佛教中舍利子的現象，在宗教修行上究竟具有什麼意義？本文著重探討的是全身舍利之何以可能的因由及其形成和演變的過程，揭示其形成的教理依據，本土固有文化和道教思想的影響等等，以期反映中國佛教一個方面的特色。

The corporeal bodhisattva in Chinese Buddhism is a peculiar phenomenon. What is its significance? What ideas does it convey, and what kind of discourse does it form? This paper explores this issue from eight angles in order to reveal characteristics of the indigenous culture it embodies. The first angle gives rise to a speculation about the occurrence of the corporeal bodhisattva from an historical background including the traditional ethical view of life and immortality, and the Taoist corporeal immortality. The second and third angles reveal that this phenomenon is closely related to the prevalence of The Lotus Sūtra with its idea of the incorruption of the tongue and the term “whole-body relic”. The fourth angle investigates several accounts of non-decaying flesh-bodies. The fifth angle explores the doctrinal foundation for the legitimacy of, and reasons for, the non-decaying body of flesh. The six and seventh angles discuss the many causes for the emergence and fabrication of the corporeal bodhisattva.