KUDUNG BARWA the Blazing Buddha relics

Directors Cut Also includes : THE BUDDHA RELICS IN SRI LANKA

Part Five of James Zito's series on Buddhist relic sites around the world looks at the continuation of the spread of the relic tradition into Thailand and Southeast Asia including a look at the relic sites at Wat Suan Dok and Phra Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai and the Golden Mountain at modern day Bangkok as well as a look at the great relic site That Luang in Laos

Directors Cut Also includes nepal

Directors Cut Also includes MYANMAR

Ever since two Burmese students of the Buddha returned to their home country

with 8 of the Buddha’s hairs as an object of veneration there has been a

continuous flow of relic veneration woven throughout the history of the country

today known as Myanmar.

Part Four contains an examination of the Shwedagon Pagoda and other

relic sites at Bagan.

Directors Cut Also includes MYSTERY AND MAJESTY - THE BUDDHA RELICS IN THAILAND AND BEYOND

Introduction to the Buddha Relics

Originally brought to Sri Lanka by the children of Emperor Asoka around 100 BC, Buddha relics and their veneration of on the island has formed a core element in its religious and political history largely up into the present day where active pilgrimage sites still continue to draw millions of Buddhist devotees annually. Important relic sites are found at Anuradhapura the seat of an ancient dynasty of kings and at Kandy where the tooth relic of the Buddha is enshrined.

Shot on location at prominent Buddhist sites in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea and the United States, the film is an investigation into the phenomenon of Stupa and relic veneration and its important role in Buddhism as a whole. The veneration of the stupa forms a core element in most different types of Buddhism around the world. Prominent Buddhist teachers and scholars were interviewed for the film and their insight provides an illuminating take on this mystical subject.