Buddha's Hair Relic

Botataung Stupa, Rangoon

An elaborate shrine with English signage displays a hair relic of the Buddha, which was brought over from India sometime before 1 AD. The question sometimes comes up, whether this and similar relics are "real," that is, actual physical remains of the Buddha. To Buddhists in southeast Asia, however, such questions are quite beside the point; the tradition makes the relic, not vice-versa; and it is accepted that "multiplication of relics" has taken place in the past, and continues in the present, to provide as much material as is required for the needs of the faithful.

Botahtaung is an alternate spelling of this temple.