Regarding the burial location of Xuanzang's bones, it can be said that it has gone through many twists and turns, experienced many people and things, and left many legendary stories.
We all know that after the death of eminent monks, their bodies will turn into magical relics.
There are many different kinds of these relics, some are as white as jade, and some are colorful.
After Sakyamuni's death, his remains were divided into tens of thousands of parts. Today, his relics can be found all over the world. Buddhist believers are also distributed around the world and are regarded as treasures by believers.
What Tianfa Temple now stores is the finger bone relic of Sakyamuni Buddha, which is a cylindrical section like white jade.
The same was true for Xuanzang. After his body was cremated, it was turned into relics, which were worshiped by various temples at that time.
The reason why others strive for his relics, and even later generations use all means to rob him, is because of his high status in Buddhism.
Of course, robbery is a shameful behavior, but this behavior has never stopped for thousands of years.
After Xuanzang's death, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty cremated him according to his last wishes and buried him on Bailuyuan on the bank of Chanshui River in the eastern suburbs of Chang'an City.
But later, because Xuanzang's status in the hearts of the people was too high, he was moved to the Great Mercy Temple and a relic tomb tower was built as a memorial.
Therefore, the real Xuanzang Mausoleum is located in the Great Mercy Temple.
However, in modern times, problems arose. When Japan invaded China, it discovered Xuanzang's skull. After all, it was the relic of an enlightened monk. Japan did not want to miss it, so it took half of it away.
Although the Japanese were rampant, they did not dare to neglect Xuanzang's relics and enshrined them in Yakushi Temple, respecting them very much.
After the end of World War II, Taiwan strongly demanded the return of Xuanzang's skull. After several twists and turns and struggles, only half of it was returned, and it is now enshrined in a Taiwanese temple.
In 1956, Indian Prime Minister Nehru visited China and requested that the parietal bone relics of Xuanzang be brought back to the country for enshrinement.
Because Buddhism originally originated from India, and first the Buddha Sakyamuni spread the finger bone relics to the Central Plains, which later led to the great rise of Buddhism.
Therefore, in line with the purpose of friendly exchanges between the two countries, part of the Tianjin Great Compassion Temple was given to India, and it is still preserved today.
In this way, Xuanzang's relics are preserved in mainland China, Japan, India and Taiwan.
But now, if the DNA of this relic is determined from a biological perspective, it would be a tsunami-like event in the Buddhist world, and no one can accept it.
So now I can only think of ways to confirm privately.
If you want to leave the country to go to Japan or India now, it will be impossible in a short time, and foreign relations will be extremely troublesome.
So if I want to confirm this, there is only one way to go, and that is to enter another Buddhist holy place, the main temple of the Great Mercy Temple.
The Great Compassion Temple, also known as the "Great Compassion Temple of the Tang Dynasty Protecting the Country", was the first of the eight major temples in Fanchuan during the Tang Dynasty. It is located on the bank of Shaoling Plain about 20 kilometers south of Xi'an.
The Great Mercy Temple is different from Tianfa Temple in that it has long stopped accepting incense from outside and has sealed the gate to prevent tourists from entering.
But it is still very famous there, and important meetings and celebrations within the Buddhist community are held there every year.
The country also attaches great importance to this temple because there is a very famous pagoda here, the Xuanzang Relic Pagoda, which is the resting place of Master Xuanzang.
In the first year of Linde's reign, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzang passed away in Yuhua Palace and was buried in Bailuyuan in the eastern suburbs of Chang'an in accordance with his will.
The terrain of Bailuyuan is very high and can be seen from the Hanyuan Hall of Daming Palace in the Tang Dynasty Palace.
Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty respected Xuanzang very much and paid homage to him after his death. Not only that, it is said that he often shed tears while looking at the pagoda in the Hanyuan Hall.
For the sake of the health of the holy body, Emperor Gaozong's empress Wu Zetian ordered that Xuanzang's remains be moved to Shaolingyuan south of Chang'an. At the same time, a magnificent temple was built, named the Great Mercy Temple, and royal incense was used to support it.
commemorate.
This Great Mercy Temple occupies a very vast area, and the interior pavilions and pavilions are quite magnificent and exquisite, fully demonstrating the majesty of the Tang Dynasty.
But before that, that area was actually not peaceful.
Master Miaokuo recorded in "Records of the Great Compassion Temple in Zhongnan Mountain":
Before Zhong Nanshan built the temple, there was a vast wilderness.
About sixty miles south of Chang'an, there is Zhongnan Mountain, which stretches from east to west like a giant python, majestic and winding, and stretches for about eight hundred miles.
There are seventy-two valleys in this mountain. There is water in the valleys. The water is so huge that dragons are often found entrenched there. It is really called the Snake Mountain Crocodile Water.
Luxurious forests grow on the rugged cliffs, green grass is spread between the rocks, insects chirp, tigers and leopards roar, and wise men often live in seclusion here.
This means that before the Great Mercy Temple was established, there were often some jackals, tigers, leopards and strange people there, and there were dragons hovering in the water, making it a mysterious area.
After the Great Mercy Temple was built, Xuanzang's relics were transported to the pagoda for worship, and they shone brightly.
According to legend, the relics were so brilliant at that time that they could illuminate everything in the mountain, creating a divine and magical beauty.
At that time, there was silence in the mountain, and low voices of chanting sutras could be heard everywhere, some of which were obviously not human.
From then on, no monsters or beasts were seen in the mountains, and the dragons disappeared in the water. Spring came to the dead trees, and greenery was restored, creating a peaceful scene.
Of course these are all beautiful legends, and no one can tell whether they are true or false.
Now the Great Mercy Temple is an important temple under the jurisdiction of the country.
On March 4, 1961, the Great Mercy Temple was announced by the State Council as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 2003, it was selected as an important world cultural site.
From now on, if you want to enter there, it will be difficult to reach the sky.
Faced with this tough problem, Chen Zhi first thought of some solutions on his own. In fact, it was not difficult for him at all.
Some little people who can escape from the earth can easily accomplish this.
But to be honest, Chen Zhi still doesn't want to use this method. He has always been taboo about places like Buddhism.
Ye Qing once warned him that there was no need to ask him for anything related to the Buddhist world. He would neither participate nor have the ability to help him. So this time, Chen Zhi did not think of asking him for help.
Lao Jiandou found a few friends in the middle and wanted to get them to follow him in the name of an interest study for foreign Buddhist enthusiasts.
But the reply given by the other party was very tough. Any inspection must be allowed by the abbot. Otherwise, it will be impossible to enter the temple regardless of any reason.
In the end, Danxuan had to figure out a way for him to communicate with the Great Mercy Temple as the abbot of Tianfa Temple.
Then think of a convincing name and enter the temple.
Then the rest of the matter will be easy to handle. They can enter the stupa without knowing it, get close to Master Xuanzang's relic, and then achieve the purpose of obtaining DNA.
When Chen Zhi told Dan Xuan these situations, Dan Xuan's attitude was unexpected.
He said:
"We are originally Buddhists, and monks do not tell lies.
Since we want to go in, we must tell the truth to others..."