It's quite interesting to look at the different explanations of the relics in several dictionaries.
A Dictionary of Practical Buddhism (published by Shanghai Buddhism Publishing House in 1934 and reprinted by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House in 1994):
Sartori's new works, Shiraro, Sri Rama, are the body and bones of Buddha. Also known as the dead body, it is a result of the cultivation of discipline, determination and wisdom. Yuan Zhong recorded his achievements in Fei Xue, saying, "Relic, according to the Buddha's calligraphy room, Liluo, or Sheriro, has a cloud of bones and spirits, and there are three colors: white bone relic, black hair relic and red meat relic." Jin Guang Ming Jing gave his life as a gift, saying, "The relic here is the fragrance of the infinite restraint and fragrance." [two kinds of relics] (name number) a whole body relic, such as the relic of Duobao Buddha. Second, the relics of broken bodies, such as the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha, are also. He has spent his whole life in Buddhist relics, and he has been cured by abstinence and wisdom. After the Tathagata is destroyed, he will leave his whole body or broken bones, so that people will be blessed forever. Second, the dharma relics, all the scriptures of the big and small multiplication are also true, and the wisdom says: "The scriptures are the dharma relics."
The relic (term) is called the relic after Sakyamuni died, and his disciples Ananda burned him. His bones are like five-colored pearls, bright and solid. Build a tower to hide it.
A Dictionary of Religions (published by Beijing Academy Press in 1999):
Buddhist terms of relic. Sanskrit transliteration, also translated as "Shiraro" and "Sri Rama", means "body bone". Buddhism is used to refer to the bones burned after the death of a monk with high virtue. It is said that after the death of Sakyamuni, he was cremated and his bones became beads. Buddhism says that the remains of Sakyamuni are Buddhist relics, while Buddha's hair and teeth are also called Buddha's hair relics and Buddha's teeth relics. It is said that at that time, there were eight kings who divided their relics and built towers to support them. There are differences in the sayings of relics in different scriptures. There are three kinds of relics: white bone relics, black hair relics and red meat relics. There are also four kinds of relics: whole body relics, broken body relics, survival relics and dharma body relics (referring to all Buddhist scriptures).
Ci Hai (published by Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House in 1999):
Sarira, a transliteration of the Sanskrit relic, is also translated as "Shiraro", which means body and bone. Buddhism says that the remains of the dead after cremation are burnt. Generally speaking, the remains of Sakyamuni are Buddha bones or Buddhist relics, and Buddha hair and tooth are also called Buddha hair relics and Buddha tooth relics. According to legend, after Sakyamuni's cremation, the kings of eight countries divided the benefits and built towers to worship. Since then, the ethos of offering sacrifices to relics has gradually prevailed.
A New Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Chinese (published by Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House in 1995):
The relic < name > is also called the "relic". Buddhism called the beads after the burning of Sakyamuni's body. Later, it also refers to the bones burned after the death of a monk.
A New Chinese Dictionary (published by Hunan Publishing House in 1988):
According to the Buddhist relic, Sakyamuni's body was burnt into beads, and later it also refers to the bones left after the death of a monk with high virtue. ~ also known as the relic.
Encyclopedia of China (published by Beijing China Encyclopedia Publishing House in 1996):
Buddhist terms of relic. The transliteration of Sanskrit Sarira is also translated into Liro and Sri Rama. It means corpse or body bone. According to legend, the remains of Sakyamuni were cremated and formed into beads, which were called relics. Later generations also refer to the remains of monks with higher virtue after cremation.
Concise Encyclopedia of China (published by Beijing Huaxia Publishing House in 1998):
Sarira's remains from cremation after death are transliterated in Sanskrit, and its original meaning in Sanskrit is "body bone". Relic usually refers to the remains of Buddha Sakyamuni, also known as "Buddha bone" or "Buddha relic". According to Buddhist classics, after Sakyamuni's death, his bones were obtained by eight kings respectively. The eight kings each built a tower to enshrine the remains of Sakyamuni in the tower. Since then, Buddhist rituals dedicated to Buddhist relics have been formed.
encyclopedia of China (published by Beijing encyclopedia of China publishing house in 2):
relics of Buddhism. Derived from Sanskrit Sarira, it is also translated into Shili, Sheriro, Sri Lo, etc. Free translation of body, body, body bone, remains. According to legend, after Sakyamuni Buddha's nirvana, many stone-hard substances appeared after cremation. Buddhists called them relics, and they were taken to various parts of India for support, and later spread all over the world. China began to support the relics as early as during the Three Kingdoms period. The famous relic is the finger bone relic of the Buddha found in the underground palace of the stupa of Famen Temple in Fufeng, Shaanxi Province in 1988. This relic was dedicated by the imperial court in the Tang Dynasty, and several emperors made a special trip to welcome it into the palace. In October, 1998, a gold-plated copper coffin was found in the underground palace of the Fawangta of Xianyou Temple, 15 kilometers south of zhouzhi county City, Xi 'an. There was a glass bottle in the coffin, and there were 1 relics in the bottle, all of which were bright gray and slightly yellowish in color. According to historical records, this relic was enshrined in the pagoda by Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor of Sui Dynasty, when he built it by imperial edict in 61 AD. The most famous Buddhist relic in the world was discovered in Nepal in 1898, and now it is distributed to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Japan. In addition to Buddhist relics, some relics left by eminent monks after cremation are also called relics. They are either enshrined in a dedicated stupa or preserved in a stupa. Sartorics are generally white particles with a fine and smooth surface, and it is said that there are also colorful sarira. The emergence of relics has not yet reached a unified conclusion in the scientific community. Many people think that some chemical changes have taken place in the body because monks have been vegetarian for life, ingested a lot of calcium food and practiced for a long time, so after cremation, some calcifications have been left behind. Buddhists have great respect for the relics and are proud of being able to get them. In some places, Buddhist relics are never easily shown to others, and only during Buddhist festivals are they open to people to pay homage.
Comparing the explanations of sarira given by the above dictionaries, it is not difficult to see that the differences among the explanations mainly lie in their different attitudes towards the characteristics and authenticity of sarira.
The Dictionary of Practical Buddhism, published in an era of tolerance for Buddhism, holds a positive attitude towards the incredible authenticity of Buddhism. Therefore, the explanation of relics and relics basically reflects its essential characteristics, that is, practitioners practice according to precepts, determination and wisdom. Of course, it would be better to be comprehensive.
The interpretation of the Religious Dictionary abandons the essential feature that the Buddhist relics are cultivated by practitioners according to precepts, steadfastness and wisdom, which is undoubtedly a step backwards compared with the Buddhist dictionary published more than 6 years ago.
As for some of the most authoritative dictionaries, the explanations of the relics are even more fallacious. Its basic starting point is to be noncommittal or turn a blind eye to the incredible truth of Buddhism. Therefore, although it is not intended to completely deny the existence of Sakyamuni in history, it tries its best to describe the unusual relics as ordinary "residual bones", "residual ashes", "burned bones" and "remains". Regarding the essential characteristics of the relic, especially its incredible appearances, it is difficult to have a place in such a large authoritative tool book representing the official will.
In the Tang Dynasty, when Shi Daoshi compiled the Zhulin in Fayuan, he pointed out in the Sariputra: "Sariputra is a Sanskrit language in the western regions, and this cloud has bones and bodies, so it is known as the Brahmaputra." It can be seen that at that time, the Taoist world clearly saw that although the original intention of Sanskrit relic is bone body, it is by no means the same as "the bones of ordinary people and the dead". Only those who practice Buddhism can get the relic after cremation. Some big dictionaries falsely claim that "Buddhism calls the remains of the cremated dead bones", which is too imposing-has Buddhism ever said that "the remains of the cremated dead bones" are relics? Isn't this meant to "waste the bones of the dead"?