Beijing (CNS) -- One of the two existing tooth relics of the Sakyamuni Buddha, a sacred symbol of wisdom and peace for all Buddhists around the world currently preserved by the Lingguang Temple in Western Hills of Beijing, left Beijing for Myanmar for a 48-day enshrinement on November 6.
Religious leaders from both countries attended the delivering ceremony at about 5:30 a.m. The holy relic departed the Beijing Capital International Airport at 7:30 a.m. and arrived in Pyinmana at 1p.m.
It is the tooth relic's fourth visit after the previous ones in 1955, 1994 and 1996. Buddhists will be able to worship the relic in Pyinmana, Rangoon and Mandalay till December 24.
About 85% of residents in Myanmar believe in Buddhism. According to Buddhism records, after Sakyamuni's Nirvana, his body was cremated, and his two remaining teeth were discovered in the ashes. One of them was taken to Sri Lanka, the other was brought to Kotan, the present Hetian county of northwest China's Xinjiang.
