Chua Duoc Su

The human body, whether male or female, large or small, in the past, after being burned, leaves bones and teeth, more or less. But it's just normal bone without discoloration, just a white color, and no other color.

Particularly about jade relics. The Sanskrit and Pali relic phrase is Sarira, in English it is a relic, which is the quintessential part of the cultists, keeping the strict precepts, through which the Sutta Pitaka often refers to bone and tooth relics. And other types of relics are the remains of His Holiness after the cremation remains. In other words, jade relics are the result of years of practice, strict discipline, and the ability to practice profound meditation of the Buddha in particular, and in general, of the cultivators.

According to the scriptures, after the cremation ceremony, the relics of the Buddha consist of bone fragments that have turned into jade, so they are also called jade relics, including the original parts of hair, skin, and blood ... According to scriptures, after The Buddha passed into nirvana, and after the cremation ceremony the Buddha left 84,000 beads of all kinds of relic, large and small, of different sizes and colors.

Buddha's relics are also considered what belonged to him when he was still alive, such as clothes, bowls, etc., including his teachings and precepts. Most scriptures distinguish relics into two categories:

1- All the remains are put into the tower called Full Body of Relics;

2- The remains are divided into parts to worship in places called Relics of a cremated body.

The Sutra of the Buddha's Desire of Merit divides the relics of the Buddha into two categories:

1- Born of relics, ie the remains, and

2- Dharma body of relics, ie teachings, precepts.

The Buddha Dharma Garden and Forest book distinguishes three types of Buddha relics:

- Relic bone, white color;

- Relic hair, black color;

- Meat of relics, red color.

According to statistics, Buddha relics include the following characteristics:

1- There are many colors: white, yellow, blue, green, pink...

2- Many shapes include bone fragments, rice grains, beans ...

3- The small relics can float to the surface of the water and can attract other stones to float;

4- Can increase or decrease the amount

5- Can change color and size;

6- Most are light for their size.

The Buddha left relics showing his great compassion. Because of his love for sentient beings, he appeared in the world, and because of his love for living beings, especially those after the Buddha's time in the world like you, he left behind a part of his body, which is the miraculous crystallization of his spiritual attainments spirituality, of the ultimate development of compassion and wisdom.

According to the Sutras, the Buddha's remains are divided into three parts given to the gods, the dragon king, and the human world. Particularly part of the relics left behind for mankind. Historical records say that, after the cremation ceremony, the Buddha's relics were divided into 8 parts for 8 neighboring countries.

1- King Ajatasatru of Magadha;

2- The Licchavi tribe of Vesali;

3- Sakya tribe in Kapilavatthu;

4- The Buli tribe of Alakappa;

5- The Koli tribe of Rawagama;

6- The Brahmin group in Vethadipaka;

7- Malla tribe in Pava; and

8- The Malla tribe in Kusinagara.

Many books record the legend that there are seven places that have stored a part of the Buddha's relics without fear of loss:

1- Right canine, upper jaw, at Culamani temple in Tavatimsa;

2- Left canine, upper jaw, in the kingdom of Gandhara;

3- Right canine, lower jaw, in Sri Lanka;

4- Left fangs, lower jaw, in the realm of Naga (Dragon);

5-Right collarbone, at Culamani temple in Tavatimsa;

6- The left collarbone, at Dusasa temple, in the Brahma world; and

7- Forehead bone, at Dusasa temple, in the Brahma realm.

Perhaps King Kanishka of the 11th century was the first to find Buddha relics when excavating at Pashaviar, Pakistan. In 1909, here people also found a piece of Buddha's bone 3.8cm long, transparent as jade; The bone was then shipped to Mandalay, Myanmar. At present, many pagodas and towers everywhere are worshiping relics of Buddha and his disciples. Most are in Asian countries, in Thailand, India, Burma (Myanmar), China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Today in the United States, there are Duoc Su Temple and some other temples, but Duoc Su Temple and Ten Thousand Medicine Buddha Temple are relatively full, so every year the Duoc Su Temple and Ten Thousand Medicine Buddha Temple hold a ceremony to worship Buddha relics in the first week of August each year.

According to books, later King Asoka divided these relics into 84,000 small boxes and built 84,000 worshiping towers. Thanks to that, Buddha relics are preserved and handed down to this day.

In addition to worshiping the Full Body of Relics, the Relics of a cremated body, and the Dharma Body of the relics and anything related to the Buddha, the worshiping, prostrations, and offerings, mankind also knows the Four Holy Lands. That is:

- Where Buddha was born,

- Where Buddha attained enlightenment,

- Where the Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma,

- Where Buddha entered Nirvana

If you make offerings to these four holy places, the merits and virtues are the same as that of paying homage to and making offerings to the relics, which implies a predestined relationship with the Buddha, hearing the Dharma, and quickly attaining Buddhahood. You can make offerings to the relics with flowers and fruits; by sweeping, and cleaning; but above all, make offerings by diligently practicing according to the Buddha's teachings. According to the teachings of Zopa Rinpoche:

- Each part of the Buddha's body and relics contains a mysterious power that can increase the growth of good roots and eliminate bad karma. Therefore, relics have the ability to touch people's hearts and develop compassion in the hearts of those who have the opportunity to worship.

Blessings are difficult to discuss in detail, but it is clear that those of you who believe in the Buddha, believe in his appearance in the world, and worship and pay homage to his relics will find your mind at peace and receive divine inspiration. If your mind is safe and clear, everything will be happy and business will be smooth. It is such an immeasurable blessing.

Thus, the name Buddha's relics is not unfamiliar to the Buddha's children, surely everyone has heard of Buddha's relics, and that of the Patriarchs. However, not everyone has enough good fortune to admire Buddha relics.

You were born without meeting Buddha because of poor luck, but, as a great consolation, even though Buddha is no longer in the world, the relics he left behind show the vitality of the golden body, through which you can worship, and make offerings as offerings to the Buddha. According to the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Chapter Lion Roaring Bodhisattva says:

- The Tathagata, in order to make living beings grow in merit and virtue, disintegrated his body into relics for sentient beings to make offerings to.

Another chapter of this sutta further states:

- Although the Buddha entered Nirvana, the relics and the unsurpassed Dharma Jewels always remained in the world and could serve as a refuge for sentient beings.

Therefore, according to the Buddha's teaching, the merit of worshiping, bowing, and making offerings to the Buddha's relics is equal to the merit of paying homage to and making offerings to his body. According to the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, the following Chapter on the last instructions handed down makes it clear. At that time Master Ananda said to the Buddha:

- At the present Buddha, if someone brings things such as Gold, silver, seven treasures, electricity, sugar, room, clothes, food, drink, all necessary things, or a wife and children, servants respectfully make offerings to the Buddha. After the Tathagata enters Nirvana, if someone brings such things respectfully as an offering to the whole body of relics and merits of these two people, who is more?

Buddha said:

- These two people have equal blessings, their merit is vast, immeasurable, and boundless, and they endure until the end of their suffering.

Ananda said again:

- At the present Buddha, if someone reverently made offerings to the Buddha as above, after the Buddha entered Nirvana, if someone reverently offered half of the body of relics, who would be more blessed?

Buddha said:

Because both of them reverently make offerings, they are blessed with the same blessing, which is immeasurable and boundless.

Hey Ananda! Until reverently make offerings of a quarter of a relic, an eighth, a hundredth, a thousandth, a tenth, or as the sands of Ganges, or the size of a mustard seed, this person will be as blessed as a reverent person. make offerings to the present Tathagata.

Ananda, you should know that, whether the Buddha is present or has entered Nirvana, if there are people who respectfully make offerings, worship, and praise, they will be equally blessed.

The Buddha told Ananda and the assembly:

After I enter Nirvana, all sentient beings, either in heaven or in the human world, who see my relics and rejoice, reverently worship and make offerings, will gain immeasurable and boundless merit.

Hey Ananda! If you see the relics of the Tathagata, you will see the Buddha; if you see the Buddha, you will see the Dharma; if you see the Dharma, you will see the Sangha; if you see the Sangha, you will see Nirvana.

Ananda should know that because of the above conditions, the Three Jewels always remain unchanged and can serve as a refuge for all sentient beings.

With immeasurable compassion, the Buddha left the relics in this world after he passed away from Nirvana so that sentient beings in the next life could still have a chance to worship and make offerings. Therefore, Buddha's relics are the most eloquent evidence of his presence and the meaning of that appearance has only one purpose, which is to help sentient beings end all suffering, achieve their ultimate goals liberated and Nirvana, no more samsara.

Out of respect for the virtues of the Buddha Treasure, you treasure and worship what is related to him. As a result of paying respects in the form of making offerings to his relics, good karma will arise, and faith in the path to liberation will be strengthened and increased. The construction of stupas to worship Buddha's relics, first in heaven, then in India, then in Ceylon, etc., is currently being carried out in many parts of the world destination above.

Recently, the scientific community has begun to find ways to explain the mysterious phenomena mentioned by the Buddha in the scriptures. However, when they began to study the phenomenon of relics, they encountered many obstacles.

In the West, people don't believe in Buddha's relics. It was not until 1997 that Mr. Frenchman Peppé while conducting archeology in the Piprava region, south of Nepal, found relics contained in a stone box. On the box are engraved Brahmi texts, the content is as follows:

- This is the relic of the Buddha. This relic is worshiped by the Sakya tribe, in Savatthi country.

This discovery proves: What is recorded in The Long Agamas and some other scriptures about the division of the Buddha's relics into 8 parts for 8 ancient countries when the Buddha entered Nirvana is real. The strange thing is that after more than 26 centuries, the Buddha's relics are still intact, sparkling with colors.

As the crystallization of spiritual attainment, as Lama Zopa Rinpoche said:

- Each part of the Buddha's body and relics contains a mysterious power that can increase the growth of good roots and dispel evil karma.

Therefore, Buddha relics have the ability to touch people's minds and develop compassion in the hearts of those who have the opportunity to admire Buddha relics. Therefore, the relics are the remains of the essence that have outstanding function, helping to increase the good and eliminate the evil. Just be sincere, you can feel the miraculous power of the relics. In the Lion King Sutra, the Buddha taught:

- Whether now, making offerings to the Tathagata, or in the future, making offerings to relics, the accumulated merits are equal, and the results obtained are the same.

Although in the present you are not blessed enough to see the Buddha, you still have enough goodwill to meet the Buddha's relics and the Buddha's Dharma. So even though the Buddha doesn't appear right in front of you in his familiar form, you can see the Buddha's relics and still be able to attain enlightenment.

So how should you make offerings to the relics?

According to the Sutras and the venerable virtues, they often guide and offer relics in three ways:

1- Offering material things, such as pure wealth, flowers, lamps, food, and drink.

2- Offering a heart of reverence and reverence to the Buddhas by sweeping the places where relics are located, paying homage to the mandala, and building Buddha statues and stupas.

3- Make offerings to practice: Live according to the Dharma, open an altruistic heart to care for others more than yourself, or at least aspire to try to be like that.

Due to the outstanding merits, I have just introduced, when you come to a place with relics, you should not treat this as just a museum. You must see that the relic is the embodiment of the Buddha and also the embodiment of all the noble qualities of the enlightened one. If you do that, there will appear a white light pouring down on the top of your head, all the evil karma of body, mouth, and mind condensing into black smoke, or turbid water, and being expelled from the body through pores. Special

- When the body is sick:

You should go to the Buddha's relics, visualize a beam of light pouring down on the crown of your head and sentient beings, seeing sickness and all that is harmful to health condense into a cap of blood and be expelled from the body two heels.

- Admire the relics when the mind is restless

Having trouble with family or friends causes trouble, you can come to worship the relics and circumambulate the relics. Please note that it is advisable to go around clockwise. Contemplating the people who have sworn to liberation, by diligently practicing to end suffering, without attachment, always happy and equanimous, relics have been formed. Now, I vow to study according to that happiness and see defilements as:

- Scorpions, toads, snakes... I need to stay away.

At the same time, you pray for sentient beings who are affected by afflictions to also be purified. Instead of lamenting your own self-pity and forgetting about alcohol and addiction, this visualization method will help you not to focus too much on yourself, using your own suffering as a motivation to practice.

The venerable ones also encourage, when going to places where there are Buddha relics, they should bow down and circumambulate around the towers worshiping Buddha relics. This is very important to do so to receive the blessings of the Buddhas. For the sake of sentient beings, the Buddhas generate bodhicitta; for the sake of sentient beings the Buddhas walk the path of cultivation; and it is also for the sake of sentient beings that the Buddhas manifest full enlightenment.

For this reason, the Buddhas and Buddha Relics are extremely mysterious and full of blessing power. If you know this, you will receive a very powerful blessing. Even if the mind is not concentrated, it is still possible to receive the blessing power thanks to the Buddha's relics. By understanding this reasoning, you can quickly become enlightened. Even if you don't understand much, worshiping the relics will also be a factor in achieving the path of karma on the path of practice, and towards liberation and enlightenment.

In short, with immeasurable compassion, the Buddha left the relics in this world after his death and entered Nirvana, so that sentient beings in the next life could still have the opportunity to worship and make offerings. You were born without meeting the Buddha because of poor luck, but, as a great consolation, even though the Buddha is no longer in the world, the relics he left behind show the vitality of the golden body, through which you can worship and make offerings to the Buddha.

The relics that are the result of the practice of the Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, the sages, and the Sangha that remain have the outstanding function of helping to increase the good and eliminate the evil. Just be sincere, you can feel the miraculous power of the relics. So when encountering difficult things, things that are not satisfactory, instead of lamenting your own fate, finding forgetfulness in alcohol and addiction, you try to cultivate blessings, when you meet the conditions of meeting the relics, should try to worship, prostrate, make offerings ... By this method, it will help you not to focus too much on yourself, and use your own suffering as a motivation to practice. With such reflection and practice, you will surely achieve everything you want.