Western scholarship has largely ignored the practice of venerating the physical remains of the Buddha, a practice that has been a central focus of both monastic and lay Buddhists for more than two millennia. This study draws on textual and archaeological evidence from India and Sri Lanka to examine the place of relic veneration in the history of South Asian Buddhism. It contributes to current work on the history of Western Buddhology, to the discipline of religious studies, and to the history of Indian and Sri Lankan Buddhism. "A carefully researched and theoretically engaged study.... A first-rate analysis that belongs in every academic library with significant holdings on Buddhism." John Clifford Holt, Religious Studies Review "...Trainor's study includes careful translations from the original P^D-ali and does a good job of researching a wide variety of selective sources." Nirmala Salgado, Journal of the American Oriental Society This study examines the place of relic veneration in the history of South Asian Buddhism.