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One of the great mysteries
and myths of Buddhism lies in the fate of the physical remains of the most exalted one himself, the Buddha. After his death in the 5th Century B.C., the Buddha’s remains were said to have been divided between ten powerful kings and princes, who enshrined them in great stupas to preserve them for veneration and worship into future generations. The powerful Indian King Asoka was said to have broken into the stupas to further disseminate the remains of the Buddha in 84,000 shrines throughout the world. Many of these relics invariably found their way into places and circles of power, such as the imperial courts of the Han and T’ang emperors.
 Elaborate public ceremonies were held to consecrate and
revere these reputed relics of the Buddha. Among the most curious was the “Finger Bone Veneration” ceremony held at regular 30 year intervals and on other occasions when the T’ang Emperors needed to bolster
their flagging power or influence. Thus religion was used as much as a political prop as anything else, though undoubtedly, many who lived in the time of this story had great faith and genuine reverence for these traditions.
Taklamakan explores the mystery surrounding some of these events, and also touches on the practice of secreting these holy relics, the western
equivilaents of the “Holy Grail” of the”Shroud of Turin,” in the ancient and venerable Buddhist religion. The old societies of priests, monks and their Guru Masters served in many ways as guardians and custodians of the sacred
power places, shrines, stupas and holy relics. No story of this time would be complete without presenting some aspect of this tradition and history. The religious elements in the story are perhaps even more important than the
political struggle.
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