Śarīra

Śarīra
Relics of the Buddha in a temple in Thailand
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese舍利 or 舍利子
Simplified Chinese舍利 or 舍利子
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinshèlì
Tibetan name
Tibetanརིང་བསྲེལ།
Transcriptions
Wyliering bsrel
Vietnamese name
VietnameseXá lợi
Korean name
Hangul사리
Hanja舍利
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationsari
McCune–Reischauersari
Japanese name
Kanji仏舎利
Hiraganaぶっしゃり
Transcriptions
Romanizationbusshari

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 found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the Buddha after cremation are termed dhātu in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Śarīra are held to emanate or incite 'blessings' and 'grace' (Sanskrit: adhiṣṭhāna) within the mindstream and experience of those connected to them. Sarira are also believed to ward off evil in the Himalayan Buddhist tradition.