Sacred Buddha Tooth Relics and Relics in the World
Famous Chinese Monks Who Viewed The Buddha Tooth
Sacred Buddha Tooth Relics in the World
Other Sacred Relics of the Buddha in the World
Famen Monastery (China)
In 272 BC, Asoka, the Indian King established a temple with a pagoda to enshrine the sarira of Buddha. During the Tang Dynasty, the pagoda and Underground Palace was built. In 1519 AD Ming Dynasty, the 4-storey square wooden pagoda built in the Tang Dynasty collapsed. So a 13-storey octangonal brick pagoda was rebuilt from 1579 - 1606 AD.
The earthquake in Song Pan county in 1978, widened the cracks in the base. On 24 August 1981, the one end of the Ming Pagoda collapsed. In 8 April 1987, during reconstruction, the underground palace of the Tang Underground Palace was uncovered and the Sakyamuni Buddha Finger Bone Relics was discovered on 5 May 1987 (Lunar Birthday of Buddha). The Pagoda was reconstructed from April 1988 and reopened on 9 November 1988. The Underground Palace of Famen Temple was opened to the public in 1995.
Bibliography:
Famen Temple, China Shanxi Tourist Publishing House, Sep 1990, revised 1999