The Buddha's Finger Bones at Famensi and the Art of Chinese Esoteric Buddhism

In 1987 archaeologists discovered a crypt beneath the Famensi (Dharma Gate Monastery) in Shaanxi Province, China, containing four “finger-bone” relics of the Buddha along with a trove of invaluable medieval religious artifacts. Some of the finds are associated with “Esoterism,” an important but poorly understood Buddhist ritual tradition that flourished briefly during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). A new reading of the Famensi relics and their nested reliquaries in light of their relation to Esoteric Buddhism suggests that the finger-bone relics themselves could be considered “art.”