What are Buddhist relics? The bones, teeth and pearls that hold great power for followers

Katherine Nguyen stood with hands folded and head bowed at the altar of a Buddhist temple in Southern California. Before her were tooth and finger-bone relics believed to belong to Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who is said to have attained enlightenment in India about 2,500 years ago. “To be able to see the Buddha, to get close to him and feel the energy – it’s very special for a Buddhist,” Nguyen said. Every spring, the Wei Mountain Temple in Rosemead, California, publicly displays what it calls the “10,000 Buddha Relics”, though the actual number contained in its glass display cases and miniature stupas – sacred, dome-shaped monuments that Buddhists also use for meditation and pilgrimage – is far larger, according to the temple’s founder, Master YongHua. Relics in Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity are venerated as links to the saints or Christ, while Buddhist relics are primarily seen as living, active sources of blessings imbued with supernatural qualities. It is believed they can appear on their own, grow or even multiply, which is how Buddhists often explain the mystery of why there are so many spread across the world. Relics of the Buddha or revered monks are typically enshrined in stupas. Most Buddhist sects acknowledge the spiritual significance of relics, even if some teachers have tried to shift the focus to Buddha’s teachings that emphasise mindfulness and kindness. Relics can be found in every country where Buddhism has a deep history: India, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. In temple and monastic settings, the authenticity of these items is rarely questioned; spiritual leaders avoid subjecting them to scientific tests over worries that it might strip them of what makes them extraordinary. Over the years, there have been many reports of fake tooth and bone relics, as well as manufactured acrylic shariras – small bead- or pearl-like objects that the devout believe are left behind after certain monks are cremated – flooding markets in Asia and online shopping platforms, often sold with falsified authenticity certificates. Singapore’s Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum houses a tooth relic, said to have been recovered from the Buddha’s funeral pyre, in a giant stupa fashioned from 320kg (705 pounds) of gold. That relic came under scrutiny in 2007 after dental experts pointed out that the 7.5cm (three-inch) tooth’s characteristics were incompatible with the dimensions of a human tooth and most likely belonged to a cow or buffalo. The temple’s abbot, the Venerable Shi Fa Zhao, said at the time that he had never questioned its authenticity and “if you believe it’s real, it’s real”. In Southern California, at the US headquarters of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist order, the Venerable Hui Ze explained that the order’s founder, the Venerable Master Hsing Yun, taught his followers not to solely focus on relics. “Our venerable master emphasised ‘Humanistic Buddhism’ – how we can bring Buddha’s teachings into our daily lives with good thoughts, words and actions,” Hui Ze says. “He instructed us that relics should not distract us from the path to liberation.” The order’s headquarters in Taiwan houses a Buddha tooth relic gifted to Hsing Yun by a lama, Kunga Dorje Rinpoche, who carried the sacred object as he fled Tibet in 1968 and safeguarded it for three decades. Hui Ze says he was moved by the relic the moment he saw it. “I had this really intimate experience and felt like I had connected with the Buddha who was here 2,600 years ago, and that connection is priceless,” he says. Hsing Yun had instructed disciples not to look for relics in his ashes. He died on February 5, 2023, at age 95. Following the master’s cremation, however, his disciples sifted through the cremated remains and found several colourful, pearly relics. The relics will be spread across the order’s dozen centres across five continents. Some will be enshrined at the Southern California headquarters during a ceremony on March 21.

What are Buddhist relics? The bones, teeth and pearls that hold great power for followers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Buddhist relics are seen as living, active sources of blessings imbued with supernatural qualities, but authenticity can be an issue

Buddhist relics are seen as living, active sources of blessings imbued with supernatural qualities, but authenticity can be an issue