A landmark in breathing new life to spiritual ties:

Buddha's sacred relics for exposition from Pakistan

By Manjula FERNANDO

To celebrate the 2600th Year of Enlightenment of the Gauthama Buddha, Pakistan brought in one of the most sacred Buddhist relics remaining in the world to Sri Lanka.

The relics believed to be parts of Gauthama Buddha's collarbone was preserved in the Museum in Taxila, a city northwest of capital Islamabad since it was recovered in 1914 in a Stupa in the ancient Buddhist learning centre Dharmarajika. The legend has it that the stupa was built by King Asoka himself to enshrine Relics of the Buddha.

Along with the Buddha relics which was encased in a golden casket came two other relics, a stone relic casket and a Kanishka relic casket from Peshawar museum.

A predominantly Islamic State, Pakistan, preserves and protects one of the world's richest Buddhist heritage sites built mainly during the time of Emperor Asoka and Gandhara artifacts, in the country's Northwestern region. During the period of Emperor Asoka, Taxila had been an important centre of Buddhist learning and the mission of propagating Buddhism across Asia. The region remained a stronghold of Buddhism from 3rd century BC to 5th Century CE during the period of Mauryan King Asoka the great and the great Kushan King Kanishka.

Taxila is said to be the place where the entire life story of Gautham Buddha was translated into some physical form, of pictures and carvings, giving birth to the world renowned Ghandara art. The Statue which we see of the Buddha is said to have been first carved by people of ancient Gandhar which included the places known today as Peshawar and Swat.

The relics were sent here following a request made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa when the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari visited Sri Lanka as the first Head of State to arrive in Colombo after the conclusion of the conflict.

Dharmarajika Stupa

Pakistan High Commissioner Seema Baloch whom Sunday Observer met last week to inquire about the significance of the exposition of the Buddha's relics here said,

We have brought a little part of Pakistan here. We hope when your people go and pray at the stupa, they will think of Pakistan and its people and they will also pray for them.

We know that Sri Lanka being a predominantly Buddhist country how important these relics are. We witnessed this morning at the Malabe Temple how much veneration and faith they showed when receiving the relics at the temple.

The relics were flown in a helicopter from the ancient Tissamaharama Temple where the exposition of relics took place from June 13 to 15 including the Poson Poya Day on 14.

She said the sight really gave them a great deal of satisfaction and it was an honour for Pakistan to be able to take part in the celebrations of Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi in Sri Lanka.

Your President was quite keen to get artifacts from the Gandhara period and some relics from Pakistan.

They have discussed the possibility of releasing the sacred relics to be worshipped by the Buddhist community here during the Poson season. It was as a result of this discussions that the sacred relics were brought here.

The stupa in Mahamevna Asapuwa in Malabe where the relics were taken on Thursday has been named 'Siri Gauthama Dharmarajika' after the site of the ruins in Taxila where this sacred Buddha relics were excavated.

Dr. Kakar

Pakistan High Commissioner Seema Baloch

The sacred relics from Taxila was kept inside the inner chamber of the stupa to bless and sanctify the new stupa. The High Commissioner was presented with a delicate replica of the stupa. "We will cherish this gift and keep it in the High Commission for everyone to see.

The relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka are multifaceted, they are not just uni-dimensional. We have strong political relations. Our President was here recently and then there were a number of high level visits. The Naval Chief, Army Chief, Chairman of Senate, Chairman BOI, the Speaker, Governor State Bank, a two member parliamentary delegation was here.

The idea is to consolidate the relations both within the context of SAARC and bi-laterally. I think all these measures contribute to that."

These relics give added importance, apart from more earthly relationships there is a spiritual relationship. Buddhist religion goes back thousands of years.

It has spread in what is now Pakistan. It boasts of a great Buddhist legacy of Gandhara.

Perhaps not many are fully aware of the efforts by Pakistan to preserve these heritage sites, to give them the due respect. All the relics and monuments are very well preserved and the ruins are very well looked after.We hope by making people more aware, people from Sri Lanka will be keen to go to Pakistan as religious tourists. Taxila is well known but we also have artifacts in Lahore and Peshawar. The world renowned fasting Buddha is from Lahore museum.

She said it was unfortunate that a distorted image has been portrayed of Pakistan and their religion.

Frankly all the religions at the end of the day have the same basic principle. They teach you compassion, love, tolerance, righteousness and discipline. The rituals may vary and the supreme being may be different. But we take flowers, incense sticks when paying a visit to the mosque. We also bare our feet when we enter the mosque. The offerings we give away, especially during Ramazan to our mosques are full of food like in dansalas during Vesak and Poson.

In terms of why this image has come about, it is unfortunate. It depends on who controls the media at the end of the day. But certainly Pakistanis are proud of the fact that we have been able to preserve and give due respect to the sacred Buddhist relics and historical sites.

She emphasized that both countries should consider the possibility of sending a delegation of Buddhist pilgrims to Pakistan during Vesak season, to the historic sites in Taxila and elsewhere.

Dr. Fazal Dad Kakar, the Director of Archaeology in Pakistan who was among the delegation who accompanied the relics that were brought here said, these relics were excavated in 1914- 1915 by archaeologist Kadeer and Sadeep under the guidance of Sarjan Marshal, the then Director General of Archaeology.

He said this was the first time they were moved out of Pakistan. And it is the second time Pakistan has sent sacred relics to Sri Lanka. We sent the statue of the fasting Buddha which was preserved in Lahore Museum, to Sri Lanka for 2006 Vesak celebrations. That is the only statue of the Gautham Buddha in the fasting position.

A replica of the fasting Buddha was gifted by the Pakistani Government to Sri Lanka. It is now lying at the international Buddhist museum in Kandy.

Dr. Kakar said there were two schools of thought as to where the relics came from.

Since long there is academic discussion and two schools of thought. Some say these relics belong to Gautham Buddha's shoulder while others say it is part of his tooth. In my view whether it belongs to the shoulder or tooth, these are relics of the Buddha. They are sacred for us also because it is part of our national heritage.

The high level delegation from Pakistan was headed by Dr. Paul Bhatti, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Minorities Affairs and included Deputy Director of Taxila Museum and a Deputy Inspector General of Police to liaison with the security officers in Sri Lanka who will provide protection to the relics while in Sri Lanka.

The artifacts which arrived in the country on June 3 was received by the Speaker, Chamal Rajapaksa at the Bandaranaike International Airport. They were then taken to Vidyodaya Pirivena, Maligakanda and the exposition of the relics took place at the pirivena till June 10. From June 10-12 the relics were at Gangarama Temple, Colombo 2. From June 13 to 15 the Buddha relics were displayed at Tissamaharama Temple. The relics will be flown back to Pakistan on June 20.