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Monk: Buddha relics should be in special stupa
Phra Sithawatchamethi[29/05/2007]
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A highly-respected Buddhist monk has called on India to ensure proper treatment of Buddha relics by placing them in a stupa, not a museum.
Master S.N. Goenka made his plea to Buddhist leaders in a statement read yesterday at the International Buddhist Conference to mark Visakha Bucha Day.
He asked the Sangha and conference organisers to include this issue in the conference's official declaration, saying the relics must be kept in a stupa (pagoda) so that devotees of the Buddha can worship them in a proper environment.
To ensure their safety, they must be enshrined in a stupa that would have a long life. India was not only a huge country with one-sixth of the world's population, it was also the land of the Buddha. But relics of the Buddha were not being properly venerated.
''They are displayed in museums like war trophies of a king, or like an expensive item from an ancient royal palace.
''This is bound to cause much pain to followers of the Buddha all over the world.''
Although the Indian government was taking good care of the relics, even one lapse due to one corrupt officer could put them in danger, he said.
Master Goenka, who was born in Burma, is a leading lay teacher of Vipassana meditation.
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