Śarīra

{{Short description|Buddhist relics or bead-shaped objects}} {{Redirect|Buddhist relics|relics specifically claimed to derive from Siddhartha Gautama|Relics associated with Buddha}} {{Redirect|Sarira||Three Bodies Doctrine (Vedanta)}} {{refimprove|date=August 2017}} {{Chinese |pic=Relics of buddha from His Holiness Supreme Patriarch of Thailand 2012.jpg |picsize= |piccap=Relics of the Buddha in a temple in Thailand |t=舍利 or 舍利子 |s=舍利 or 舍利子 |p=shèlì |kanji=仏舎利 |hiragana=ぶっしゃり |romaji=busshari |hangul=사리 |hanja=舍利 |rr=sari |mr=sari |lang2=Sanskrit |lang2_content=śarīra |tib=རིང་བསྲེལ། |lang3=Thai |lang3_content=พระบรมสารีริกธาตุ<br>{{RTGS|Phra Boromma Sari Rikka That}} |wylie=ring bsrel |vie=Xá lợi |lang4=bn |lang4_content=শরীর

|lang5=Myanmar |lang5_content=သရီရဓာတ်တော် }}

[[Image:Buddha relics.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Buddha relics from Kanishka the Great's stupa in Peshawar, Pakistan, now in Mandalay, Burma. Teresa Merrigan, 2005]] '''Śarīra''' is a generic term referring to Buddhist relics, although in common usage it usually refers to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the Buddha after cremation are termed ''dhātu'' in the ''Mahaparinibbana Sutta''.<ref>*[http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html "Maha-parinibbana Sutta,"]</ref> Śarīra are held to emanate or incite adhiṣṭhāna (blessings) within the mindstream and experience of those connected to them.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Dan|title=Pearls from Bones: Relics, Chortens, Tertons and the Signs of Saintly Death in Tibet|journal=Numen|date=September 1994|volume=41|issue=3|pages=274|doi=10.2307/3270352|jstor=3270352}}</ref> Sarira are also believed to ward off evil in the Himalayan Buddhist tradition.

==Terminology== Śarīraḥ (pronounced /ɕɐɽiːɽɐh/) means "body" in Sanskrit. When used in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit texts to mean "relics", it is always used in the plural: śarīrāḥ. The term ''ringsel'' is a loanword from the Tibetan རིང་བསྲེལ (''ring bsrel''). Both of these terms are ambiguous in English; they are generally used as synonyms, although according to some interpretations, ringsels are a subset of śarīras.

Śarīra can refer to: * Dharmakāya śarīra, which are sutras as told by the Buddha. According to Ding Fubao's ''Dictionary of Buddhist Terms'', a Dharma body śarīra is "the Sutra as told by the Buddha: That which is unchanging in what is told by the Buddha, is of the same property as the essence of the Buddha himself, hence it is called the ''dharma body śarīra''. * Remains of the Buddha or other spiritual masters, either cremated remains or other pieces, including a finger bone or a preserved body, similar to Christian relics/incorruptibles. * Broken-body śarīras refers specifically to cremated remains. * When used without qualification, it generally refers to the pearl-like remnant of a master left after cremation. Some Buddhist traditions also treated written scriptures as relics. Manuscripts deposited in ''stupas'' were sometimes called ''dharmasarira'', "relics in the form of the teaching". Bronkhorst states that Brahmanical ideas about purity may have contributed to "shifts away from real bodily remains", with stupas, scriptures as dharmasarira, the Buddha's dharmakaya, and later Buddha images becoming more prominent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bronkhorst |first=Johannes |url= |title=Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism |date= |publisher= |isbn=978-90-04-76459-0 |pages=207-218 |language=en}}</ref>

==Pearl-like śarīras== [[File:SHAKA GOICHIDAIKI ZUE 1839 Śarīra.jpg|thumb|They divided śarīras and carried it to their kingdoms. Illustration by Hokusai]] Although the term śarīra can be used to refer to a wide variety of Buddhist relics, as listed above, it is generally used to refer to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters.

These objects are considered relics of significant importance in many sects of Buddhism since they are believed to embody the spiritual knowledge, teachings, realizations or living essence of spiritual masters. They are taken as evidence of the masters' enlightenment and spiritual purity. Some believe that śarīras are deliberately left by the consciousness of a master for veneration, and that the beauty of the śarīras depends on how well the masters had cultivated their mind and souls. Śarīra come in a variety of colours, and some are even translucent.

Sariras are typically displayed in a glass bowl inside small gold urns or stupas as well as enshrined inside the master's statue. Śarīras are also believed to mysteriously multiply while inside their containers if they have been stored under favorable conditions. Saffron threads are sometimes placed within or around the bowl containing individual śarīra as an offering.

In the Korean ''Samguk yusa'' it is said that the monk Myojong received a śarīra from a turtle which caused others to treat the monk better.<ref>Il-yeon: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea'', translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 100f. Silk Pagoda (2006). {{ISBN|1-59654-348-5}}</ref>

The occurrence of śarīra is not restricted to ancient times, and many Buddhists have shown that śarīra are not limited to humans or masters. Many texts of Pure Land Buddhism report śarīras of many adherents, some occurring recently. Some Buddhists associate a student's spiritual life with the amount and condition of the śarīra they leave after cremation. Many Pure Land Buddhists believe Amitābha's power manifests cremated remains into śarīra. Many claim that pearls of śarīra rain at the funerals of eminent monks. There are reports that śarīra may appear, multiply or disappear, depending on a keeper's thoughts. One's vow may also be important. One legend holds that the translator Kumārajīva wanted to demonstrate that his translations were not false; as a result his tongue remained intact after cremation.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

==Scientific analysis== There is evidence that under certain conditions of heating, human bones can form crystalline structures.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=7665130 | volume=74 | issue=1–2 | title=Scanning electron microscope observations of heat-treated human bone |date=June 1995 | journal=Forensic Sci. Int. | pages=29–45 | doi=10.1016/0379-0738(95)01735-2| last1=Holden | first1=J.L. | last2=Phakey | first2=P.P. | last3=Clement | first3=J.G. }}</ref>

==Documentary films== Pearl relics are documented in the 2008 film, ''Unmistaken Child'', among the cremation ashes of Geshe Lama Konchog.

==In Javanese language== Javanese has a strong historical bond with the Hindu tradition and Sanskrit liturgical language. Śarīra is also used in Archaic (Kawi) Javanese, preserving its original meaning of 'body' or 'human body'. The word also finds its way into the modern Javanese language as "slira" with the same meaning. "Sliramu" (strictly translated as 'your body') and "sliraku" (strictly translated as 'my body') are usually used in poems or songs to replace "you" and "I", respectively. The word is not common but is used in both oral and written contexts.

==See also== * Cetiya * Burmese pagoda * Rainbow body * Relics associated with Buddha

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://philosophy.dude.googlepages.com/sariras.html Sariras: Ringsels and Mummies (side by side comparison between ringsels and gallstones)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831042250/http://philosophy.dude.googlepages.com/sariras.html |date=2009-08-31 }} * [http://relicsofbuddha.com/eng/ Relics of Buddha] * [http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=5,949,0,0,1,0 Sacred Buddhist Relics] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20031205125740/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week711/feature.html Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly, Episode no. 711] * [http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2003/relics.html MIT News: Buddhist relics ] * [http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=1032 WNET New York] * [http://www.maitreyarelictour.com/ Maitreya Relic Tour] * [http://k6.re/JpnZT/ Sarira collection] * [http://k6.re/A7ALs/ Buddhist relics collection]

Category:Buddhist religious objects Category:Sanskrit words and phrases *