Saturday, April 28, 2012

Buddha's Bone arrives in Hong Kong / 3rd World Buddhist Forum opens in Hong Kong

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,10857,0,0,1,0

25 April 2012

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.

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I saw this on the CCTV 9 Documentary Channel:

photo

boxes that held the Buddha's finger bone

At Famen Temple

"The finger bone was preserved in the last of eight boxes, each enclosing the others, each wrapped in thin silk. The outer box was in sandalwood and had rotted away, but the smaller boxes were in gold, some in silver, and one in jade, and were in a good state of preservation. Each box had a silver lock and was exquisitely carved."

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3rd World Buddhist Forum opens in Hong Kong

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=46,10856,0,0,1,0

Hong Kong, China -- The Third World Buddhist Forum, the largest international Buddhist conference ever held in Hong Kong, opened on April 26, 2012.

At the beginning of the opening ceremony, led by President of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association Kok Kwong, President of the Buddhist Association of China Chuan Yin, the 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, all the participants, together with thousands of monks and Buddhist believers, bowed three times to the statue of Lord Sakyamuni Buddha and chanted the Heart Sutra, one of the most well - known Buddhist scripture.

The 11th Panchen Lama Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, one of the two most senior living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, delivered a keynote speech at the forum.

"The virtuous Buddha compassionately and skillfully opened the door to the Dharma, pointing out for us the way to choose between wholesome and unwholesome acts," said the 22-year-old Panchen Lama.

China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin congratulated the opening of the forum in a letter which was read out to the attendees by Zhu Weiqun, deputy head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

During the two-day event, eminent monks, well-known scholars from home and abroad, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Australia, the United States and Europe, will participate in seven sub-forums and several TV forums to discuss the propagation of Dharma teachings and the protection of Buddhist scriptures, and exchange ideas on the development of Buddhist education and the promotion of Buddhist charitable efforts..

A rare piece of the parietal bone of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was flown to Hong Kong from east China's Jiangsu province on Wednesday for public worship. This is the first time the sacred remains is worshipped outside the Chinese mainland since it was unearthed in June 2010 in Jiangsu.

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