Relics of the Buddha, John S. Strong

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Relics of the Buddha
By: John S. Strong

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Author: John S. Strong
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 691117640

Product Code: 13088

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About the author

Contents

Buddhism is popularly seen as a religion stressing the truth of impermanence. How, then, to account for the long-standing veneration, in Asian Buddhist communities, of bone fragments, hair, teeth, and other bodily bits said to come from the historic Buddha?

Early European and American scholars of religion, influenced by a characteristic Protestant bias against relic worship, declared such practices to be superstitious and fraudulent, and far from the true essence of Buddhism.

John Strong's book, by contrast, argues that relic veneration has played a serious and integral role in Buddhist traditions in South and Southeast Asia-and that it is in no way foreign to Buddhism.

The book is structured around the life story of the Buddha, starting with traditions about relics of previous buddhas and relics from the past lives of the Buddha Sakyamuni. It then considers the death of the Buddha, the collection of his bodily relics after his cremation, and stories of their spread to different parts of Asia.

The book ends with a consideration of the legend of the future parinirva&ndot;a (extinction) of the relics prior to the advent of the next Buddha, Maitreya. Throughout, the author does not hesitate to explore the many versions of these legends and to relate them to their ritual, doctrinal, artistic, and social contexts.

Relics of the Buddha, John S. Strong, Princeton University, Hardcover, 2004, 290 Pages, $39.50

John S. Strong is Professor of Religion and Chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department at Bates College. He is the author of several books on Buddhism, including The Legend of King Asoka and The Legend and Cult of Upagupta (both from Princeton).

List of Tables xi

Preface xiii

Note and Abbreviations xix

Introduction: Relics of the Buddha 1

Relics and the Biographical Process 5

Types of Buddha Relics 8

Bones and Books 8

Bones and Beads 10

Relics, Bones, and Burial Practices in India and Beyond 12

Bones and Bodies 16

Relics and Images 18

Limitations of This Study 20

Outline 22

Relics of Previous Buddhas 25

Sakyamuni and His Predecessors 25

Past Buddhas, Relics, and Soteriology 30

The Case of Kasyapa and His Stupa 32

Two Buddhas at Once 36

Relics and the Spread of the Tradition 39

Relics Dispersed and Not Dispersed 44

Relics and Compassion 47

Conclusion 48

Relics of the Bodhisattva 50

Relics and the Jatakas 51

Jataka Stupas in North India 52

Sumedha's Hair 55

The Bodhisattva's Bones 56

Bodhisattva Relics in the Final Birth as Gautama 60

The Embryo in the Relic or the Relic as Embryo 63

The Relic of the Bodhisattva's Hairknot 65

Relics and the Certainty of Buddhahood 68

Conclusion 69

Relics of the Still-Living Buddha: Hairs and Footprints 71

Hair and Nail Relics 72

Trapusa and Bhallika 73

The Hair Relics at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda 76

Sri Lankan Traditions 80

The Chronicle of the Six Hair Relics 82

Footprints 85

The Saccabandha and Nammadafootprints 90

The Footprint on Adam's Peak 92

Conclusion 94

The Parinirvana of the Buddha 98

The Duties to the Corpse 99

The Funeral of a Cakravartin 100

The Corpse's Clothing 101

The Iron Coffin 106

The Veneration of the Buddha's Body 110

Cremation 115

Collection, Dispute, and Distribution: The "War of the Relics" 116

The Construction of the Stupas 121

Conclusion 122

Asoka and the Buddha Relics 124

The Collection of the Relics 125

The Relics at Ramagrama 126

The Underground Chamber of Mahakasyapa and Ajatasatru 127

Relic Security and the Roman Robots 132

The Construction of the 84,000 Stupas 136

The Rupakaya and the Dharmakaya 138

The "Unveiling of the World" and the Descent from Trayastrimsa Heaven 139

The Divine Eye and the Buddha's Smile 141

From Centrifugality to Centripetality: The Power of Compassion 142

The Festival of the Relics 144

Asoka's Autocremation 147

Conclusion 148

Predestined Relics: The Extension of the Buddha's Life Story in Some Sri Lankan Traditions 150

The Transplanting of the Bodhi Tree and the Multiplication of Relics 152

The Collarbone Relic and Its Enshrinement in the Thuparama 157

Dutthagamani, the Ramagrama Relics, and the Mahathupa 160

The Building of the Stupa 161

The Making of the Relic Chamber 164

The Acquisition and Enshrining of the Relics 166

The Death of Dutthagamani and Burial ad Sanctos 171

Conclusion 175

Further Extensions of the Buddha's Life Story: Some Tooth Relic Traditions 179

The Kashmiri Tooth: Relics and Elephants 182

The Eyeteeth of the Buddha 185

Daoxuan's Tooth 187

The Kalingan / Sri Lankan Tooth 190

Relics and Rule 196

Puja and Perahera: God, King, and Monk 199

Personal Piety 203

The Tours of the Chinese Tooth 205

Conclusion 210

Relics and Eschatology 211

The Buddha's Bowl: A Recycled Relic 211

The Buddha's Robe 216

Mahakasyapa and the Buddha's Robe 218

The Decline of the Dharma and the Parinirvana of the Relics 221

Conclusion 226

Conclusions 229

Relics and the Biographical Process 229

Relics and Buddhology 230

Relics and the Spread of Buddhism 231

The Episodic Nature of Buddha-relics 232

Relics and the Demands of Darsan 234

Relics and the Post-liminal State 235

Relics and Polity 235

Strategies of Legitimation 236

Relics as Performative Objects 238

The Dialectic of Continuity and Discontinuity 239

Bibliography 241

Index 279

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