Ven. Acariya Mun - Spiritual Biography + photos

the body of an ordinary person is composed of the same types of
elements, the body’s master, the citta, is full of kilesas. It has no
power to cleanse the body elements and purify them. Because the
body elements have not been purified, the cremated bones of the
average person remain unchanged, reflecting the impure nature
of the citta. We could say that purified elements are synonymous
with the ariyacitta, while ordinary elements are synonymous with
the ordinary citta. The attributes of the Arahant’s citta – and by
extension, his body elements – differ significantly from those of
the average person, so their bone remains are bound to differ as
well.
However, I am not sure that, after death, the bones of all
Arahants will automatically be transformed to relics. The citta
of someone attaining the level of Arahant is completely purified
at the moment of its attainment. The question remains: When
the body of an Arahant is cremated, do the remaining bones
become relics in each and every case or not? From one Arahant
to another, there is a considerable difference in time between
the moment when he reaches that attainment and the moment
when he finally passes away. The bones of living Arahants, who
maintain their body elements for a long period of time after their
attainment, are very likely to become relics after death. This is
due to the length of time involved. The citta of an Arahant main-
tains the body elements by means of the various life-sustaining
systems present in the body, like the breath for example. At the
same time, an Arahant maintains throughout his daily activi-
ties an intrinsic level of samãdhi that steadily works to cleanse
his body elements until they also become pure. This results in
his bone remains becoming relics after he passes away. But I’m