འཕགས་པ་རྟན་ཅང་འབྲལ་པར་འབྱང་བ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.7

intro.7

Xuanzang mentions that these objects were considered relics of the Dharma (dharmaśarīra). Buddhist scripture came to be identified as a type of relic of the Buddha from the time of early Mahāyāna discourse, according to which worshipping the words of the Buddha was considered to be equivalent, if not superior, to worshipping the Buddha himself.⁹ Canonical sources, such as the Rice Seedling Sūtra (Toh 210), have furthermore equated dependent arising with the Dharma itself.¹⁰ Thus, inserting or inscribing the verse of dependent arising empowers an object just as a fragment of the Buddha’s remains would.¹¹ Included in the Tibetan text of this sūtra is the Sanskrit transliteration of the verse, implying that they were used like a mantra or dhāraṇī;¹² the Sanskrit syllables are considered potent in their own right as a manifestation of the Dharma and thus of the Buddha himself.