News
Outrage as Buddhist relics go under the hammer in Hong Kong
View(s):By Graham Dixon in London
Next week (May 7), on the eve of Vesak, Sotheby's, the well-known British-founded brokers of fine arts, collectibles, and jewellery, will auction a collection of more than 300 sacred Buddhist relics unearthed in 1898 from the ancient Piprahwa stupa in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India, amidst an outcry of dissent and condemnation from Buddhist groups in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
These artefacts comprise gemstones originally interred alongside the corporeal remains of the historical Buddha. Until now these relics have belonged to the William Claxton Peppé family, descendants of the British landowner who oversaw their excavation by desecrating the stupa where these relics were kept by the Buddha's Sakya family. Other gems from the find are housed at the Indian Museum in Kolkata, and those currently for sale have been loaned internationally to various museums.
Sotheby's Hong Kong office that is auctioning these relics states in the catalogue that these relics are confined to the gems and jewellery that were in the original relics urn and do not contain the bones and ashes of the Buddha.
The Piprahwa discovery is of great significance for Buddhist archaeology. The Pali Canon relates that Buddha's cremated remains were divided between ten major Indian centres. This find was special since the stupa's reliquary urn bore an inscription attesting to the authenticity of the relics and noting that they had been deposited by the Sakyas, the Buddha's own clan. Therefore, the gems represent an offering made to the Buddha's relics from his own people, providing testimony to the veneration accorded him by the community he left to pursue his quest for awakening.
The gems might be considered as secondary to the Piprahwa fragments of the Buddha's bone and ashes, which were donated to the King of Siam and distributed further across various Buddhist countries. However, that view underestimates the importance that Buddhist tradition accords to such objects. The original intention of the Sakyas was for the gems to remain with the bodily relics in perpetuity as an offering, and in that regard, they are the possessions of the Buddha himself.
In a world where disturbing the remains of colonised peoples has become unacceptable, often museums have repatriated remains to descendants. Clearly, the upcoming sale raises numerous issues. As an offering to the Buddha, the gems cannot simply be regarded as attractive objects. In Buddhist terms, they are devotional objects, an offering motivated by spiritual practice and sanctified by proximity to the Buddha's earthly remains.
Various Buddhist voices have been raised to deplore the auction. The British Maha Bodhi Society has commented, "If it were not for the vicissitudes of Indian history, such items would not now be offered for sale; rather, they would still be preserved alongside the Buddha's corporeal relics—as objects of devotion and pilgrimage for his followers. The Dhamma teaches us not to take others' possessions. Auctioning these objects to the highest bidder is inconsistent with their spiritual value."
Professor Ashley Thompson, together with Conan Cheong from the School of Asian Studies (SOAS), University of London, has been investigating the significance of the case in detail and has come to realise "how profoundly meaningful these gem relics are". Professor Thompson wonders whether we can "imagine a better world attentive to Buddhist perspectives and a more ethical arts trade."
The Piprahwa Gems, in her opinion, "provide an opportunity to turn the colonial tide by reuniting them with the relics of the Buddha's remains to which they belong."
It remains to be seen what will transpire in the coming days. Many Buddhists will follow events with concern, trusting an acceptable outcome can be reached. That said, the ethics of selling grave goods from any community are highly questionable.
(Graham Dixon is the former Managing Editor of BBC National Radio Channel and Head of Radio European Broadcasting Union.)
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