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On Holy Relics
(Also available on Substack, paywall free)
In Kandy, the streets are packed. Thousands gather, shoulder to shoulder, to glimpse the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Traffic clogs the city. Even public health concerns have been raised. Yet the crowds do not thin.
Why?
What do they seek in that fleeting moment of reverence?
Is it peace? Blessings? A better life?
The relic draws them in. They believe it holds power. A connection to the Enlightened One.
But did the Buddha ever ask for this?
Path
The Buddha, on his deathbed, left no instructions for relic worship. His final words?
“All compounded things are subject to decay. Strive on with diligence.”
He pointed not to objects, but to the path.
The path begins with taking refuge. Refuge in the Triple Gem. The Buddha. The Dhamma. The Sangha.
But what does refuge mean? Is it seeking blessings? Or is it seeking truth?
To take refuge is to commit. To seek shelter from life’s storms.
In the Buddha. Not his statues, not his relics. But in his awakening mind. The same mind one must strive to replicate.
In the Dhamma, the teachings that describe the path.
In the Sangha, the noble guides who illuminate the path.
