Taiwan monks applaud Buddha's finger

The Buddha's finger is said to be 2,500 years old

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Thousands of Buddhists in Taiwan have welcomed the arrival of what they believe to be the remains of a finger that belonged to Buddha.

Clasping their hands in a sign of worship, hundreds of monks helped transport the finger, said to be 2,500 years old, from Famen Temple in Xian in central China to Taiwan.

The finger was carried in a miniature gold pagoda that Chinese temple guards brought out of a plane at Taipei international airport.

Chinese monks then delivered the relic to their Taiwanese counterparts at a handover ceremony. The finger is due to stay in Taiwan for a month.

After Buddha's cremation, some historians believe his bones were saved by Indian monks as souvenirs, with a few pieces brought to China when the monks went there to preach Buddhism.

Followers believe that since the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), the Buddha's finger had been stored in a cave at Famen Temple.

Some historical documents say that emperors worshipped the finger in elaborate ceremonies before the cave was buried about 1,100 years ago.

Famen temple officials only rediscovered the cave and the finger in 1987 when rebuilding a collapsed pagoda.

'Like seeing the Buddha'

The finger arrived to an immense welcome

"Looking at the bone is like seeing the Buddha himself," Chinese monk I Kong told The Associated Press.

"We hope Buddha's finger could inspire friendly love and peace across the Taiwan Strait" to China.

A flower-decorated float carrying the finger was paraded through Taipei streets in a procession led by women in traditional long dresses and monks in yellow robes chanting scriptures.

Buddhists waving yellow flags lined the streets to welcome the finger.

Later, thousands of Buddhists attended a ceremony at a Taipei stadium where the finger was placed on an orchid-decorated platform for worship.

Taiwan and China separated amid civil war in 1949. In recent years, many Taiwanese have visited Chinese temples to worship and view their rich collections of Buddhist scriptures and relics.