The inscription on the relics of the 11th century says that the monks have been collecting cremated ashes bit by bit for 20 years.
During excavations in the Chinese village of Gongchi in Jingchuan County, a sarcophagus (ceramic box) was found, which says that the remains of Buddha Shakyamuni, the legendary founder of Buddhism, are inside.
The text states the following: “The monks Yongjian and Zhiming from Longxing Temple Monastery in Jingzhou Prefecture collected over 2,000 fragments of Buddha's teeth and cremated ashes and placed them in the temple's underground tomb on June 22, 1013. They collected these relics while preaching Buddhism. It took them 20 years of ministry to reach their goal. Sometimes they received relics as donations, sometimes they found them by accident, sometimes they ransomed them in other temples, and sometimes they were given particles of Buddha's ashes as a sign of sincerity."
Large-scale excavations have been going on in this area since December 2012, when the ruins of an ancient monastery and many artifacts were discovered during the repair of the road. Among them, for example, there are 260 Buddha statues created in a wide variety of styles. Some of the statues are full-length, in other cases the sculptors only sculpted the head of the Buddha … On some of the statues you can read the inscriptions. One of them mentions "Bi Sendjin's student", probably the name of the creator of the sculpture. Another text reads: "[I am] shocked (…) every day because of my admiration for the Buddha, [I] make donations to sculpt a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, praying for longevity and …" Perhaps this phrase reflects the state of mind of the sculptor while working on statue, and maybe a "sponsor" who paid for the work.
Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, along with Socrates and Jesus Christ, is one of the most influential figures in the history of human thought. Scientists do not doubt their historicity, although we do not have material evidence of their existence (we rely only on the evidence of their followers). Therefore, any messages about archaeological finds associated with them are perceived with such interest.
The sarcophagus and its contents were examined using X-rays, the study showed that there are indeed human remains inside. This is confirmed by other methods of analysis.
“However, we do not yet have evidence that the ashes belonged to Buddha Shakyamuni,” says the head of the team of Chinese archaeologists Hong Wu, a researcher at the Institute of Cultural Relics in Archeology of Gansu Province. His words are quoted by the portal Live Science.
According to the biography of Buddha, he lived around the 4th-6th century BC. He spent 29 years of his life in the palace, since he was a prince by birth. Once leaving his “golden cage”, he saw four spectacles that changed his life. He saw an old beggar, a sick man, a decaying corpse and a hermit. He realized that neither title, nor power of arms, nor wealth can protect a person from life's troubles. The prince left his family, home and property, embarked on the path of self-discovery and, ultimately, created his own teaching. At the age of 80, Buddha finished his earthly journey. His body was cremated, and the ashes were divided into eight parts between members of the royal families and his disciples.
Promotional video:
At different times in different countries, relics were discovered that were associated with the remains of the Buddha. For example, in 2010, archaeologists during excavations in Nanjing found a gold chest that contained the parietal bone of the Buddha. This was evidenced by the inscriptions on the casket. However, it is impossible to confirm or deny the authenticity of the remains, because even if DNA can be extracted from the cremated fragments (as was done when identifying the remains of Nicholas II and his family), then where to find a sample of material for comparative analysis?
YAROSLAV KOROBATOV
