Following up on the theme of relics of Buddha yesterday, it is clear that they are a big deal and very important to many people. Hundreds of thousands turn up to have a walk by. These come for at best a glimpse. For me wanting to preserve goes against the doctrine of non-attachment and impermanence. For others there is a notion of sanctity and something out of the ordinary. Perhaps a kind of beacon, a beacon of hope. They are emblematic and touch something primordial and core deep.

As an erstwhile chemist and materials scientist I understand that bone phosphate and tooth enamel might survive a cremation at an unknown al fresco cremation temperature. But these fragments will be brittle and may not last with structural integrity for two and a half millennia. That being said they may well have been cared for with devotion and care. Some were buried under stupas.

My scepticism suggests that not all relics, Buddhist and Christian, can be as claimed. A relic has a totemic power in the psyche. It can confer right to kingdom; there are elements of ritual magic like with the stone of Scone. Whoever holds the cup which held the blood of Jesus has totemic power and bragging rights. Wars can be fought over relics. The grail stories are embedded in the collective consciousness and mythos. There are relics here in Brittany. My science mind asks the question, “just how many fingers did these holy people have?”

It is a part of religious logic that there must be miracles. Miracles are the proof of the pudding of deity and sanctity. Without miracles deity or Buddhahood cannot be invoked.

Back then nobody could have envisaged the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

It is well known that with each telling a story changes and that embellishment to encourage audience participation and appreciation is common. Recently I have heard re-tellings of the story of Ceridwen and Taliesin. I am familiar with the source code but the text gets dramatically enhanced for a You Tube audience. It is reasonable to suggest that human nature has not changed hugely in that any story is prone to exaggeration over time. Which means that the use of sodium chloride is recommended, a pinch at a time.

It does not mean however that the spirit, the underlying meaning, should be lost. Take out the baby before pulling the bath plug.

In looking at ancient text it is helpful to be mindful of the use of  parable and metaphor with out being dogmatic about verbatim meaning. To search for an illustrative metaphor as if it were fact is a fool’s errand. Though it does make good box office. My mother’s maiden name was Jones. According to 23andMe Indiana is a distant cousin of mine. I have a genetic predisposition to treasure hunting and finding sacred totems in a deadly race against the baddies.

It is a weird thing a part of society needs, wants to see, miracles as proof. Another part wants to disprove and pooh-pooh. Why must there be miracles?

In the context of relics, objects of faith, power and magic are embodied therein. A sight, a touch, a prayer may ease whatever ills and plagues one. Those who control such totems may control access and have power over any would be pilgrim. These days they may even charge an entrance fee.

Human religious creed and dogma developed by the clergy always diverges from the core scriptures. The socio-political practice veers away from the simple and the ideal. The basic messages are watered down and room for manoeuvre and excuse are built in to what the Sacerdotes profess. I remember that all religion is by way of a business too.

I struggle to reconcile how something corporeal, physical and object can carry the spirit, the magic, the essence. Once vacated matter remains matter. It is no longer animated or organised. As a meditative totem it may work, but having an inherent power of its own, I am unconvinced.

If a relic works as a meditative aid, then it is useful. If one imagines all the good things of a Buddha focussed therein and uses this as aspirational, that is good. Wanting to rise lotus like out of the mire of corporality is no bad thing.

My own take is that seeking a miracle or two, seeking something special, detracts from the mundane reality of here and now. Which is where all the “work” needs to be done. Seeking the miraculous and the showy is not where “it” is at. There is a kind of sword from the stone glamour in a miracle.

I suspect that the truly miraculous is seemingly insignificant and does not attract any attention. It is so not showy, that it goes unnoticed. People do not see it nor appreciate it when it is a simple sublime. The complete invisibility of the simple and uncomplicated is quite miraculous.