka and placed at the Great Stupa of Buddhism by devout followers of the Siddhartha. Regardless of what lies inside it, the Ramagrama Stupa has been a place of great reverence and pilgrimage for Buddhists since it was built. Today, the original seven-meter-high stupa is buried under a mound of earth, and a simple shrine and bodhi tree are located nearby.
5. The Sacred Buddhist Relics of China
As the worship of the Buddha began to wane throughout India, a large number of relics eventually made their way to China, and Buddhism took hold throughout the land. Today, China is home to some of the most revered and spiritually significant Buddhist relics. According to some historical accounts, the monk Kang Senghui brought the first Buddha relic into China in a vase in 248 CE. As belief in the Buddha further took root in China, so did the number of relics entering the country. In the year 645 CE, the Chinese scholar Xuanzang brought back hundreds of Sarira relics after his pilgrimage to India and ordered the construction of temples and stupas that would house them.
One of the most sacred Buddhist relics found in China is the skull fragments of Siddhartha Gautama, which archaeologists discovered in 2010 and which are now housed at the Qixia Temple complex in Nanjing. Furthermore, a piece of finger bone belonging to the Buddha was discovered during an excavation of Famen temple in 1987. The world’s tallest stupa was built to house this relic.
6. Vaishali: One of the Oldest Relic Sites
The ancient city of Vaishali is one of the holiest sites in the Buddhist tradition and home to a large number of relics that are associated with the life of Siddhartha. Vaishali is most closely associated with the sermons and miracles performed by Buddha after he achieved enlightenment. One of the most notable miracles occurred when a monkey stole the meditating Buddha’s begging bowl and returned it with honey as an offering. According to religious texts, once the Buddha accepted the offering, the monkey threw itself down a nearby well, and its resulting death allowed it to achieve enlightenment and become reborn in human form.
Several key texts of Buddhist scripture refer to events that took place at Vaishali. As a result, the ancient city became a place for relics to be housed and a site of pilgrimage. According to the sutras, Vaishali was the first known location where the Buddha learned how to meditate and instructed his disciples in the practice.
7. Shravasti: Where Buddha Performed His First Miracles
While a great deal of the Buddha’s early teachings and miracles took place in Vaishali, the vast majority of the sermons that formed the foundation for the Dharma took place in the ancient capital city of Shravasti. According to scripture, the Buddha spent twenty-five years living and teaching in Shravasti after he had achieved enlightenment. As a result of the Buddha’s long life in the city, it has become a crucial location where nearly all of the Buddha’s core teachings were collected and is, therefore, a relic in itself.
While living in Shravasti, Siddhartha performed many miracles, the two most revered of which became known as the great miracles and the twin miracles. Scripture states that during the great miracle, the Buddha duplicated himself into many forms, and in the twin miracle, he levitated several feet off the ground while meditating and caused fire and water to spout from his body, causing his followers to kneel in devotion.
8. The Buddha Tooth Relic: Singapore
Located in the heart of the Chinatown district in downtown Singapore, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is home to one of the most important relics for practitioners of Chinese Buddhism in East Asia. The temple was completed in 2007 and was designed to follow the Chinese Buddhist architectural style that became popular during the Tang Dynasty. It incorporates influences from Japanese and Tibetan stylistic traditions. The temple houses the historical tooth relic of the Buddha, which was found in a collapsed stupa in present-day Myanmar. Despite the size of the relic itself being considerably longer than a human tooth, it is still revered as an object of great spiritual significance.
