Keo Pagoda designated special national relic

Home Asia Pacific South East Asia Vietnam

Thai Binh, Vietnam -- The Keo Pagoda in Duy Nhat Commune, Vu Thu District, in northern Thai Binh Province, has been recognised as a special national relic for its unique historical, cultural, architectural and artistic values.

<< The Keo Pagoda in Thai Binh Province

The province held a ceremony on October 24 to receive the title and officially open the 2012 Keo Pagoda Autumn Festival.

After the first ceremonies, the delegates, along with many Buddhist monks, nuns, followers and tourists, offered incense in commemoration of Buddhist monk Duong Khong Lo and those who took part in the pagoda construction, from the 17th century.

Just over 130 km away from the capital Hanoi, Keo Pagoda, which was built in 1632, is an ancient building but has 102 rooms, more than any other pagoda in Vietnam.

There are two passages, which separate the pagoda from the temple. They are designed with curved roofs that join together at the 11.5m-high iron and wood bell tower.

The tower has three storeys, each of which possesses its own tiled roof and bronze bell.

The 108,000m2 pagoda is home to a wealth of ancient artefacts, which range from intricately engraved wooden dragons to a collection of over 100 statues.

It has also preserved many valuable antiques, such as a pair of candlesticks from the Mac Dynasty, pottery and altars from the Le Dynasty and several imperial boats.

The Keo Pagoda Autumn Festival is held annually from the 13th to 15th of the ninth lunar month, in honour of monk Duong Khong Lo, who is said to have cured King Le Thanh Tong from illness.

In addition to the traditional religious rituals that commemorate the Buddhist monk, the festival also hosts a variety of cultural activities that reflect the lifestyle of the Red River Delta’s agricultural communities.

View the original article here

Buddha relic likely to displayed at state museum

"ASI authorities have assured us that they will hand over the bone relic to the state government soon," Mohanty said

The relic, considered sacred for Buddhist followers, was unearthed during an ASI excavation at Lalitgiri, a Buddhist site in Jajpur, in 1985.

"We first found a stone pot during excavation. When we opened it, a silver cup was found and finally the bone relic was seen in a gold cover," an ASI official said.

When the state government attempted to collect the relic from the ASI in 1985, it was opposed by some political leaders of Jajpur district.

While the leaders demanded that the relic be housed at Lalitgiri museum, the ASI refused to hand it over to them on security reason.

Meanwhile, Mohanty motivated the Jajpur leaders and got their support to keep the relic at the state Museum here.

"I took one MP, who had earlier opposed the transfer of the relic to the state government, along with me to convince the ASI authorities at Delhi," the minister said.

"The relic will initially be displayed at the state museum and later shifted to Lalitgiri, the place from where it was discovered," Mohanty said.

Meanwhile, the state government has engaged experts to design the box in which the relic would be kept for public viewing. "We are also not ignoring the security aspect

of the relic at the meuseum here," the minister said.

Stating that objective of displaying the relic at the state museum here was to attract Buddihist tourists to the state, the minister said the state government was keen

on bringing the Buddihist special train to the city.

"The state government has requested the Railways to extend the route of the Mahaparinirvan Express till Odisha so that more tourists can visit the Buddhist circuits in the state," he said.

View the original article here

Buddha relic arrives in Hong Kong

Home Asia Pacific North Asia China

HONG KONG, China -- A skull bone believed to be from the original remains of Buddha arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday to much fanfare.

<< A skull bone believed to be from the original remains of Buddha.

It is the first time the sacred Buddhist relic has been taken outside mainland China.

The relic is believed to be the world's only remaining parietal bone of Buddha.

It was flown in by chartered plane and was greeted at the Hong Kong International Airport by government officials and monks.

The relic was reportedly buried for thousands of years and first unveiled in Nanjing two years ago.

According to Buddhist belief, Buddha's skull bone grew naturally upward, resembling a hair bun at the top of his head.

The relic is said to be yellowish-white in colour, around 10 centimetres in diameter, and curved at the top.

Some 300,000 devotees are expected to flock to see the relic over the next six days.

The Hong Kong leg of the relic's journey coincides with "The Third World Buddhist Forum" and the Birthday of Buddha on Saturday.

The relic will head to Macau next.

View the original article here

World Buddhism relic specialists to meet in Taipei

Home Asia Pacific North Asia Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan -- Renowned Buddhism heritage specialists from around the world are scheduled to meet in Taipei Oct. 21-22 to discuss how to protect the birthplace of Buddha and rebuild the historical site into a cultural heritage for the whole world.

The 2011 Oriental Cultural Heritage Sites Protection Alliance international academic symposium will take place at the Taipei National University of the Arts in Guandu, Taipei, under the theme "From South Asia to Taiwan -- Cultural Heritage, History's Memories, Buddhist Art."

German Tibetologist Christophe Cueppers, director of the Lumbini Research Institute in Nepal, will be one of the main speakers at the symposium and talk about the "sacred site Lumbini."

Yukio Nishimura, a Tokyo University professor and an adviser to the Paris-based Oriental Cultural Heritage Sites Protection Alliance, will also speak on the UNESCO program for the preservation and development of world cultural heritage sites, focusing on the birthplace of Buddha at Lumbini, Nepal.

Basanta Kumar Bidari, a chief archaeologist with the Lumbini Development Trust in Nepal, will speak on the "role of religious communities in the world heritage property of Lumbini."

Roland Lin, a specialist for UNESCO World Heritage Center and a researcher with the Far East Research Center of University Paris, Sorbonne, France, will speak on the Afghanistan Bamiyan Buddhas in the Bamiyan Valley 10 years after they were destroyed.

View the original article here