A Popular Dictionary of Buddhism
Cremation is the usual mode of treating the dead in hot countries, and the Buddha’s body was cremated. The ashes were divided into ten parts, and Stūpas (q.v.) erected over each of them.
It is from surviving Stūpas that undoubted relics of the Buddha have been recovered. (See Piprawa Relics.) Cremation not only destroys the physical body but also certain finer ‘bodies’ which. if not destroyed, can be used for evil or unnatural purposes by those with the necessary knowledge. (See Bhūta, Dug-pa.)
This is the complete article, containing 84 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
View More Summaries on Cremation
