Mystery Of The Buddha's Relics In Thailand

[camerata]

I read in Charles Allen's book The Search for the Buddha that while excavating a site near the Nepalese border looking for the site of Buddha's parinibbana a man named William Peppe found "three small vases of soapstone, a little soapstone box and a crystal bowl three and a half inches high, all in perfect condition... the smallest of the urns carried a long inscription on its lid which William Peppe photographed, while his wife made scale drawings of the ornaments."

These were "passed on to Thomas Rhys Davids, now Secretary of the RAS [Royal Asiatic Society], who translated the inscription as follows: 'This shrine for the relics of the Buddha, the August One, is that of the Sakyas, the brethren of the Distinguished One, in association with their sisters, and with their children and their wives.' If his reading was correct, then only one conclusion could be drawn: that the Sakya clan had raised this stupa soon after the death of their illustrious kinsman, the Sage of the Sakyas, to contain their share of his relics... The great stone coffer and its caskets found by William Peppe at Piprahwa, went to the Indian Museum in Calcutta. At the request of King Chulalankara [i.e. Chulalongkorn], the relics themselves found a new home in Siam."

I then learnt from this site that: "Marquis Curzon, a British viceroy of India then present a portion of the Relic to Thailand during the reign of King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) who interred the relic at the stupa of Phu-Khao-Thong, Wat Srakessa (Sa-Gest temple) Bangkok in 1899."

And then from this site I learnt that: "As such Curzon decided to present the relic to King Rama V. His Majesty sent Phraya Sukhum Naya-Winit (Chao Phraya Yomaraj Pan Sukhum parien), as the Thai representative to bring in the Buddha Relic. Then Buddhists from Japan, Burma, Lanka, ans Siberia began to request for a share of the Buddha Relic. His Majesty distributed the Relic accordingly. The rest of the Relic was inserted into a bronze pagoda casted by Royal Command. In 1899 (2442 B.E.) the pagoda was installed in a Royal Ceremony on the top of the Golden Mount."

Wat Sraket and the Golden Mount in Bangkok are of course well-known in Thailand but when I asked Thai friends and colleagues no one had any idea that genuine Buddha relics were kept there. I wonder why this is? Perhaps because there are just so many stupas in Thailand that contain relics with fantastic stories attached to them. But it was pointed out to me that there haven't been any royal processions or visits that would publicise the relics at the Golden Mount.

Given that these relics are as close as we'll ever get to genuine relics of Sakyamuni, it seems incredible that it isn't common knowledge they are at Wat Sraket. What was all that fuss about a Buddha's tooth loaned from China 3 years ago if we have the real thing right here?

I've never heard of this particular relic in Japan, either.

[camerata]

Here's a review of Allen's follow-up book:

The Buddha and Dr Führer: an Archaeological Scandal

by Charles Allen

"In 1898, on an estate between the foothills of the Himalayas and the Gangetic Plains, a third-generation British planter called William Claxton Peppé excavated an intriguing brick stupa. At 24 feet, he unearthed a hefty stone coffer containing five reliquary vases. Besides a glittering heap of jewels and gold, one of the vases held ashes. An inscription around the rim recorded that the ashes were the remains of the Buddha, and that they had been deposited by members of his Sakya clan.

In this dense and quirky volume, Charles Allen unravels the saga of the discovery, a twisted tale of truth and lies that has divided Buddhist scholars for a century."

Continued here.

[PoorSucker]

Have you been to Wat Phra Mahathat in Nakhon Si Thammarat?