Sarira Buddhist relics put on display

People raised their voices as they recited Buddhist scripture. Tourists gathered one after the other while some held hands and took a deep bow to pray.

When children playing in front of Daewoongjeon, or the main building, of the Buddhist temple Bulguk, stopped moving, "okgaeseok," or a stone roof covering the pagoda, was slowly lifted. "Sarigong," or a container for storing "sarira," a small crystal from the cremated remains of monks, in the temple`s three-story pagoda "Seokgatap" in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, has been unveiled.

The Gyeongju Stone Cultural Heritage Repair Task Force under the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage on Tuesday dismantled the stone lid over the sarira hole (41×19 centimeters) on the second level of the pagoda, National Treasure No. 21, and pulled out "sarijangeomgu (sarira and its container)." Sarira and its container, which were stored anew in sarigong in 1966 when the pagoda was dismantled and repaired, have been displayed to the public in 47 years.

Back then, the sarigong housed a sarira bottle containing 48 fruits of sarira, gilt bronze outer container, silver inner container and records on the restoration of Seokgatap in the early years of the Goryeo Dynasty. The Mugujeonggwang Daranigyeong, which was also unearthed at the time, was found to be the world`s oldest woodblock print. These treasures were designated National Treasure No. 126 and remained at the Central Buddhist Museum in Seoul.

When the okgaeseok on the second level was lifted, faded reddish cloth was found before other items. When the cloth was removed, a rectangular steel box was shown. Sarijangeomgu was seen from the box. Items except sarira, a silver pot and a wooden sarira bottle here are replicas. Sarira contained in a glass bottle within the silver inner box was also made public. Sarira displayed a black hue perhaps due to the passage of time, and other sarira were seen attached to the bottom of the glass bottle.

The temple will store sarira at the pavilion Museoljeon and hold a Buddhist ceremony to welcome and witness sarira. Dismantlement work began in September last year as the decision to restore Seokgatap was made in 2010 due to cracks in stone materials.

ray@donga.com