The North Pagoda in downtown Chaoyang is
famous for its two Sakyamuni relics.
?
To pay respects to Sakyamuni's relics is always quite an experience
even if you know little about their history.
The afternoon sunshine warms the 13-storey North Pagoda in
downtown Chaoyang and several elderly people sit by the wall
enjoying the sunshine. The tranquility was broken only momentarily
by children rolling skating in the square.
The 42.6-meter North Pagoda looks lofty with only one entrance
on the west side.
The narrow path leads to various constructions of past
dynasties, featuring the earth rammed base of the Northern Wei (AD
386-534), the paintings and sculpture of the Tang Dynasty (AD
618-907) and the bricks of the Liao Dynasty (AD 916-1125).
The pagoda was first built during the Northern Wei Dynasty,
which was later destroyed by fire. According to historical records,
the North Pagoda was rebuilt in the reign of Emperor Wen in the Sui
Dynasty (AD 581-618), when Buddhism spread throughout China.
What make the pagoda famous are Sakyamuni's relics, which were
found in the Heavenly Palace on the top of the pagoda.
According to historical documents, the holy bone of Sakyamuni
Buddha remained in the world when his body was cremated after his
passing into nirvana. The Buddha's relic is worshipped by
faithfuls.
Legend has it that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was a devout
Buddhist who got a small bag of Sakyamuni relics. He ordered the
whole country to build pagodas to enshrine the sacred relics. The
North Pagoda was one of them.
The pagoda, which has been reconstructed five times in the past
1,500 years, has witnessed the ups and downs of several
dynasties.
In 1988, when the government refurbished the pagoda,
archeologists found many treasures except for the Sakyamuni relics.
They include the "seven-treasure pagoda." Made of gold, silver,
pearls, jade, coral, agate and crystal, it is believed to be the
only one of its kind that remains today.
Another three objects a pagoda for sutras, a hexagonal pagoda
made of gilded gold and silver, and a glass bottle from Persia are
listed as State treasures.
"All the treasures were actually used to worship Sakyamuni's
relics," said Wang Mei, a tour guide of the temple.
The two rice-size relics one is red and another white were found
in a 10-centimeter gold pagoda in a silver container in the center
of the Heavenly Palace. The red relic is now enshrined at the
museum built in the north of the pagoda. The white one was put back
in the North Pagoda when it was rebuilt in 1988.
"The temple and the museum here have so many rarely seen
treasures," said, a Beijing-based magazine editor surnamed Xu,
after she finished three kowtows to the Sakyamuni's relic. She is
also a devout Buddhist and said she would be back to again pay
pilgrimage.
It is believed there are only three relics of Sakyamuni in
China. Apart from the one in Chaoyang, there is one in Famen Temple
in Shaanxi Province, and another in Lingguang Temple in
Beijing.
Compared to the Famen Temple, which is usually crowded with
devotees and visitors, the North Pagoda remains comparatively
peaceful.
(China Daily March 7, 2007)
