The return of the decapitated head of a Gautama Buddha statue from Taiwan to China signified that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family,” Buddhist Master Hsing Yun (星雲法師) said on Sunday.
Hsing Yun made the remarks at a media event in Kaohsiung marking the stolen artifact’s return by air to China on Friday last week, with Hsing Yun escorting the statue.
He is one of Taiwan’s most revered Buddhist monks and a vocal commentator on political issues.
Photo: Courtesy of Fo Guang Shan Monastery
His latest comment mirrored a previous remark he made at the 2009 World Buddhist Forum in China.
He was reported to have said: “Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family. There are no Taiwanese in Taiwan and all Taiwanese are Chinese,” a comment for which he was slammed by Taiwanese critics for “inappropriate meddling” in politics.
The white-jade carving of Gautama Buddha’s head — reportedly dated back to the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) — was targeted by thieves in 1996 at the Youju Temple (幽居寺) in China’s Hebei Province in 1992.
In response to the incident, officials increased security at the temple, but in 1996, looters decapitated the statue and made off with its head, which was sold on the black market.
An anonymous Taiwanese collector later purchased the head of the decapitated statue through intermediary dealers and gifted it to Hsing Yun in 2014, according to the master.
Working with Chinese authorities, Hsing Yun arranged for the repair of the complete statue in Kaohsiung at his Fo Guang Shan Monastery (佛光山) and displayed the restored statue for 275 days prior to taking it to China on Friday.
A ceremony was held at Beijing Capital International Airport, with Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage Director Liu Yuzhu (劉玉珠) in attendance.
Hsing Yun said the unnamed antique collector donated the head of the statue to his monastery, saying that it was too big for his residence and that it should be venerated in a religious temple.
The artifact was purchased for more than NT$10 million (US$298,579) and the unnamed collector knew only that it was created during the Northern Qi Dynasty, Hsing Yun added.
Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) once gave Beijing’s blessing to Fo Guang Shan’s display of Buddhist relics in Taiwan, Hsing Yun said, reciting prose he said Jiang composed for the occasion: “At the lead of Hsing Yun, at our joint invitation, we venerate together, with guaranteed safety.”
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