Chapter 5
Relics, Ethics, and Social Harmony
5.1 Purpose of this Chapter
In the last chapter we looked at Buddha’s relics as cultural heritage. We saw how they support collective memory, identity, and ritual life.
In this chapter we move closer to ethics. We ask:
-
How do Buddha’s relics and their shrines influence people’s moral behaviour?
-
How do basic Buddhist ethics, like the five precepts, connect with life around relic sites?
-
How can ethical practice at relic shrines support social harmony and peace in society?
-
What dangers appear when relics are linked to wrong views or unwholesome motives?
The main idea of this chapter is simple:
Relics are not only holy objects; they are also moral teachers.
The way people behave around relics can build or break social harmony.
5.2 Basic Buddhist Ethics: A Short Overview
To understand the ethics around relics, we first need a short reminder of basic Buddhist morality.
1. The five precepts for lay people
Lay Buddhists are usually encouraged to keep five basic precepts:
-
Not to kill living beings.
-
Not to steal.
-
Not to commit sexual misconduct.
-
Not to lie.
-
Not to use intoxicants that cause carelessness.
These precepts are not just rules to obey blindly. They are tools to protect:
-
Ourselves (from regret, fear, and bad habits), and
-
Others (from harm, exploitation, and suffering).
2. Roots of wholesome and unwholesome actions
Buddhist teaching explains that actions are driven by mental roots:
-
Unwholesome roots: greed, hatred, and delusion.
-
Wholesome roots: non-greed (generosity), non-hatred (kindness), and non-delusion (wisdom, clarity).
When greed, hatred, and delusion are strong, people harm each other. When generosity, kindness, and wisdom are strong, people help each other and live in peace.
3. Ethics and peace
From a peace studies point of view:
-
The five precepts and wholesome roots support negative peace (less direct violence) and positive peace (more trust, fairness, and cooperation).
-
They shape the way people relate to one another in families, workplaces, and communities.
Relic shrines are special places where these ethical teachings are often repeated and practised, so they can have a strong influence on social harmony.
5.3 Relic Shrines as Moral Classrooms
When people come to a relic shrine, they usually do not come just to look. They:
-
Bow, offer flowers and lights.
-
Take precepts.
-
Listen to talks.
-
Join group chanting.
All of this turns the shrine into a kind of moral classroom. But this classroom is not like a school with exams. It is more like a training ground for the heart.
Some key ways this works:
1. Sense of presence
Many visitors feel that in front of the relic, they are “face to face” with the Buddha. Even if they know the Buddha passed away long ago, they feel:
-
“He sees me.”
-
“I should behave well here.”
This feeling encourages:
-
Honest speech.
-
Respectful body language.
-
Serious reflection on their actions.
2. Reminder of impermanence
Relics are physical remains. They remind people that even a fully enlightened Buddha had a body that aged and died. Flowers offered at the shrine also fade quickly. This gives a natural lesson:
“Life is short. I should use it wisely and avoid harming others.”
3. Encouragement of generosity
Relic shrines are common places for dāna (giving):
-
Offering food to monastics.
-
Supporting repairs and community projects.
-
Giving free food or drinks to other pilgrims.
This repeated practice of giving weakens greed and strengthens sharing, which is good for social harmony.
5.4 Taking the Five Precepts at Relic Shrines
At many important shrines, especially during festivals or full-moon days, lay people take the five precepts together. A monk or nun leads the recitation, and the crowd repeats each line.
This collective act has several effects:
1. Public moral commitment
When people take precepts in a large group, it becomes a public promise. They are not only telling themselves “I will try to behave well,” but also telling their neighbours, family, and community. This public aspect:
-
Strengthens their sense of responsibility.
-
Builds trust between people (“I know my friend also took the precepts”).
2. Linking ethics with emotion and faith
Taking precepts in front of a relic, with incense, chanting, and a sense of sacred presence, connects ethics with positive emotions:
-
Joy in doing something good.
-
Feeling close to the Buddha.
-
Feeling supported by the group.
This makes the precepts feel less like “rules” and more like a choice of the heart.
3. Repetition and habit
Precepts are often taken many times throughout a person’s life. This repetition slowly creates habit. Even if someone fails sometimes, the regular renewal of intention keeps pulling them back towards ethical behaviour.
For social harmony, this repeated public commitment to non-violence, honesty, and self-control is very powerful. It quietly builds a culture where harmful actions are less acceptable.
5.5 Intoxicants, Disorder, and the Relic Environment
The fifth precept, about intoxicants, is especially important for social harmony. Many problems in society—arguments, accidents, domestic violence, crime—are linked to alcohol and drugs.
Around relic shrines, we often see:
-
No-alcohol zones.
-
Signs asking visitors not to come drunk.
-
Teachings that explain how intoxication leads to carelessness, quarrels, and suffering.
When people hear these teachings again and again at a place they respect deeply, they may start to think more carefully about their own habits.
If a whole community takes the fifth precept seriously, the effects are visible:
-
Fewer fights, especially at festivals and celebrations.
-
Less fear in families, especially for children.
-
More peaceful nights, less noise and disturbance.
Relic custodians can support this by:
-
Refusing to allow alcohol sales in the immediate area of the shrine.
-
Educating young people about the social costs of intoxication.
-
Praising and supporting those who try to reduce or stop their drinking.
In this way, the presence of a relic shrine can slowly change drinking culture and improve social peace.
5.6 Mental Roots, Relics, and Social Harmony
The mental roots of actions—greed, hatred, and delusion, or their opposites—are not directly visible. But relic shrines can influence these deep layers of the mind.
1. Reducing greed (lobha)
At relic sites:
-
People give offerings without expecting anything back.
-
Rich and poor may stand side by side in the same line to offer flowers.
This helps to break strong ideas of “mine” and “yours” and opens the heart to sharing. When greed is weaker:
-
Corruption and unfairness decrease.
-
People are more willing to support common projects like schools, clinics, and charity.
2. Softening hatred (dosa)
Relic shrines are often used as places to practise mettā (loving-kindness). Some visitors silently wish:
-
“May all beings be happy.
May all be free from suffering.”
When this practice becomes a habit, it slowly weakens anger and resentment. People may:
-
Forgive old hurts.
-
Become more patient with family and neighbours.
-
Avoid violent responses in conflicts.
3. Clearing delusion (moha)
Good teaching at relic sites helps people see:
-
That actions have consequences (kamma).
-
That anger and greed do not bring true happiness.
-
That chasing status and praise is not the highest goal.
This wisdom reduces delusion and helps people make wiser choices. As more people in a community see clearly, it becomes easier to solve problems without violence.
5.7 Relic Sites as “Safe Spaces”
Relic shrines are often treated as safe spaces, where certain behaviours are not allowed:
-
No fighting or shouting.
-
No weapons.
-
No begging in aggressive ways.
-
No selling of harmful things.
This makes the shrine area feel secure for:
-
Children and elderly people.
-
Women and men who come alone.
-
Visitors from other places.
These safe spaces have a wider effect:
-
People learn that it is possible to create public areas where everyone feels protected.
-
They may start to ask: “How can we bring this feeling of safety to our streets, schools, and markets?”
From a peace studies view, this is an example of how local peace practices around relics can inspire wider social change.
5.8 Concord, Schism, and Moral Examples
Early Buddhist texts strongly praise concord in the Saṅgha and condemn schism. A divided community is said to bring unhappiness to many beings. A harmonious community brings happiness and strengthens faith.
Relic custodians and communities give a public example:
-
If they cooperate, share tasks, and speak kindly, pilgrims see a model of harmony.
-
If they quarrel openly over money, power, or ritual styles, pilgrims see the opposite.
Because relic shrines are highly visible, behaviour there has a big impact. People may think:
-
“If even the priests and leaders here cannot get along, why should we behave better?”
So, concord at relic sites is not just an internal matter. It is a social signal that can either support or weaken ethical behaviour in wider society.
5.9 Relic Practice and Everyday Ethics
The real test of ethics is not what happens in front of the shrine, but what happens after people go home. Still, practice at relic sites can strongly affect daily life.
Some examples:
-
A person who regularly offers food at a shrine may also become more generous at home and work.
-
Someone who renews the five precepts every month may slowly give up lying or harsh speech.
-
A young person who joins relic festivals and hears teachings about kindness may be less likely to join violent gangs or bullying groups.
These changes are usually small and slow, but they add up over time. In this way, relic sites act like ethical batteries that keep charging people’s good intentions.
5.10 Dangers: Superstition, Transactional Ethics, and Misuse
Ethics around relics are not always healthy. There are also dangers when understanding is weak.
1. Superstition without ethics
Some people may think:
-
“If I just offer flowers to the relic, my problems will disappear,”
even if they continue to lie, cheat, or hurt others.
This attitude separates ritual from morality. It turns the shrine into a place of “magic” instead of a place of moral transformation. If this becomes common:
-
People may ignore the five precepts.
-
They may use relic worship as an excuse: “I can do wrong, but then I will offer to the relic and everything is fine.”
2. Transactional thinking
Another danger is business-style thinking about merit:
-
“I give this much money, so I must get this much good luck.”
This can lead to:
-
Competition in donations (“I donated more than you”).
-
Pressure on poor people to give money they cannot afford.
-
Religious leaders focusing more on fundraising than on teaching.
Such attitudes come from greed and delusion, not from wisdom.
3. Using relics to justify harm
The worst misuse is when people try to use relics and Buddhism to justify:
-
Hatred towards other groups.
-
Support for violent actions or unfair laws.
This totally goes against the Buddha’s message of non-harming and compassion. When this happens, relics, which should be symbols of peace, become symbols of division.
5.11 From Personal Ethics to Social Structures
So far, we have talked mostly about individual behaviour. But relic-based ethics can also influence social structures.
Positive possibilities include:
-
Community projects: Donations at relic shrines can support schools, clinics, orphanages, and help for the poor. This brings more justice and support to vulnerable groups.
-
Clean governance: If leaders who are relic custodians take the precepts seriously, they may avoid corruption, create fair rules, and treat all groups respectfully.
-
Non-violent conflict resolution: Communities that regularly hear teachings on loving-kindness and patience may prefer dialogue and mediation over physical force when disputes appear.
In this way, the ethical energy around relics can move from the personal level (“I will not harm”) to the structural level (“We will build fair and peaceful systems”).
5.12 Conclusion
In this chapter we explored how Buddha’s relics and their shrines are deeply connected with ethics and social harmony:
-
Relic shrines work as moral classrooms where people take precepts, practise generosity, and reflect on impermanence.
-
The five precepts, especially the one against intoxicants, support more peaceful families and communities.
-
Practice at relic sites can weaken greed, hatred, and delusion, and strengthen generosity, kindness, and wisdom.
-
Shrines can be safe spaces that model non-violence and respect.
-
At the same time, there are dangers: superstition without ethics, transactional attitudes, and political misuse.
When relic custodians and communities keep the link between relic and right conduct strong, relic practice becomes a real force for positive peace. It shapes not only individual hearts, but also social relationships and structures.
