Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te visited the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center (蒙藏文化館) to inspect the cultural relics, including those of Je Tsongkhapa (宗喀巴大師), His Holiness Atiśa Dīpankara Śrījñāna (阿底峽尊者), Jetsun Milarepa (密勒日巴), and the seventh Dalai Lama (七世達賴喇嘛), among others which the Ministry of Culture will classify and assess.
The Ministry of Culture issued a press release on August 4, stating that the center started the reconstruction project of the memorial hall for the seventh Changkya Khutukhtu (第七世章嘉呼圖克圖) in April this year.
While following the rituals of Tibetan Buddhism to set up the Buddhist altar for the memorial hall, the Rinpoche discovered the relics left by the seventh Changkya Khutukhtu, the ministry said.
Lee Yung-te pointed out that these cultural relics are precious to Taiwan's Buddhist, academic, and cultural circles, and are of special historical and religious significance.
MOC will proceed with classifying and assessing the relics in accordance with Article 66 of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, he added.
According to the MOC, the seventh Changkya Khutukhtu brought the Tibetan Buddhist relics found in the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Center to Taiwan in 1949 to propagate his faith, including 48 pieces of sariras, cloth from kasayas, and other such items, some of which are estimated to be between 300 to 1000 years old.
The seventh Changkya Khutukhtu is one of the few Tibetan Buddhist clergymen to settle in Taiwan in 1949. In 1955, he, along with the ambassador to Japan Hollington Tong (董顯光), received the skull of Chinese monk Xuanzhuang (玄奘) from Japan, and later donated it to the Xuanzang Temple (玄奘寺) at Sun Moon Lake, Nantou, making him an important figure in the Buddhist world.
During his time in Taiwan, the seventh Changkya Khutukhtu served as the chairman of the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (中國佛教會) as well as other important political and religious positions. He actively advocated for amending the law to protect the temples and fought for the rights and interests of the Buddhist community. Moreover, he has made outstanding contributions to the spread of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan.
In order to preserve the newly discovered cultural relics, MOC will also launch a plan to rebuild the memorial hall. It is expected to reopen to all walks of life after its completion in November in hopes of bringing positive energy to society.