Famen means the initial approach to become a Buddhist believer. The Famen Temple was constructed in the Eastern Han Dynasty because of the stupa there. The Famen Temple stupa, also known as “the Real Spirit Pagoda”, is famous for the fact that it houses a finger bone of Sakyamuni. In 485 B.C., after Sakyamuni’s nirvana, the Buddhist King Asoka (268 B.C.---232 B.C.) of ancient India decreed that in order to spread Buddhism he would divide Sakyamuni’s relics into 84,000 bits and send them to places all over the world. 84,000 stupas were constructed to house them. There are 19 such stupas in China. The Famen Temple Stupa is one of them. Thus the Famen Temple and its stupa enjoyed the reputation of being the “forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi”.

 

The Famen Temple Pagoda was originally called Asoka Stupa. During the years of Zhenguan (627-649) in the Tang Dynasty, it was reconstructed into a four-storeyed wooden structure. After nearly 2,000 years of existence, the wooden stupa fell down in 1569 due to an earthquake. In 1579, Buddhists in Fufeng County collected alms and donations to rebuild the stupa into an exquisite and splendid brick octagonal pagoda of 13 storeys, 47 meters high. It took 30 years to complete the whole project. Because of the massive weight of the stupa and the relatively small underground palace, 54 years after its completion, the stupa began to tilt toward the southwest. In 1976, because of constant rain in Fufeng County and the impact of Songpan earthquake that occurred in Sichuan, the tilt of the stupa increased toward the southwest. In 1981, the western side of this tilted stupa collapsed after incessant rains. Most of the body of the stupa collapsed shortly thereafter. Only part of the body remained on an incomplete platform of broken bricks.

 

In 1985, the Shaanxi Provincial Government decided to rebuild the stupa in the style of the brick one of the Ming Dynasty. While clearing the stupa foundation, the underground palace was accidentally discovered. For more than 1,000 years, the palace had housed the remains of the finger bones of Sakyamuni and other valuable relics that enshrined these precious bones.

 

According to the tablet inscriptions discovered in the underground palace, the finger bone had always been kept inside the Famen Stupa. During the 400 years from the Northern Wei period (386 - 534 A.D.) to the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.), emperors of different periods believed that the worship of the finger bone could bless the security of the nation and bring a stable life to the people. So the emperors opened the palace several times, and worshiped the enshrined finger bone. This type of worship became more and more frequent. The most extravagant ceremony took place during the 14th year of the reign of Yizong (873 A.D) of the Tang Dynasty. This was also the last time of the imperial worship. It took two years to make preparations for the ceremony. At that time when the ceremony was about to take place, much activity was seen along the road for over 100 kilometers, from the capital city, Chang’an, to the Famen Temple. Horses and carts never ceased moving to and from and people set up food stalls along both sides of the road, so the pilgrims could enjoy whatever they liked. Buddha’s finger bones were guarded by the royal guards armed with swords and staffs. The Guard of Honor was composed of over 10,000 people. The capital city was brightly lit and beautifully decorated for such an occasion. All the court officers and officials were part of the ceremony. However, three months after the greeting ceremony for Buddha’s finger bone Tang Yizong passed away. Emperor Xizong, his son, returned the finger bone to the Famen Temple and closed the underground palace. Since then there has never been another greeting ceremony for Buddha’s finger bone.