Sri Lanka – Sacred City of Kandy
The veneration of relics is an ancient custom that plays an important role in major world religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Shamanism. For example, sites that house holy relics in Christianity are major pilgrimage destinations because it is believed that these relics are a benediction to the living and the deceased.
In Buddhism, holy relics generally refer to the physical remains or personal effects of Buddha Shakyamuni. Incredibly, some of Buddha Shakyamuni’s bodily remains have survived for two and a half millennia, including the much-revered sacred tooth of the Buddha in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Most Buddhist temples have stupas, and these stupas are often created specifically to house precious relics. Such reliquary stupas often become the initial structure around which the whole temple is later based.
Categories: Sri Lanka
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