Alms Bowl Relic
The alms-bowl relic is the bowl that the Buddha is said to have used for his daily begging round, which became a sacred object after his death together with his tooth, his staff and other personal belongings. According to a well-known legend recorded in Gandharan art and later Buddhist texts, after the enlightenment four guardian kings, the lokapalas, each offered the Buddha a stone bowl, and the Buddha miraculously fused the four into one, so that he had a single vessel of modest size for his food. Monks of the Theravada tradition still beg with an alms bowl, holding it in both hands while ho