[Buddha-l] seeking the Pali and Sanskrit term for "holy/ religious/ sacred objects"

[Sally McAra]

Hi folks
Seeing as the list is quiet lately, perhaps this would be the time to 
make an inquiry of those with a background in Sanskrit and /or Pali....

I'm seeking the terms for "holy/ religious/ sacred objects"... Some 
context might help:

A while ago I set out to do what was meant to be a quick investigation 
into Sanskrit, Pali and Tibetan terminology for classifying "sacred 
objects", but have found this quite difficult. I don't have a background 
in any of these languages apart from a few terms I've picked up over the 
years. The dictionaries I've checked out have been no use, perhaps in 
part because we don't have a single word in English for such things (the 
word "sacra" is used in anthropology, but I haven't found it used in 
this way in the English dictionaries I checked, or when I searched the 
online Sanskrit dictionary).

After a few inquiries and reading a few articles (including some 
articles by Yael Bentor, and the Trainor and Germano edited volume on 
Buddhist relics) I have a range of terms for specific items such as 
various kinds of relics, as well as stupa/chorten, etc.

But what I am looking for is a term that could encompass all of the 
objects that certain forms of Buddhism deem to have purifying spiritual 
powers. In FPMT Buddhism (my area of anthropological research relates to 
the Great Stupa they want to build in Australia, and more generally the 
role of Buddhist sacra in the spread of Buddhism in the contemporary 
world using this particular case study), Lama Zopa urges his followers 
to sponsor, construct etc "Holy Objects" (including stupas, prayer 
wheels, statues etc).

(For a bit of background, Zopa is often quoted as saying things like, 
"the world needs more holy objects" and "The continued existence and 
flourishing of the teachings of the Buddha depend upon the continued 
existence of the holy objects of Buddha"; "Construction of the 
[Maitreya] statue is not the goal - it is the method for achieving the 
goal. The goal is to benefit as many people as possible for as long as 
possible.")

I have also heard FPMT teachers talk about "the power of the basis" / 
"power of the object", meaning that such objects are deemed to help one 
to purify obscurations that hinder our spiritual realizations and make 
imprints on the mental continuum, regardless of faith.
(One FPMT geshe said that "chorten" can be translated as "the basis for 
accomplishing dharma" - cf the use of the word as stupa/repository for 
relics).

I made enquiries on H-Buddhism and two people suggested the term in 
Tibetan is "rten" (support), or "rten gsum" often translated as the 
"three supports" - sku rten, gsung rten and thugs rten.

On the online forum E-Sangha, someone suggested the Pali term might be 
"dhamma-dhaja" - a "mark, symbol, or sign of the Dhamma" and it can be a 
"cause to uphold or support or remember" the Dhamma. In an online Pali 
dictionary "Dhaja" seems to mean "mark, emblem, sign, symbol" so it 
could still be too broad. Would it actually be used to classify all 
material objects that are deemed to have spiritually-purifying powers, 
as opposed to say the symbol for any old thing?

Someone also suggested "sharira" (sorry for the lack of diacritical 
marks) plus "dhatu" might be the right word in Sanskrit, but this seems 
to be specifically related to bodily relics….?

I'd really appreciate the suggestions of anyone with a good grounding in 
Sanskrit or Pali, and/or further comments on the Tibetan term.

By the way, if anyone can suggest any works that discuss the idea of the 
"power of the object" and place it in context of Buddhist schools of 
thought etc, I 'd be grateful; apart from the articles by Yael Bentor 
and others writing on relics, I have not followed that line of thought 
far either.

Cheers
Sally

-- 
Sally McAra
PhD candidate
Department of Anthropology
Faculty of Arts
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92019
Auckland 1001
New Zealand

Tel: 64-9 373 7599  Ext 88531
www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/anthro/Student%20Details/StudentPages/SallyMcara.htm