A relic believed by Buddhists to be the sacred finger of the Sakyamuni Buddha is to be enshrined in South Korea for 42 days from November 11, according to a joint press conference by the Chinese and South Korean Buddhist associations in Beijing yesterday.

The 2,500-year-old bone is currently kept at Famen Temple in Xi'an, capital of west China's Shaanxi province.

It had been sealed in a secret underground chamber there in AD 874, during the Tang Dynasty, and lay in obscurity for more than 1,100 years.

On August 24, 1981, a pagoda in the temple collapsed and people discovered a door to the chamber. On May 7, 1987, the first bone of the finger was unearthed, followed by the second, third and fourth.

It has previously been taken to Thailand in 1994, Taiwan in 2002 and Hong Kong in 2004.

Describing this display as one of the most important religious exchanges ever between China and South Korea, Xue Cheng, abbot of Famen temple, said it would "further enhance the traditional friendship and understanding between the people and Buddhists of the two countries."

In 2004, the South Korean organizers applied to the State Council, the Chinese cabinet, via the China Buddhist Association for the relic to be displayed there.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2005)