A mother many times asked her son to bring her a sacred relic of the Buddha. But the youth kept forgetting her request. She said, 'I will die because of you if you do not bring a relic to me.' But the son set off to visit Lhasa and again forgot his mother's wish. A half-day's journey from his house, he recalled his mother's request. But where can one find sacred objects in the desert? There are none. But the traveler came upon the skull of a dog. He decided to take out a tooth and, folding it in yellow silk, he brought it to the house.
The old woman asked of him, 'Have you again forgotten my last request, my son?' He then gave her the dog's tooth wrapped in silk, saying, 'This is the tooth of the Buddha.'
And the mother put the tooth into her shrine, and performed before it the most sacred rites, directing all her worship to her holy-of-holies. And the miracle was accomplished. The tooth began to glow with a pure ray, and many miracles and sacred objects were manifested by it.
-Nicholas Roerich
The Heart of Asia
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