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To this day, the robed remains of mummified monks are venerated as 'living Buddhas' in northeastern Japan. Widely believed to have mummified themselves through strict adherence to ascetic regimen, temple patrons claim that these living Buddhas are capable of transmitting telepathic messages and curing disease, even of saving lives in the real time of disaster. In this article, I examine the ontological and symbolic basis of their purported immortality. Also, its politics, which emerge in contested historical narratives and assertions of authenticity about which mummified monks are real, true immortals and which are forgeries, curated corpses on display. As I demonstrate, such narratives are grounded in competing historicities of the automummification process. They are also situated in a competitive tourism industry. I argue that the bodies of these saintly figures are multi-temporal, semiotically charged, and political. Enduring faith in their posthumous vitality is not just a matter of theological exegesis. It is sustained by the interpretations of human suffering, history, and salvation that their anachronistic presence conjures for the living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reconsiders sites, practices, and ideas about the physical remains of the special dead in South Asian religions. Questioning the common notion of "relics" as a point of distinction between "Buddhism" and "Hinduism," it explores the constellation of ideas and practices surrounding the remains of gods, demons, people, and animals in South Asian religions. Archaeological and literary evidence for li...gas, stūpas, and related sites and structures are used to explore shared discourses and practices among Buddhists and Śaivas in particular. Through such test cases, it shows how bones and other physical remains of the special dead could become areas of engagement, especially when linked to sacred landscape. Attention to these contact zones reveals sharing, borrowing, and competition among ancient and medieval groups that modern scholarship has studied primarily in terms of assumed differences between "Hinduism" and "Buddhism." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the dissemination and enshrinement of the physical remains of buddhas and their enlightened followers (arahants). Particular focus is given to Buddhist relic practices in Sri Lanka, most notably at the Cave of the Midday Rest. Additional topics discussed include Buddhist relic practices, the enshrinement of Buddhist objects in caves in Sri Lanka, and contemporary Buddhists in Sri Lanka.

The article considers body as a keyword in the context of the materiality of religion. The author discusses people's focus on embodiment after their over-reliance on reason and intellect for shaping a perception of human life. She cites Buddhism for its lack of external divinity and its emphasis on the physical body as the key to an understanding of the beginning and the ending of the world. She says that the body from the Buddhist's point of view is a source of suffering and of defilement. The impact of Buddha's finger relic is also noted.

An introduction is presented in which the author focuses upon various topics presented within articles in the issue, including how attitudes towards religious relics change, the history of ritual servicing and how Buddhism adapts to meet political needs.