The mystery of the relics of the great monks of Vietnam

These are crystals of various colors, sparkling like jade, solid like diamonds, unbreakable by hammers, unburnable by fire . They were found in the ashes after the cremation of a monk's remains. Emperor Tran Nhan Tong of the Tran Dynasty, Venerable Thich Quang Duc of the pre-liberation period, when they passed away, all left relics for posterity.

Crystallized after the Buddhas left their mortal bodies

Relics are the crystallized parts remaining after the cremation ceremony (cremation) of the flesh and bones of the Buddha and eminent monks. For ordinary people, after cremation, only ashes and unburned bones remain. In addition to the Buddha's relics, there are also relics of holy monks and enlightened teachers . After the cremation ceremony, disciples also collect many relics including bone relics, tooth relics and pearl relics. The hair and fingernails of the Buddha when he was alive are also worshiped as relics.

The relics are the crystallized marrow that turns into round, hard, and small-sized balls. The big ones are like beans or corn kernels; the small ones are like rice grains. The relics come in many colors and vary in brightness or opacity. Usually, the relics are white, red, pink, blue, and yellow; some are clear as glass or ivory like rice grains. Some emit a gentle light like crystal, while others are bright like coral. The relics are the result of the Buddha and the great monks' efforts in maintaining the precepts and practicing profound meditation.

Some of the beads believed to be relics are still preserved.

According to Buddhist scriptures, the meaning of worshiping relics is very profound. After entering nirvana, Buddha advised that in the future, when Buddha is no longer in this world, worshiping Buddha relics is like meeting Buddha, people worshiping Buddha relics will have a spiritual impression when they worship, the sacred promises before Buddha will be more solid. That means worshiping Buddha relics is like worshiping Buddha.

According to Buddhist history, when Buddha Sakyamuni passed away, his disciples cremated his body. After the fire died down, they were surprised to find that the ashes contained many transparent crystals, with many different shapes and sizes. In particular, these crystals were as hard as steel, emitting multi-colored rays of light, like precious gems. Sakyamuni's disciples counted 84 thousand crystals, filling 8 compartments and 4 buckets. The Buddha's relics were later divided into 84 thousand parts, stored in 84 thousand small treasure towers and distributed throughout the countries.

Buddha relics are real

Not only existing in history, like legends, Buddhist relics have appeared many times in contemporary times. There are many cases where eminent monks left behind relics after they passed away and were cremated.

King Tran Nhan Tong, the founder of the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect, also left behind relics after his death. He became a monk and practiced asceticism, taking the name Huong Van Dai Dau Da, and calling himself Truc Lam Dai Si. When Buddha Hoang passed away, his disciples, following his will, cremated him at Ngoa Van Hermitage. Phap Loa, the second patriarch of the Truc Lam Zen sect, came to sprinkle scented water on the pyre and collected jade bones and more than 3,000 jade relics. The jade bones were placed in Quy Duc mausoleum (also known as Duc mausoleum), a part of the relics were kept at Buddha Hoang's tower in Ngoa Van, the rest were brought to Tu Phuc Pagoda's stupa in the Imperial City (Thang Long forbidden city), then divided into many parts and kept in many places for people and Buddhists to worship.

Buddha's relics still appear in many places in the world, as long as there are eminent monks there. In December 1990, a eminent monk named Hong Huyen Phap Su in Singapore passed away. After his body was cremated, people discovered in his ashes 480 hard particles, the size of soybeans, the size of rice grains, almost transparent and shining like diamonds. After analysis, researchers determined that these were the so-called relics.

In March 1991, a monk in Wutaishan, China, after passing away, was cremated according to his wishes. In the remaining ashes, people discovered up to 11 thousand relics, achieving a world record to date for cases of relics being officially recorded.

There are also some cases where the relics are a part of the body that is not burned. In 1994, the monk Vien Chieu at Quan Am mountain, during an evening sermon, told his disciples: I will leave my heart to all living beings. Then this monk sat cross-legged and passed away. According to the temple's rules, the disciples placed her body on a green stone slab, arranged firewood around it and cremated it. The fire burned brightly for a day and a night. In the pile of cold ashes, the disciples collected 100 large and small relics. Some were round, some were blooming like flowers (flower relics) . The flower relics looked very beautiful, sparkling like snowflakes, and were also covered with small relics the size of rice grains, red, yellow, blue, brown. extremely miraculous. But the most miraculous thing was that the monk's heart was not burned. After the fire died down, the heart was still soft and hot, then gradually cooled and hardened, turning into a large, dark brown relic. About 100 disciples present at the cremation witnessed this strange phenomenon.

The 'Immortal Heart' relic of Venerable Thich Quang Duc.

The 'immortal heart' of Venerable Thich Quang Duc is also a true case of the existence of relics as a part of a monk's body. This is also a mysterious phenomenon that is difficult to explain. Before the country's reunification, to oppose the policies of the US-Diem regime, the monk burned himself at a crossroads. Afterwards, the remains of Venerable Thich Quang Duc were cremated. When the bones had turned to ashes, people found the heart of this eminent monk still red and in one piece. That 'immortal heart' still exists to this day.

Defy all answers

In recent decades, scientists have begun to seek to explain the mysterious phenomena mentioned by the Buddha in the scriptures, as they have studied and explained phenomena in nature, the universe and humans. However, when they began to study the phenomenon of relics, they encountered many difficulties and obstacles.

Regarding the formation of relics, there are still many different explanations to this day.

Sociologists believe that due to the habit of eating vegetarian food, regularly consuming a large amount of fiber and minerals, during the process of digestion and absorption, it is easy to create phosphate and carbonate salts, those salt crystals gradually accumulate in the body parts and eventually turn into relics. However, this hypothesis is not convincing enough. Because the number of vegetarians in the world is up to hundreds of thousands, but why not everyone when cremated produces relics. The number of Buddhists is also countless, but why are there no relics in the bodies of ordinary believers?

Some scientists believe that relics may be a pathological phenomenon, similar to kidney stones, bladder stones, gallstones, etc. This hypothesis is also difficult to sustain. Because, after cremation, no relics were found in the ashes of people with the above diseases. On the other hand, eminent monks with relics are often people who were very healthy and had a very long life.

Buddhists also have their own views on the issue of relics.

• The first view holds that relics are the result of a process of practice and asceticism.
• The second view holds that relics are the result of moral cultivation. Only those with great compassion and always doing good deeds can have relics after death.

How did the relics finally form? What are their ingredients? They are not metal, not non-metal, not diamonds or emeralds, just the ashes of a monk after cremation, yet why do they not burn no matter how much they are burned, they even shine brightly, defying time, without the slightest damage… A series of questions like these are still unanswered puzzles.

Buddha relics play an important role in the spiritual beliefs of Buddhists. Relics are not only the factor that creates all blessings but also the driving force that transforms the human soul from fierce to gentle, from immoral to moral.