Thousands of people have ？ocked to Badachu to see the Buddha tooth relic, which is on a rare public exhibit this month.
A wall carving, behind the Buddha Tooth Relic Stupa, features 500 arhats depicted in various poses.
By Zhang Dongya
Badachu, or the Eight Great Sites, features eight Buddhist temples and monasteries scattered across hills in Beijing. One of the eight temples called Lingguang Temple, famous for housing a Buddha tooth relic, has opened to the public for a month-long exhibition. This rare opportunity has attracted hordes of people who braved hours of queuing just to get a glimpse of history.
Badachu provides a good introduction to the history and architecture of ancient Chinese temples. For the outdoorsy types, the hike through the hills is a great bonus.
Display of Buddha tooth relic
Lingguang, or Divining Light, Temple is Badachu’s main monastery. It was built in Tang Dynasty (618-907) and given its present name in Ming (1368-1644).Its most prominent building is the Buddha Tooth Relic Stupa, which houses the precious relic: the only other recognized Buddha tooth relic in the world is in Sri Lanka. The stupa, built in 1964, is seven stories high, and the relic is kept on its second floor.
According to tales, the tooth relic was exhibited in Xi’an in Sui Dynasty (581-618), then sent to Beijing in late Tang. In Liao Dynasty (907-1125), it was housed at Lingguang Temple’s Zhaoxian, or Immortal Drawing, Stupa. In 56, a stupa was specially constructed for the relic. It was transferred there in 1964 once the building was finished.
Lingguang is considered a sacred place by pious Buddhists. Since 1949, the tooth relic has been taken on a tour outside the mainland five times: three times in Burma and once in both Sri Lanka and Hong Kong.
