When archaeologists excavated the Grand Bao’en Temple in Nanjing, China in 2008, they found an important discovery – a holy relic related to the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. The artifact is a skull found inside a decorated stupa model located in an underground temple. This relic was later displayed in Hong Kong and Macao and received great attention from the Chinese media.
Search for the Stupa
The first hints of an important discovery came from a stele found during excavations in July 2008. Macao Magazine wrote that the inscription on the stele said “the palace preserved a “Pagoda King Ashoka’s Seven Treasures” contains gold and silver coffins along with a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha. parietal bones and relics of other Buddhas inside them.” In the following month, archaeologists unearthed a stone chest with an iron box inside.
When the iron box was opened, the team encountered a stupa about 4 ft high and 1.5 ft wide (117 cm x 45 cm). According to Live Science , “the model is made of sandalwood, silver and gold, and is covered with gemstones made from crystal, glass, agate and lapis lazuli.”
Stupa model. (Chinese cultural relics)
The inscriptions on the stone chest indicate that this model was made during the reign of Emperor Tran Tong (997-1022 AD), of the Song Dynasty. The stupa itself also has the names of those who donated money and built the model engraved. The Telegraph reports that archaeologists believe the site is “one of 84,000 temples commissioned by Ashoka the Great in the second century BC to house the remains of the Buddha.”
King Ashoka Converted to Buddhism
King Ashoka is widely remembered as a Buddhist ruler in India. In fact, his contributions to Buddhism and ethics made him a famous figure in Indian history. It is said that from a young age, Ashoka showed the potential to become a successful general and an astute administrator. However, despite his abilities, Ashoka’s chances of succeeding his father were said to be slim as he had several half-brothers.
However, a legend holds that Ashoka fought and killed 99 of his brothers to inherit the throne. Only his younger brother, Vitashoka, was said to have been spared. Ashoka was a cruel ruler when he first ascended the throne, but many legends say that he changed his ways after conquering Kalinga. These stories assert that the amount of death and destruction sickened the emperor and incited him to abandon his violent ways and embrace Buddhism.
An Indian bas-relief may depict Ashoka in the center. From Amaravati, Guntur district, India. ( CC BY SA 3.0 )
An inscription found in the temple’s stone chest from about 1000 years ago provides further information about the connection between Ashoka and the monument. The text was written by a man calling himself Deming, who described his role as “Master of Perfect Enlightenment, Abbot of Chengtian Monastery [and] Holder of the Purple Robe.” Live Science wrote that the text reads:
“After Buddha entered Nirvana (final death ending the cycle of death and rebirth), his body was cremated near the Hirannavati river in India. The ruler of India at that time, King Ashoka, decided to preserve the Buddha’s relics, which he divided into a total of 84,000 shares… Our Chinese land received 19 of them, including including the parietal bone.”
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The skull was found inside a small gold coffin, inside a small silver coffin, inside a model stupa. Live Science describes the coffins as “decorated with images of lotus flowers, phoenixes and gods guarding the coffins with swords. The outside coffin also has images of spirits called apsaras playing musical instruments.” They also write that “The Buddha’s parietal bone was placed […] along with three crystal bottles and a silver box, all containing the remains of other Buddhist saints.”
Speaking about this discovery in November 2008, De Qing, an expert on Buddhism in Nanjing, said:
“The discovery of the relic will have a huge influence on the history of Buddhist culture in China and will make Nanjing a leading location. That will be a great encouragement for Buddhists as well as for future research. It is important for Buddhism as a religion to have these relics or relics for its followers to see. The more a Buddhist practices, the more relics he or she will have left after death. I’m extremely excited. I think they should take the skull out of the container, it is a sacred object but not an untouchable item.”
The silver coffin found inside the stupa was decorated with images of gods protecting it with swords. There are also images of spirits called asparas, who are shown playing musical instruments. Source: Chinese cultural relics
De Qing was right and his wish to reveal the monument to the public came true. The first parietal bone was revealed at Qixia Monastery in Nanjing and displayed for public worship in 2012 in Hong Kong and Macao. It is said that “Tens of thousands of Buddhist followers, from Macao, Hong Kong and mainland China, paid their respects to the 2,500-year-old relic” when it was on display at the time.
Although the inscriptions accompanying the artifact claim that the skull belongs to Buddha, it has not been proven whether this is true or not. However, the skull had a significant effect at the time it was exhibited. For example, Kok Kwong, president of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association during that time, told China Daily about the first time he saw the skull relic. “It was really fun. I am filled with the joy of Dharma,” He also said:
“Seeing the relics is like seeing the Buddha. Buddhism brings abundant wisdom and brings true happiness to people. Worshiping relics can promote people’s inner compassion, purify people’s souls, and be beneficial to world peace.”
The parietal bone was enshrined for public worship in 2012. ( Macao Magazine )
Top image: This small gold coffin was found inside a silver coffin. The Buddha’s skull along with the remains of other Buddhist saints are placed inside. After archaeological excavations, Buddhist monks interred the saints’ remains in Qixia Temple in China. (Chinese cultural relics)
