INTRODUCTION
Many people wonder whether small crystals found among cremated remains, often regarded as sacred relics, are produced through enlightenment or spiritual practice.
In this clear and demystifying teaching, Master Woo Myung explains that these crystals are not evidence of enlightenment but a natural phenomenon related to bone-marrow liquid and energy flow. 🌿
The clarity or dullness of the crystals reflects the degree to which a person lived with or without self, because the smoothness of the body’s energy flow affects the bone-marrow liquid.
This teaching also clarifies why Buddha’s relics were especially clear and abundant—his energy flow was exceptionally strong, and he lived entirely without self.
Ultimately, these crystals carry no mystical significance; they are simply natural substances, just like gemstones, formed through the conditions of the body and mind.
ORIGINAL WRITING BY MASTER WOO MYUNG
Are the small crystals, found among the cremated remains of monks that are regarded as sacred relics, formed due to the attainment of a certain state of enlightenment or spiritual practices? How are these relics formed and do the sacred relics of Buddha have a special significance?
People find it curious when something remains after a body is cremated, but these small crystals have no special significance. They are not always formed because the dead person had engaged in spiritual practices or attained a certain level of enlightenment; they are simply a phenomenon of bone-marrow liquid leaking. When there is an overflow of energy in the bones, this liquid spills out and solidifies into small crystals.
Although it leaks out as a transparent liquid, when it solidifies it becomes an extremely hard substance that does not melt even under extremely high temperatures. This phenomenon occurs more frequently in people who live alone. In those who have no self the color of these crystals are clearer and more transparent; and it is duller in those who have a self that they suppress.
The bone-marrow liquid of a person without self is transparent because the energy of his body flows more smoothly while in a person with self, the blocked energy flow makes it murkier. The small crystals are not a result of enlightenment or spiritual practices but rather a by-product of having suppressed the ego or self in order to attain a mental goal.
The difference between these small crystals and other gemstones is that these small crystals are solidified liquid from bone-marrow while gemstones are simply gemstones. In other words, they are all things that come from nature, so there is no real discrimination between what they are. They are simply what they are.
The reason Buddha had many such crystals in his cremated remains is that his energy flow was particularly vigorous, and he was entirely without self; his energy flowed properly and was particularly strong. Because he spent his entire life in spiritual practices, and he was a person without self, his crystals were very clear and transparent. This is the difference between his crystals and those of an ordinary person.
– Woo Myung
REFLECT AT SANTA CLARA MEDITATION
At Santa Clara Meditation, practitioners learn to understand phenomena without superstition.
The formation of relic crystals becomes clear when seen through the principles of energy flow, selflessness, and Truth. 🌠
