What is a relic?

Relic originally refers to the remains and beaded gem products left by Buddha Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, after cremation. The Indian name of the relic is Tuodu, also known as Sherilo, which is translated into Chinese as spirit bone, body bone and body. It's a crystal left by a person after cremation. But the relics are completely different from the bones of ordinary dead people. Its shapes are ever-changing, including round, oval, lotus, Buddha or bodhisattva; Its colors are white, black, green and red, and there are also various colors; Some relics are like pearls, while others are like agates and crystals. Some are transparent, others are bright, just like diamonds.

2,500 years ago, when Sakyamuni Buddha was in nirvana, disciples got a parietal bone, two shoulder blades, four teeth, a middle finger relic and 84,000 beaded relics from the ashes when they cremated his body. These real finger bones of Sakyamuni Buddha are regarded as sacred objects by believers, and they compete to offer them.

According to the scripture, the relic is obtained by a person through practicing discipline, determination and wisdom, plus his own great will. It is very rare and precious. For example, after the Buddha's nirvana, as many as one stone and six buckets of relics were burned. At that time, eight kings competed for the Buddha relic, and each got a share. They brought the relics of the Buddha back to their own country and built pagodas for people to watch and worship. In addition, accomplished monks and believers at home can also get Buddhist relics after death. For example, Huineng, the sixth ancestor of China, Master Hongyi, Master Yin Guang, Master Taixu and Zhang Jia Living Buddha in modern times all left a considerable number of relics.

The golden blood relic of Sakyamuni Buddha is recorded in relevant Buddhist documents. After Buddha Sakyamuni was cremated, disciples found many round hard objects in his ashes, which were bright, transparent, colorful and as hard as steel. This is the relic, commonly known as the relic, which has always been regarded as a Buddhist treasure.

According to observation, relic is a kind of bone crystal, and its composition and structure are unknown. It is said that Taoist can only appear after being cremated after her death. Traces are very rare. However, in recent years, the relic phenomenon has appeared frequently and become an anecdote in contemporary Buddhism.

1990 65438+ February. Master Hong Chuan, a monk from China, died. After cremation, 480 colored hard objects similar to crystals were found in his ashes, some of which sparkled like diamonds. This is recognized. This is no different from the treasures of Buddhism.

1On the evening of May 7, 993, a 79-year-old monk, Wuliji (Mongolian), the only Tibetan Buddhist Shi Sheng Temple in Shenyang, northeast China, felt unwell and wanted to go back to his hometown in Fuxin, Liaoning. Unexpectedly, he died quietly as soon as someone in the temple sent him to Shenyang Railway Station. The monk's body was sent to funeral home cremation, a civil servant in Shenyang. After cremation, dozens of multicolored precious crystals such as red, green, yellow, black and white were found in his ashes, which were identified by Buddhist experts as precious relics left by a monk after his death.

It is said that some monks left as many as 10,000 relics. 199 1 March, Master Tong Xian, executive director of Chinese Buddhist Association, vice president of Shanxi Buddhist Association and vice president of Wutaishan Buddhist Association, died and was cremated, and 11,000 pieces of five-color relics were obtained, the highest in ancient and modern times and the highest in the world.

Some monks left relics as big as eggs. 1On September 27th, 989, the 93-year-old abbot of Xishi Temple in Guiping County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region passed away. After cremation, he got three bright green and crystal clear relics, each with a diameter of 3-4 cm, which looked like an emerald.

What is particularly amazing about the versatile mage relic is that after the monk died, his heart could not burn and finally became a solid relic. 1994 93-year-old Master Yuan Zhao practiced in Huokeji, Guanyin Mountain, Wuziping Township, Chang 'an County, Shaanxi Province. Since June, neither water nor rice has entered. On June 12, he suddenly got excited and excited. At nine o'clock in the evening, he gave a lecture on Buddhism to all the disciples who came to the temple, saying, "I will leave my heart to all beings", and then he was silent; When everyone watched, they had closed their eyes, meditated cross-legged and died quietly. Four days later, according to Buddhist rules, disciples set up firewood on a large bluestone board in the temple and burned the mage to death. The fire burned all day, and the mage had hundreds of relics and flowers of different sizes and shapes. The relic flower is white with red, yellow, blue and brown crystals the size of rice grains. What is particularly amazing is that the mage's heart will not burn for a long time and become a huge dark brown relic. At the end of cremation, my heart was still soft, and then it gradually hardened. More than 100 disciples present at that time witnessed it. It is said that Master Zhao Yuan is quiet, peaceful and kind-hearted, but he only eats one or two ounces per meal. Wang Xuwen, a lay disciple of the master and the president of Chang 'an Qigong Association, said that Huo Keji had sent someone to bring a relic to the provincial Buddhist Association, which was identified as a rare relic by Master Yuyuan. Later, the local people raised funds to build a pagoda for permanent preservation.

There have always been different opinions about the formation of the relic of Dexiang, a master of round photography. Some scholars have suggested that Buddhist monks have been vegetarian for a long time and ingested a lot of cellulose and minerals. After human metabolism, it is easy to form a large number of phosphates and carbonates, which are finally deposited in the body in the form of crystals. However, this explanation is not entirely convincing. There are thousands of vegetarians in the world. Why is there no relic? There are countless Buddhist disciples. Why doesn't everyone have a relic? Some scholars believe that this relic may be a pathological phenomenon, similar to gallstones and kidney calculi. This explanation is also difficult to justify. Many patients with lithiasis were cremated after death, and none of them had any relics. Moreover, almost all monks with Buddhist relics are healthy, peaceful and comfortable long-lived old people.

There are still relics in the master's mind, such as: Why are there large and small relics? How many? Why do relics have different colors and colors? What is even more puzzling is that the heart has been burning for a long time, from soft to hard, and has become a huge relic. This is unheard of in the history of Buddhism.

[Edit this paragraph] About the types of relics

Buddha blood Todoroki blood relic (1) whole body relic and broken body relic, the former refers to the whole body remains buried, and the latter refers to the remains cremated. This is from the third volume of the Bodhisattva Pregnancy Sutra. Or those who put all the remains in one tower are called whole corpse relics; On the other hand, those who divide the remains in multiple places are called broken relics (called two-person relics).

(2) There are two kinds of cultural relics, namely, bone relics and Fa Song relics. The Merit Sutra of Washing Buddha regards the Buddha's remains as Buddhist relics, and the teachings left by the Buddha are called Buddhist relics. This kind of relic shows that after the Buddha's extinction, the teachings and precepts mentioned by the Buddha will last forever and can be relied on by all living beings, so it is called Fasong relic, or Fasong relic for short.

(3) Bone remains, hair remains and meat remains. Volume 40 of Fallin says that the bone relic is white, the hair relic is black and the meat relic is red.

The so-called relics of later generations are the particles, solids and slight luster of adzuki beans, which are mostly placed in small towers and supported. It is generally believed that after the cremation of the Buddha's body, it is small and hard, and the cone is unbreakable. However, if you are a Buddhist disciple's relic, the cone attack will be broken. However, among the eight Buddhist relics found in India in modern times, one is neither granular nor solid, just like the usual human bones after being burned. Since ancient times, the parietal bone, tooth bone and finger bone of Buddha have been widely worshipped by believers. So besides the granular relics, there are other Buddhist relics circulating. In addition, the stupa where the relics are placed is called stupa, also called stupa. The bottle where the relic is put is called the relic bottle. The dharma meeting to support the relics is called the relic meeting.

According to "Long Agama", Volume 4, "The Tour Sutra", after the Buddha was released from nirvana between the two trees in the detention city, the relic scored eight points. Supported by eight countries from the tower. According to the biography of King Ashoka, one hundred years after the extinction of the Buddha, King Ashoka collected the remains of the Buddha and built 84,000 pagodas to support it.

Buddhists and Buddhist relics are inseparable, so they are willing to offer them respectfully. And often believe that where the relic is, it is where the dharma body is. Therefore, to support the relics, that is, to worship the bodhi tree, the throne of King Kong, the footprints of Buddhist scriptures, and so on, we want to establish karma worthy of Buddha's knowledge of Buddhism and achieve Bodhi quickly. Four clouds (Dazheng 16.354a) in Guang Jin Ming Jing say:' Those who give up profits will definitely quit smoking, which is rare, and Futian is the highest.' "Great Wisdom" Volume 59 (Dazheng 25.480a):' There are endless blessings to support the Buddhist relics, even if they are like mustard seeds.'

In addition to the above-mentioned Asoka's collection of 84,000 treasure baskets and the construction of 84,000 pagodas, there are also cases of supporting relics in other places. For example, according to the article Shizi Country (Ceylon) in Fa Xian Zhuan, there is a beautiful house with Buddha's teeth in the city. Article 11 of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty says that there is an exquisite Buddha's Tooth Hall beside the palace. According to the Biography of Monks, there are Buddhist temples in Luocheng, which exhaust national boundaries. The Biography of the Great Monk Seeking Dharma in the Western Regions of Datang contains an article that Zhao Xuan once went to Gabon to worship the Tathagata. The Tale of the Western Regions of Datang has been published for twelve years. Xuanzang returned to China and demanded 150 pieces of meat relics from the Tathagata. One year after the publication of Biography of Song Monks, I Ching returned to the DPRK with 300 relics.

The effective deeds of Buddhist relics have been circulated since ancient times, and it is not uncommon for Buddhist relics to feel sincere. According to the Biography of Monks (Volume 1), Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, did not believe in Buddhism. He tried to call the Buddhist Association to inquire about the efficacy of Buddhism. The monk's club invited him for three or seven days, feeling relic. The five colors sparkled, and Sun Quan asked Lux to hit him with an anvil. The anvil was stuck, but the relic was not damaged. Sun Quan was greatly moved. Such examples are recorded in "Sambo Hong Guangming Ji" and "Fa Zhu Yuanlin".

In the Tang Dynasty, the relics enshrined in Famen Temple (formerly Asoka Temple) outside Chang 'an won the respect of the ruling and opposition parties. In the 14th year of Zongyuan (8 19), Han Yu went to "remonstrate the Buddha's bones", saying that the bones of the Buddha who abandoned Di could not enter the palace, but should be put into fire and water to eradicate them. The emperor was furious when he saw the table, so he dismissed it as Chaozhou secretariat and ordered Zhang to write a Buddhist bone tablet. In the first year of you (1049), Liu Chen was ordered to rebuild the Paguan Temple Lingta, where the Buddha refers to the relic, and the emperor made a vow to welcome it. Since then, the reverence for the holy things has still prevailed.

In addition, quite a few people describe monks tortured by monks. The Biography of Song Monks, Volume 7, Biography of Wang Yuan, states that after Wang's death, his body was crushed and more than 700 relics were obtained. Xuan Yue Biography, the seventh volume of Simultaneous Interpretation, describes the collection of hundreds of Xuan Yue relics.

[Edit this paragraph] The significance reveals the mystery of the relic very much.

A, into the destruction of the relic:

Nirvana goes like a cloud: "Buddhism is over, and now it is gone." In the city where the body was detained, the birthplace of Lu Xun, the riverside of Posti, under the double forest tree, facing north and west, the pillow was dazzling. " (the north head wins the north, and the north method is long; Lying on the west side, in order to get rid of arrogance, the Buddha said, "After the Buddha is extinct, there are eight mistletoe plants and four Buddhist relics." Eight kings contended with each other, even the dragon and Babu contended with each other. Once, a wise minister told him, "If kings fight, they must win or lose. The Tathagata relic is unprofitable. I want to divide it into three parts: one for the heaven, one for the dragon god and one for the eight countries. " The reason is that everyone is happy; Everyone will store the Jintan and welcome it back to their own country to build a tower to support it. A hundred years later, there was an iron wheel king named Ashuga, who had no worries about Hua Yan. His name was Ayu, the grandson of King Asha. Five days to send the tower, the Dragon Palace for profit, let the ghost king smash seven treasures, 84 thousand a night. Since the tower has been completed, there are arhats' names, comfortable fingers and wheels, and 84 thousand roads have been taken, so that flying ghosts can match the tower. Within the scope of the South Station, there are 19 schools in China today. Famen Temple Five. Also Buddhist, Yunzu: Xie Leerluo, this cloud is the world or the cloud, and this cloud is the Buddha's body, which has been cultivated by infinite merits. Giving up life is different for you. If you are unstable, you will dye your body for the joy of all beings, indicating that impermanence cannot be changed, and ten buddhas will not enter nirvana. In addition to regulating all beings, it also shows the degree of extinction. Interests destroy fame, but not profits.

Buddha's true blood relic II. What are the types of relics?

The real blood relic of Buddha is Sanskrit, which means bone body, or spiritual bone, or hadron. In Buddhism, relics usually refer to the bones, hair or remains left by the Buddha and eminent monks after their death, as well as the crystals formed during cremation, and are regarded as Buddhist sacred objects. There are two kinds of relics: body-bone relics and dharma relics. The remains of the Buddha are called body and bone relics, and the Famen Temple Buddha refers to relics, which are the only remaining Buddha refers to relics in the world so far. Buddhist scriptures are called the Dharma of Body Relic, which means that the Buddha's teaching method is immortal. Relic can be divided into whole body relic and broken body relic. After the death of Sakyamuni stupa, the eight kings of India shared the stupa and built it for support. One hundred and sixty years later, King Ashoka, who unified India, hid the relics in countless pagodas and distributed them everywhere. The well-preserved remains of Zen master Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Nanhua Temple in Guangdong Province, are called whole-body relics.

The difference between a living relic and a living relic. Worship the Buddha and see the relic, choose the relic between the eyebrows, carve the relic with Buddha rust, shave the relic with flowers, etc. This relic has nothing to do with physiological phenomena, nor is it a drug coagulation or artificial manufacture. It is a long-term practice of abstinence and wisdom, and it is a sincere feeling, which is called affection and benefit. Living Buddha is the whole body relic and broken body benefit of Buddha and ancestors.

There are three common colors of relics, the white one is bone relics; Black is a hair relic; The red one is the remains of meat. Only the five colors of the relics and the change of magical powers are not damaged by everything.

[Edit this paragraph] Why do you want to leave the relics?

The colorful brain relics of Sakyamuni Buddha have four origins: one cloud is unpredictable; And the world of all beings is not over, and neither am I. Therefore, in the great mercy of truth, now incarnate and popularize all beings. Although it shows the degree of extinction, it is good to leave the relic and pass it on to the world, so that it can be taken care of and supported. Therefore, the cloud is willing to force. The sad heart is still smoking. For example, the Nirvana Sutra says: "If you win the King Kong, you will break the body of the King Kong, and you will be sad, but the relics will still be divided." In the second year of Daan (A.D. 12 10), the monk Wei Shi wrote the poem "Famen Temple Relic":

Sakyamuni Buddha's colorful brain relic temple is rich in Jin Tianyi, and Tayu has never been handed down by the Vatican.

It's ridiculous to bicker at different schools, which is different from my way.

The human bones are rotten yellow, and the stupa leans against the sky.

Don't burn the stove in the valley, but the hammer and frost axe are particularly strong.

There is no equality in three thousand worlds, and nineteen is the most predestined relationship.

One hundred generations of kings and grandchildren fought for support, and the emperors of the Six Dynasties made fresh food.

If you can bend your knees, then the sin will be missing, or the small bow will gradually become round.

Three eaves press the ground, and nine rounds strengthen Qinchuan.

The scriptures say that I am a Buddhist, but today I bother you to say sage.

Who has a relic?

Buddha, Bodhisattva, Luohan, Daoism and Gaozeng all have Buddhist relics. If it is a relic, the hammer will not break. If it is a disciple's relic, the impact will be broken.

Song Renzong imperial relic praise cloud:

The three kings hid the hostages and returned to the soil, while the five emperors turned to dust.

The praise of the master in the holy place is supreme, and the old gentleman is also telling the truth on earth.

Burying a corpse only looks at the tomb, where it will show future generations.

Only my teacher Jingu is here. Once the color is refined, it will grow new.

"People see that I'm dying, widely raising relics, I miss salt, and I'm thirsty. All beings are convinced that they are straightforward and soft, and they are bent on seeing the Buddha and do not cherish their lives. " ("Hokkekyo" Tathagata longevity product)

Support the merits and interests of sarira;

If there are sentient beings. Being able to do this is better than being a provider. The achievement of fifteen extraordinary victories is solemn. A person is often ashamed. Both have net confidence. The three are straightforward. Four are good friends. Five, there is no wisdom. The sixth is to share Buddha. Adhere to the correct method. Eight can do as you say. Nine lives in the Pure Land Buddha. Ten people are happy if they are respected by the noblest strangers. Eleven were born on earth and naturally read Buddha. Twelve, all the magic army can't be annoyed. Thirteen can protect Buddhism in the last days. Fourteen and ten places are protected by buddhas. Fifteen people can achieve five dharma bodies quickly. (Merits and Merits of Bathing Buddha)

In addition, "The Cause of Respecting Good and Evil" explains in detail the merits and demerits of comity and respect for Buddha pagodas. There are many contents, so I don't want to repeat them. See the scripture for details.

The Great Nirvana Sutra says, "When you see a Tathagata relic, you will see a Buddha."

Another cloud says, "Supporting the Buddhist relics is the treasure of the Buddha. When you see the Buddha, you will see the Dharma Body."

[Edit this paragraph] Is the relic a gallstone?

Buddha's bone relic is the crystallization of virtue and virtue of practicing precepts and wisdom. In fact, it only appears among Buddhists, but never among patients with gallstones.

Its magical phenomena show that it can't be a stone:

Medical students should know the appearance and physical properties of stones. The main component of stones is calcium or metal salt deposits, which are similar in shape to scale and fragile (so stones can be broken by ultrasonic waves), and these things will become powdery oxides at high temperature.

Dade's tongue, heart and other soft tissues without bones can also be cremated to form Buddhist relics, and even the tongue of a Buddha-chanting parrot can also become Buddhist relics.

What's more, the number of stones in the body is very small, otherwise it will endanger life, but sometimes the number of relics in Dade is amazing (tens to tens of thousands), and the colors and shapes are different. So many people can't burn stones, can they live?

It's not just monks who are vegetarian all the year round. After only one year's conversion, laymen also have colorful relics after burning, while ordinary vegetarians and many vegetarian animals have relics.

In all kinds of examples, some relics are pure and flawless, some can appear out of thin air (rain falling from the sky), some can shine, some can grow, some can show words on bones, and even the flesh shrinks or disappears, which is beyond the explanation of common sense and modern science.

The Buddhist relics and great virtues left by the Buddha and the eminent monks can make us yearn for the cause, thirsty and believe in Buddhism. Originally, the Buddha was immortal. The reason why he died soon is a convenient performance, in order to prevent all beings from rising dependence and even rising tired and slack hearts. "Hokkekyo" said: "If the Tathagata often becomes immortal, it will be arrogant and annoying. I can't bear the thought of suffering, and the heart of respect is convenient to say. Monks should know that it is difficult to meet a Buddha. " After the Buddha's extinction, leaving the relic to build a tower for all sentient beings is to let all sentient beings offer a rare thought, think about seeing the Buddha when they see the relic, and even "see the Buddha wholeheartedly without cherishing their lives", so as to forge ahead and practice diligently. If we sincerely respect the Buddhist relics, we will feel the intercourse of Taoism and the appearance of the Buddha. This is always the case. In Hokkekyo, the Buddha said to himself, "When I was with all the monks, I came out of Lingjiusan. When I was talking about sentient beings, I stayed here for convenience, but the existing ones cannot be destroyed. " He also advised: "If you have a wise man, don't be suspicious here. When the order is broken forever, the Buddha's words are true. " In the Sui Dynasty, when the master of Tiantai wise man read the "Skill of the King of Medicine and Bodhisattva" in Beijing, he suddenly fell into deep thought and looked at Lingshan for a while, as if he had never left.

[Edit this paragraph] The sources of relics can be divided into

(a) relics of successful practitioners of Buddhism after cremation;

(2) The remains flying from Elysium, Pure Brake Earth or other brake earth;

(3) Ten Buddhas or enlightened people bless and transform the Buddhist relics every time.

The role of the relic, if the holder of the relic:

(1) can turn adversity into luck, avoid disasters and solve problems;

(2) Being protected and respected by heaven and human beings and other sentient beings, avoiding non-human interference and evil influence;

(3) Pay more attention to business than reporting;

(4) If you hold a mantra, you can increase your merits by 100 million times, and if you do stoma, you will also get 100 million times of bad karma;

⑤ People who are physically ill can be cured by drinking water and soaking in the water of the relic, and the karmic obstacles will become lighter;

6. If a person takes a relic at the end of his life, he can go to the Elysium, which belongs to the light karma or excellent foundation, and the heavy karma will not fall into the three evil ways, and then he will be born to smell the Buddha and get rid of it immediately. On the contrary, if you don't respect the relic, the relic will fly away by itself. If you have great confidence in Buddhism, merit or intensive study, the Buddhist relics will proliferate and increase.

[Edit this paragraph] The merits of supporting the Buddhist relics

Good man, wait. If there is a stupid child with feelings in the world, stupid people also have feelings. Silly old woman, silly monk and nun. If you are affectionate, you will get a relic, and even one will not be scattered. And what was put with the relics. Take it with you day and night. If it is clean, if it is unclean. If you touch it, if you don't. You can always carry it without leaving your body. There is no standard to measure value. If the coat is around the neck. If the heart is in front, if it is behind. Both sides take advantage of idleness. Like the rhinoceros horn in the world. If a man takes him six feet above the water. The same is true of people with relics. From all sin, evil, evil and profit, you can't dye it. Good roots grow, and evil obstacles stay away. Good people meet bad people and leave. All his career conforms to Buddhism. Like Sakyamuni. Its body is what the world should look like. That is, the pure dharma body is big enough to cover the Buddha. One must enter the great nirvana. His appearance proved that he had made great progress in dharma. Therefore, we should know the twelve astronomical phenomena, such as King Kong and the astronomical phenomena. All souls should be guardians. Life has been extended for a long time. Life finally decided to give birth to Dou Shi Duotiangong Wenfa Philharmonic. We must go to the pure land of Shifang with our wishes. See the Buddha, listen to the law, and never retreat. (Ronnie's Sutra)

According to the Buddhist scriptures, there is no difference between the Buddha's dharma body blessing ability and the relic's. Only the blessed can see and hear, and it takes hundreds of robberies to accumulate a good dharma. Only practitioners can have such a good relationship.

[Edit this paragraph] About the relic society

The full name of the relic society is "the relic support society", that is, the Dharma meeting to support Buddhist relics and praise their merits. Also known as the "relic confession law." In India, rituals to worship and support relics have been popular since ancient times. According to Long Agama's record in the fourth volume of the Tour Sutra, after the Buddha's nirvana, the public offered fragrant flowers and geisha music to support his whole body. The merits and demerits of supporting the Buddhist relics are recorded in Volume 10 of Dapin Prajna Sutra and Volume 2 of Great Compassion Sutra. After the introduction of the relic into China, the ritual of offering the relic also rose. Volume 17 of Hong Guangming Ji and Volume 40 of Fazhu Yuanlin describe the ceremony of building stupas for support in China before the Tang Dynasty. One of the most famous is the Buddhist finger relic of Famen Temple. In Japan, at first, there was a story of Sima Da and others touching the relics, and later, Jian Zhen, Konghai, Yuanxing and Ren Yuan invited the relics, offering them to Zhao Ti Temple, Dongsi Temple, Liyan Temple, Horyuji Temple, Yagu Temple and Chusong Temple in the Tang Dynasty as examples, calling them the relic society, and the mantra group called Nirvana, Arhat and the relic society. There is usually a relic ceremony at the relic meeting, which is a tribute to the great wisdom of praising the Buddha's relic and the Buddha's equality and wishing all beings liberation. For example, the relic ritual described in Volume 5 of Zhu Hui's Clear Rules reads: "Bow with one heart, be full of virtue, be relic of body and mind, be initiated locally, be a woman, be respectful, show yourself, enter me, and be blessed by the Buddha, so I certify Bodhi, benefit all beings, be bodhi-minded, cultivate bodhisattva, and die together.