The North Pagoda in downtown Chaoyang is famous for its two Sakyamuni relics.
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To pay respects to Sakyamuni's relics is always quite an experience even if you know little about their history.

The afternoon sunshine warms the 13-storey North Pagoda in downtown Chaoyang and several elderly people sit by the wall enjoying the sunshine. The tranquility was broken only momentarily by children rolling skating in the square.

The 42.6-meter North Pagoda looks lofty with only one entrance on the west side.

The narrow path leads to various constructions of past dynasties, featuring the earth rammed base of the Northern Wei (AD 386-534), the paintings and sculpture of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and the bricks of the Liao Dynasty (AD 916-1125).

The pagoda was first built during the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was later destroyed by fire. According to historical records, the North Pagoda was rebuilt in the reign of Emperor Wen in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), when Buddhism spread throughout China.

What make the pagoda famous are Sakyamuni's relics, which were found in the Heavenly Palace on the top of the pagoda.

According to historical documents, the holy bone of Sakyamuni Buddha remained in the world when his body was cremated after his passing into nirvana. The Buddha's relic is worshipped by faithfuls.

Legend has it that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was a devout Buddhist who got a small bag of Sakyamuni relics. He ordered the whole country to build pagodas to enshrine the sacred relics. The North Pagoda was one of them.

The pagoda, which has been reconstructed five times in the past 1,500 years, has witnessed the ups and downs of several dynasties.

In 1988, when the government refurbished the pagoda, archeologists found many treasures except for the Sakyamuni relics. They include the "seven-treasure pagoda." Made of gold, silver, pearls, jade, coral, agate and crystal, it is believed to be the only one of its kind that remains today.

Another three objects a pagoda for sutras, a hexagonal pagoda made of gilded gold and silver, and a glass bottle from Persia are listed as State treasures.

"All the treasures were actually used to worship Sakyamuni's relics," said Wang Mei, a tour guide of the temple.

The two rice-size relics one is red and another white were found in a 10-centimeter gold pagoda in a silver container in the center of the Heavenly Palace. The red relic is now enshrined at the museum built in the north of the pagoda. The white one was put back in the North Pagoda when it was rebuilt in 1988.

"The temple and the museum here have so many rarely seen treasures," said, a Beijing-based magazine editor surnamed Xu, after she finished three kowtows to the Sakyamuni's relic. She is also a devout Buddhist and said she would be back to again pay pilgrimage.

It is believed there are only three relics of Sakyamuni in China. Apart from the one in Chaoyang, there is one in Famen Temple in Shaanxi Province, and another in Lingguang Temple in Beijing.

Compared to the Famen Temple, which is usually crowded with devotees and visitors, the North Pagoda remains comparatively peaceful.

(China Daily March 7, 2007)