Sarira (buddhist Relics) And Its Religious Significance

SARIRA
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Sarira (Buddhist Relics) And Its Religious Significance
In Buddhism, the cremation of monks is followed by careful search and sifting of the ashes to find small objects known as Sariras. Sariras are the pearl or bead shaped objects that are allegedly found in the bodies of spiritual masters or Buddhist monks upon cremations. These small objects have religious significance and they are stored in temples and worshipped.
Why Sariras/Relics are kept in Temples and worshipped
These relics are just products of cremation of a monk. There have been various reasons about how they are formed though some people especially non-Buddhists have dispelled them as conspiracies or publicity stunts. Rationalizing their formation or existence has sparked heated debates. However, they serve a special purpose to Buddhism religion. These relics are often kept in the temples where they are often worshipped. The worshippers believe these relics signify purity of the life lived by the dead monk or spiritual master. Shows the corpse lived a pure life such that their bodies could produce these relics. Sariras serve as a tangible evidence of their pure life that was expended for the welfare of all people. Allegedly, cremation of normal people does not yield these substances and therefore each one of these relics is treated specially. These objects are just but the prove of a Buddhist’s life well-lived, the physical manifestation of piety and devotion.
Keeping these objects in temples are for varied reasons. Partly, it is here where these monks devoted their lives and thus it was their home. Keeping their remains in the very same place where they devoted their lives is the honorable thing to do. Secondly, they are kept in temples to be worshipped. It is the most appropriate location for worshipping as believers remember the devotion of these monks. It elicits the desire to lead a pure life just as these spiritual masters whose purity has outlived them. they are also believed to have power over the living and help to purify their thoughts when placed on their heads CITATION Kev14 \l 1033 (Lo, 2014). They therefore serve an integral role in Buddhism and help the living in their spiritual journeys. The people worship them to draw the power believed to be held in these objects over them to enlighten them and purify them.
What these relics stand for
These relics stand for purity and devotion. Like mentioned above, they are not found in just anyone but those who lived pure lives. They embody the spiritual knowledge and teachings of the monk. They become ...