T he April 9 China Airlines flight return-ing from Thailand, which was the same type of aircraft as the one involved in February's Tayuan air disaster, had some very special passengers on board. In addition to Buddhist Master Hsing Yun and presidential advisor Wu Po-hsiung, the most important guest aboard the plane was one of the Buddhist world's greatest treasures-a tooth of the Buddha Sakyamuni.

Only moments after its arrival in Taiwan, the tooth received a grand welcome from Buddhists, politicians and ordinary people alike, revealing that the Buddhist belief in the power of the traditional "prayer for blessings" is still alive and well in Taiwan. However, many still doubt the ability of the sacred Buddhist relic to actually put an end to the spate of calamities and social disorder that has recently enveloped Taiwan. Many people still believe the welcoming of the tooth relic symbolizes the tremendous energy created by the unification of religion and state.

On April 7, Master Hsing Yun, leader of the Fokuangshan Buddhist Order, and former KMT secretary-general Wu Po-hsiung, who was recently inaugurated president of the International Buddhist Light Association ROC, led a 170-person delegation to Bangkok, Thailand in order to receive the 2500-year-old holy relic. On April 9, as this delegation returned to Taiwan, scores of high-level government officials including Premier Vincent Siew, Legislative Speaker Liu Sung-fan and Control Yuan President Hsu Shui-te, gathered at CKS Airport to celebrate and consecrate this glorious moment. Then, on April 11, at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, both exoteric and esoteric Buddhist sects held a ceremony to welcome the holy tooth. Huge numbers of believers, both young and old, gathered together to participate in the event. At the memorial, Vice-President Lien Chan delivered a speech in which he emphasized his hope that the relic could help promote spiritual reform, encourage pure religious belief, and accelerate the reestablishment of peace and order within society. He stated that the reception of the tooth is a truly joyous occasion for all of Taiwan's 21 million people. Premier Siew said he hoped the coming of the holy relic would help invigorate people's hearts and at the same time have a beneficial effect on the Taiwanese economy and social situation.

Buddhist Master Hsing Yun explained that the tooth relic originally was enshrined in India, but in the 13th century, due to the arrival of the Muslim religion, was transferred to Tibet by a Tibetan king. During the Cultural Revolution, in order to avoid destruction of the tooth by the Red Guards, Tibetan Buddhist master Kuanga Dorje Rinpoche fled from China and carried the relic back to India. Recently, at a gathering of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) in Thailand, he donated the relic to Master Hsing Yun, leader of the prestigious Fokuangshan Buddhist Order. Now that Kuanga Dorje Rinpoche has reached old age, due both to the slim chance of returning the tooth to Tibet and to his own inability to construct a temple to enshrine the relic, he has decided to part with it. Master Hsing Yun stated that the first time he received a holy Buddhist relic at the age of 36 his heart was full of joy, and now that he has been presented with another, he feels even more honored. He promised to build a tower to enshrine the tooth and also said he expects that under the guidance and education of the relic people's hearts will be purified and society will become safer and more peaceful.

While in Thailand, Master Hsing Yun placed the tooth on display in Suan Sirikit Public Park in Bangkok in order to allow the people of Thailand to pay their respects to the holy relic. In Taiwan, the tooth will be temporarily housed in the Taipei Vahala of Fokuangshan Temple. In three months, it will be taken to the Fokuangshan Temple in Kaohsiung. In the future, Master Hsing Yun hopes that the temple housing the relic can be situated near Taipei City. Ideally, the new temple would be in a place approximately 30 minutes by car from the city and 30 or 40 hectares in size, allowing for as many as one million people to revere the relic. Most people in Taiwan have warmly greeted the coming of the holy tooth, but many still express their doubts as to its authenticity. Communist China's state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted a spokesman for the Chinese Buddhist Association as saying that according to the record of the Mahapari Nirvana Sutra, Buddha Sukyamuni left behind four teeth in all. Two of the teeth were taken away to heaven by the Sovereign Sakra (Jade Emperor) and the Holy Raksasa, and two were left among men here on earth. Those two teeth are now enshrined in Sri Lanka and Beijing. Therefore, the existence of a third tooth is still in question. Buddhist Master Chao Hui, a lecturer with the religion department at Fu Jen University, states that according to most versions of the Mahapari Nirvana Sutra, the Jade Emperor and the Holy Raksasa took away three teeth, leaving four more. In all, there are possibly seven teeth. Associate Professor Hou Han-chun of Chunghsing University points out that although searching for proof that the relic is genuine does pose a problem, it does not amount to a religious dispute. The existence or nonexistence of one single tooth relic cannot shake the extensive knowledge and profound scholarship of Buddhism.

However, intense and enthusiastic participation in this type of religious activity by senior government officials can quickly give rise to criticism from all sides. At the ceremony at CKS Memorial Hall, Wu Po-hsiung explained that at this type of occasion there are no vice-presidents or premiers, but only Buddhists unified in heart and soul. Lin Huo-wang, a professor of philosophy at Taiwan University, stresses that for a government to directly encourage, support, or oppress any one particular religion violates the principle of separation between religion and state.

A number of elected officials continue to express criticism. Provincial Assemblyman Hwang Mu-tian believes the people's fanaticism for religion is due to their lack of confidence in the government. Government officials don't consider how to improve public order, yet in order to gain votes they jump wholeheartedly into religious activities, hoping to distract the attention of society. Such a backward method cannot be expected to bring anything good in return. DPP Provincial Assemblyman Cheng Kuo-chung suggested that Civil Affairs Commissioner Chen Chin-hsing learn a lesson from a memorial that Tang-dynasty author Han Yu wrote to the emperor admonishing him for his acceptance of another famous Buddhist bone relic. Pursuing long life and blessings from above can only bring the rapid decline of a government. Chen Chin-hsing should write a similar memorial recommending a change of society for the better.

Large amounts of manpower, land, time, and money, will be devoted to building and consecrating a new temple to house the tooth, thus demonstrating Buddhism's power to mobilize all sections of Taiwan society. Taiwan literature and history researcher Cheng Shui-ping points out that from celebrations of Matsu (one of the goddesses of Taiwan's folk religion), the welcoming of the holy tooth, and the donation of NT$1.5 billion worth of land to the Tzu Chi Foundation, one can see the power of the links between religion and society. However, can the tooth relic truly have any positive meaning? How will the power generated by such links manifest itself in the future? Apart from erecting temples or building new hospitals, resources are also needed for culture, education, and art; it would be regrettable if too many resources were diverted due to religious fanaticism, robbing society of the energy to advance. Furthermore, does the social power of religion really need encouragement from politicians, and does their participation in religious activities lend religious groups any unfair advantages? What kind of impact will such involvement have in the future? These questions all deserve thorough consideration.

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The ceremony to greet the arrival of the Buddha's tooth in Taiwan attracted a crowd of some 10,000. Senior government officials including Vice-President Lien Chan and Premier Vincent Siew attended and made speeches. (photo by Hsueh Chi-kuang)