Buddhism teach not to be attached to material things, why do they have relics?

Hi,

They have the relics, but are they actually attached to it?

Just because you have something, does not mean that you want to keep it, if you have the flu, do you really want to keep it? The relics are there as a reminder (in most cases) of teachings, or memories, etc...

For example, the Buddhist temple that I go to weekly, a few years ago some people broke in at night time, and destroyed and vandalised many stone statues in the gardens. The next morning, when the monks and nuns saw it, the only things they said were, "it's alright, nothing is permanent, let it go".

I hope this has explained any confusion.

By that same line of thought, if Buddhism is not to be attached, then why did Buddhists follow the Buddha and his Dharma and Sangha?

Relics are meant to remind us, same thing with a statue, toward liberation.

I met some Buddhist monks before. They were great people. I asked the same question, and if by "relics" you mean the woodenBuddha figures then they said "if you are cold, then burn it. It is just wood." Plus I don't think he would care anyway if he was around.

I remember reading in my Chinese culture class about two bodhisattvas who died very wealthy. I guess that means you can have anything as long as you're not attached to it.

Temples have golden statues that serve as symbols of devotion to religious principles. Monks aren't perfect, but there's no reason to think that they're all extremely attached to their religious items. The items may symbolize how very unattached they are to the world. You could ask the same question about monks wearing clothes everyday. Why do they wear the same robes for decades if they're supposed to be unattached?

what do you do with your parents bones? throw away? and the memories? throw away?

Buddhism is about balance. Not to go extreme and dismiss reality by extreme views. Why do we eat if not material anymore? No we do eat although not materialist.

Nobody's perfect.