ACTING President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and Chairman of the State Security and Peace Commission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who is currenty in the People’s Republic of China on his working visit, and delegation members paid homage to the sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha at Lingguang Temple in Beijing at 3 pm Chinese standard time yesterday.
The Acting President and SSPC Chairman of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar paid homage to the Abbot of the temple and asked about visits of pilgrims at home and abroad to pay homage to the sacred tooth relic, wish to convey the sacred tooth relic to Myanmar, and the requirements of the temple. The abbot explained the visits of pilgrims at home and abroad to pay homage to the sacred tooth relic and the renovation of the temple.
The abbot presented Dhamma gifts to the Senior General. Next, the Senior General and the party donated cash to the fund of temple.
The Senior General paid homage to the Buddha image in the temple. The Senior General and party paid homage to the sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha. The abbot explained the history of the tooth relic.
Afterwards, the Senior General and party paid obeisance to Buddha images in the precinct of the temple.
The Lingguang Temple, situated in Beijing, is a historical temple which is well-known for the location of the sacred tooth relic of the Lord Buddha, other relics and ancient pagodas.
The monastery was originally built during the reign of the Tang dynasty. Under the reign of the Ming dynasty, the temple became the main centre for worship and pilgrimage. In 1748, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the Tooth Relic Pagoda was built with bricks and stones to enshrine the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. The pagoda had 13 tiers and an octagonal brick tower. After the fall of the Chin dynasty, political instability from the 19th to early 20th centuries weakened the preservation of the monastery, and it was damaged during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). Restoration efforts began after the reform period in the 1980s, and the pagoda enshrining the Buddha’s Sacred Tooth Relic has since been restored and maintained. Historical records show that the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lingguang Temple was ceremonially brought to Myanmar for veneration in 1955, 1994, 1996, and 2011. — MNA/TTA
