A
Heavenly Buddhist Relic
Manifested
On May 24, 2015, Bodhi Meditation Malaysia exhibited a miraculous Buddhist relic, also known as a sarira. Devotees numbering 5,000 were delighted and grateful to have the opportunity to witness the sarira vibrating in a stupa. This is the third time this relic has been exhibited at the compassionate behest of Grandmaster JinBodhi, with the hope that it brings viewers compassionate transmission — first an eternally compassionate heart, then blessings of great dharmic power and infinite wisdom. Those who receive such blessings will never regress, but rather can persist in their cultivation. Grandmaster JinBodhi hopes that this sarira can endow people with eternal auspiciousness.
This sarira manifested by itself; it was not given by anyone or bought from somewhere. It appeared out of nowhere. Bodhi practitioners refer to it as a “heavenly Buddhist sarira.” One day in December 2012, when Grandmaster JinBodhi was searching for something, he happened to open an old cellphone case and found this sarira inside. It is much larger than most pearls; it’s as large as a big grape.
What Are Buddhist Relics?
When an earthly being of great Buddhist spiritual achievement dies, the crystalized essence of their enlightenment and blessing power is often left on Earth in the form of Buddhist relics called sariras. Sarira is a Sanskrit term meaning “body,” but which has come to refer to a bead-shaped object resembling a pearl or crystal found, often in profusion, in the cremation ashes of eminent Buddhist masters, and sometimes of laypeople who have achieved immense spiritual purity. A diamond is rated a 10 on the Mohs scale, which measures the hardness of gemstones; it is said that the hardness of a sarira is usually between seven and 11.
After Sakyamuni Buddha entered Nirvana, his body was cremated in accordance with the customs of ancient India. A multitude of Buddhist relics was found in his cremation ashes. Although the exact number was not recorded, it was said to be about 84,000. In ancient India, a king named Ashoka did many great deeds to spread Buddhism, Buddhist practice and the concept of compassion. He sent several Buddhist relics to China. One of them is a piece of Buddha’s finger bone (Famen Temple, Shaanxi Province) that had proved indestructible by fire. Another of Buddha’s bone relics, located in Nanjing, China, has new relics growing out of it.
Stories abound of Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike being powerfully impacted by an encounter with sariras. In the year 247 AD, during the reign of Wu kingdom in China, there arrived a Buddhist monk from India by the name of Kang Seng Hui. He put up a small makeshift temple and began spreading dharma. Sun Quan, the emperor of China, questioned Kang about the truth of Buddha Sakyamuni’s teachings. Kang declared, “Buddha Sakyamuni entered Nirvana 1,000 years ago, but his holy relics are still blazing with powerful energy and luminosity. King Ashoka of India built 84,000 pagodas to revere the holy relics and spread Buddhism.”
Skeptical about Kang’s words, Sun Quan challenged him. “If you can obtain the holy relics out of nowhere, I will build a pagoda for you. Otherwise, you will be punished according to the rule of law.” Kang prayed with sincerity and a miracle happened 28 days later: A sarira suddenly appeared in an empty vase, vibrating with luminosity.
What is the cause of such a miracle? It is unknown. Like sariras, many things in this world remain mysterious and unexplainable to us.
