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    Uncover the Secrets of Famen-si’s Hidden Treasure Masterpieces
    Uncover the Secrets of Famen-si’s Hidden Treasure Masterpieces
    Uncover the Secrets of Famen-si’s Hidden Treasure Masterpieces
    Ebook67 pages42 minutes

    Uncover the Secrets of Famen-si’s Hidden Treasure Masterpieces

    By Laura Maya

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    About this ebook

    It was an unusual night but the night sky was very bright as lightning glazed across with strong wind and brightened up the sky that brought on the heavy rainstorm .
    This happened at 1:57am on 4 August 1981 which led to the dramatic collapse of the Famen Temple, a 13-storey pagoda in Shaanxi province, China. As if it was an indication from an unknown divine power , the Pagoda starts to crack with one of its side slides down with half of the pagoda standing , the pagoda was in vain trying to highlight to the world of its refusal to fall, with its clear intention to protect its underground crypt below .

    This incident caught and drew universal attention around the world when news broke out the following day. Like a tale straight out from a fantasy story , a sealed and forgotten underground palace was discovered after the pagoda on top of it finally totally collapsed. Inside the crypt , one chamber led to another, revealing hidden treasures that had not been seen for more than 1,000 years. it resulted in the discovery of forgotten treasure dating from the Tang dynasty and beyond . Over the centuries, the idea of such a palace existing within the temple grounds turned into myth. Many had believed buddhist veneration ritual did took place at the temple before ,but subject of hidden treasure has been common folk's rumors, and temple performing rituals were common in those days especially before the suppressive political movements, but since no one could find it, the story was discounted.

    Even when it was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty at the same location, it was never found then , as archaeologist found a different base foundation has been built over the original base . Therefore there was No record of the Underground palace mentioned or ever written in any historical document thereafter.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLaura Maya
    Release dateOct 20, 2015
    ISBN9788892509580
    Uncover the Secrets of Famen-si’s Hidden Treasure Masterpieces
    Author

    Laura Maya

    Laura Maya is a writer, coach and culturally curious "digital nomad" who has spent over 20 years wandering slowly through almost 60 countries. Laura prides herself on living simply, chasing impossible dreams and creating a life that supports and enhances the freedom of others. She currently lives on the road in Australia, moving around the country with her husband in a converted school bus named Maurice.

    Read more from Laura Maya

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      Book preview

      Uncover the Secrets of Famen-si’s Hidden Treasure Masterpieces - Laura Maya

      Conclusion

      INTRODUCTION

      Early Buddhism was characterized by the importance it placed on relics. These relics were vital to those who practiced the religion and were given much importance in worship. It is crucial to note that when we talk about relics in Buddhism, these are mainly pieces of Buddha’s body that were left after his cremation and they include bone parts such as the finger bone ,hair , or a tooth , and also usually well formed deposit that looks like stone or pearly object . They are symbolic to the religion and reflect Buddha’s teaching on the impermanence of life. These relics are also symbolic of Buddha’s conquest of death.

      The Mahaparinibbana Sutta sheds light on the importance of the relics and places importance on them. According to legend, after the cremation of Buddha, there were these relics which were collected. There was a struggle by the Kings from northern India to lay claim to the relics; they each wanted to be in possession of the remains of Buddha. So to bring peace, Drona who was a brahman divided the relics into eight parts and sent an equal portion to each of the kings. Thus the remains of Buddha were scattered across several kingdoms. These were reunited by Emperor Ashoka.

      Although Buddhist relics are usually a finger bone or a tooth, it is not uncommon to find strands of hair are also considered relics. Another category of relics involves what is known as ‘contact relics’ and these are items that Buddha used during his lifetime such as his clothes, the staff he carried and his begging bowl. Over the years, there have been several of Buddha’s disciples, bodhisattvas, who are venerated and their remains have also been added to the list of things considered relics in Buddhist religious practice. In modern times, it is not unusual to find statues of Buddha which have these relics inserted inside them in order to give them sacred power or legitimacy. In the early times though, these relics were often placed inside pagodas in a sacred site or in some temples namely the tooth relic of Buddha in Lingguang Temple, Badachu (Eight Great Sites) and Xishan Mountain of Beijing City, and tooth relic of Buddha in Buddha’s Tooth Relic Temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka , Shari-den ( japan ) , Botatoung Paya ( Myanmar ) and many others ,many were kept in secrets or forgotten over time until quite recently

      One of such temples is the famous temple of Famen (also known as the Famensi) in Fufeng, seventy-five miles west of Xi’an, Shaanxi. It is said that there were four temples in all of China which had the true remains of Buddha. These temples housed the sacred relics which were used in the practice of the Buddhist religion. Among few , which has survived thousand years till modern times is the Temple of Famensi, which recently discovered a hidden crypt under it’s pagoda with well kept hidden relics left there since the Tang dynasty

      Famensi Temple was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D ) Its former glorious period began from the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 A.D ), and reached the peak in the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907 A.D ), when it was reputed as an imperial temple. Eight emperors of the Tang Dynasty welcomed several times bone relics of Buddha back to the palace for worship, and awarded a large amount of treasure to the temple .

      The hidden relics of Famensi was discovered quite by accident. It had lain forgotten for several centuries and on the site, a pagoda had been erected. This pagoda was being renovated in 1987 when an underground

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