Remnants of Buddha's Body Stolen

Golden urn was stolen from Cambodian shrine
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 13, 2013 10:08 AM CST
Remnants of Buddha's Body Stolen
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama sits in front of a large statue of Buddha while giving a religious talk at the Tsuglakhang Temple in Dharmsala, India, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012.   (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

A golden urn containing what are considered to be remnants of the Buddha's body has been stolen from its shrine near the Cambodian capital, officials today announced. The theft was apparently discovered Tuesday, when a guard found the lock to the shrine's door had been destroyed and the urn removed. A police rep says police have questioned 13 of the shrine's guards and detained six as suspects, but that authorities had no information on the relics' whereabouts.

A government rep emphasized that the relics have enormous cultural and religious significance for Cambodians, noting that the late King Norodom Sihanouk moved them in 2002 from Phnom Penh, the capital, to the mountain shrine in the former royal city of Udong, in a ceremony attended by tens of thousands. (More Buddha stories.)

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