A New Way of Pilgrimage

The Kāliṅgabodhi Jātaka is an often-cited early source in Pāli providing a classification of Buddhist shrines and their worship. It is of particular interest as it lists three specific types of Buddhist sacred structures (cetiya, Skt caitya) purportedly sanctioned by the Buddha himself. Namely, the three are: a cetiya containing bodily relics of the Buddha (sārīrika-cetiya); a cetiya associated with something the Buddha wore, used or enjoyed, such as the Bodhi Tree (pāribhogika-cetiya); and a third ‘indicative’, dedicatory or commemorative kind called uddesika-cetiya. The meaning of the uddesika-cetiya is somewhat unclear, and interpretations and translations of the passage differ, leaving the meaning somewhat undetermined and even contentious. This article revisits the three types of cetiya, proposes a new interpretation of the uddesika-cetiya category and discusses the connections between the three types of cetiya and different modes of pilgrimage. It further argues that such commemorative monuments enabled a practice of ‘pilgrimage from afar’, allowing devotees to recollect the Buddha and gain the benefits of pilgrimage without travel—an innovation that helped Buddhism spread and adapt across regions.