upright=1.25, , one of the biggest Chedis in Thailand; in Thai, the term Chedi (cetiya) is used interchangeably with the term Stupa">Phra Pathom Chedi, one of the biggest Chedis in Thailand; in Thai, the term Chedi (cetiya) is used interchangeably with the term Stupa
Cetiya, "reminders" or "memorials" (Sanskrit ''caitya''), are objects and places used by Buddhism, Buddhists to remember Gautama Buddha.
[Kalingabodhi jātaka, as quoted in John Strong, ''Relics of the Buddha'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004), 19] According to
Damrong Rajanubhab
Prince Tisavarakumarn, the Prince Damrong Rajanubhab (Thai: ; Full transcription is "Somdet Phrachao Borommawongthoe Phra-ongchao Ditsawarakuman Kromphraya Damrongrachanuphap" (สมเด็จพระเจ้าบรมวงศ์เธ ...
, four kinds are distinguished in the
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During th ...
: "Relic
hatu
HATU (1- is(dimethylamino)methylene1H-1,2,3-triazolo ,5-byridinium 3-oxide hexafluorophosphate, Hexafluorophosphate Azabenzotriazole Tetramethyl Uronium) is a reagent used in peptide coupling chemistry to generate an active ester from a carboxyli ...
Memorial
aribhoga Teaching
hamma
Hamma is a village and a former municipality in the Nordhausen district, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 December 2010, it has been part of the town Heringen
Heringen (Werra) is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germ ...
and
votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
desaka"
Griswold, in contrast, states that three are traditional and the fourth, the
Buddha Dhamma, was added later to remind monks that the true memory of Gautama Buddha can be found in his teachings.
While these can be broadly called
Buddhist symbolism
Buddhist symbolism is the use of symbols (Sanskrit: ''pratīka'') to represent certain aspects of the Buddha's Dharma (teaching). Early Buddhist symbols which remain important today include the Dharma wheel, the Indian lotus, the three jewels an ...
, the emphasis tends to be on a historical connection to the Buddha and not a metaphysical one.
In pre-Buddhist India ''caitya'' was a term for a shrine or holy place in the landscape, generally outdoors, inhabited by, or sacred to, a particular deity. In the ''
Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
The ''Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra'' (Sanskrit; , ; Vietnamese: ''Kinh Đại Bát Niết Bàn'') or ''Nirvana Sutra'' is Mahāyāna Buddhist sutra of the Buddha-nature genre. Its precise date of origin is uncertain, but its early form ...
'', near the end of his life the Buddha remarks to
Ananda how beautiful are the various ''caitya'' round
Vaishali.
Sārīraka
The sārīraka (Sanskrit
śarīra
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 purportedly found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the Bu ...
) or dhātu cetiya, the remains of Gautama Buddha's body, are the category commonly considered "relics" today by Western observers, and were responsible for major forms of Buddhist art and symbolism, although they only constitute one of the three categories of reminders.
Most frequently preserved parts of Buddha's body are tooth and bone, because these parts would remain after the rest of the body decayed. The
relic of the tooth of the Buddha
The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide.
History The relic in India
According to Sri Lanka ...
in Sri Lanka is the most notable site where a relic is visibly preserved, but hundreds of such sites were created, in the architectural form now called a
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
. In Thai, these stupas are called ''chedī'', retaining the second half of the phrase ''dhātu cetiya''; in Lao, they are called ''that'' after the first half. Beyond the stupa itself, sārīraka are used across the Buddhist world, in such quantity that not all could be legitimate; in this sense the sārīraka functions mainly as a symbol, with the importance of authenticity varying between cultures.
The body parts of especially powerful monks are also called sārīraka, but these usually take on the form of bright jewels formed during the cremation of the body.
Paribhogaka
The paribhoga cetiya, things used by the Buddha, would seem at first to be a nonexistent category today. However, temples such as
Tongdosa
Tongdosa (, "Salvation of the World through Mastery of Truth")Le Bas, Tom :"South Korea" pg 244, Insight Guides, 8th edition 2007 is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and in the southern part of Mt. Chiseosan near Yangsan, Sout ...
in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
claim to keep his robe and begging bowl.
The category also includes all places the Buddha visited, so
Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
itself functions as a paribhogaka. The most common paribhogaka is the
Bodhi Tree,
which was transplanted across Southeast Asia; cuttings of the original bodhi tree still survive today in Sri Lanka.
![Buddha-Footprint](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Buddha-Footprint.jpeg)
Another extremely common paribhoga cetiya is the
Buddha footprint
Buddha's footprints ( sa, Buddhapada) are Buddhist icons shaped like an imprint of Gautama Buddha's foot or both feet. There are two forms: natural, as found in stone or rock, and those made artificially. Many of the "natural" ones are acknowled ...
, which are found across the Buddhist world symbolizing the ground that Buddha walked on and the powerful size of his
dhammakāya. Sometimes these footprints are also classed as udesaka, a representation of the Buddha's foot, or sārīraka, implying that the footprint was the foot itself.
Udesaka
![Great Departure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Great_Departure.JPG)
The final category, udesaka or uddesika cetiya, literally translates as "indicative reminders" or "votive objects", for example images of the Buddha.
Udesaka do not have any physical connection to the Buddha but still serve as relics because they were created in his memory. Originally udesaka were secondary to paribhogaka and sārīraka, but with the influence of
Greco-Buddhism
Greco-Buddhism, or Graeco-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the fourth century BC and the fifth century AD in Gandhara, in present-day north-western Pakistan and parts of nort ...
,
statues of the Buddha were produced in great numbers, followed later by paintings and other images. The
dharmachakra
The dharmachakra (Sanskrit: धर्मचक्र; Pali: ''dhammacakka'') or wheel of dharma is a widespread symbol used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, and especially Buddhism.John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel, ''The Circle o ...
"wheel of the dharma", falls under this category as a reminder of Buddhist insight.
The conventional view has long been this meant that early
Buddhist art
Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and ...
was
aniconic
Aniconism is the absence of artistic representations (''icons'') of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. It is a feature of various cultures, particularly of cultures which a ...
. However, this view has recently been the
subject of debate among specialists. There does not seem to have been any prohibition of creating images of the Buddha. Rather, creating images of the paribhogaka was regarded as a more fulfilling and meaningful symbol by the early Buddhists, evoking the discovery of Buddhist understanding (
pañña). Whether these scenes contained ''substitutes'' for the image of Buddha himself is currently under debate.
See also
*
Burmese pagoda
Burmese pagodas are stupas that typically house Buddhist relics, including relics associated with Buddha. Pagodas feature prominently in Myanmar's landscape, earning the country the moniker "land of pagodas." According to 2016 statistics compiled ...
*
Stupas in Sri Lanka
Stupas, also called and cetiyas, are considered an outstanding type of architectural creation of ancient Sri Lanka. Under the influence of Buddhism, there were several changes in the field of architecture in Sri Lanka. The stupa commands a promine ...
*
Stupas in Cambodia
References
External links
Kalinga-Bodhi JatakaJataka of Kassapa Buddha
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhist religious objects
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