In commemoration of this year’s Vesak Day, Nei Xue Tang, the Buddhist museum at Cantonment Road is hosting a special exhibition featuring eight Guanyin stele from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and relics of Master Hsu Yun, one of the greatest followers of Buddha in the 20th century.

While the Tang steles of Guanyin (Kuan Yin) are certainly rare and exquisite, the real highlight of the Vesak exhibition is the relics of Master Hsu Yun. Master Hsu Yun is considered one of the greatest followers of Buddha in the 20th century. He was born in 1840 and died in 1959 – making his age a venerable 120!

Although not a Buddhist myself, I could not help but feel awed by the relics left behind by Master Hsu Yun. This is his alms bowl:

Mr Woon, the owner of Nei Xue Tang explained to me that the alms bowl was one of the few worldly possessions monks were allowed to have – by alms, this bowl was used not only to collect money (a secondary function), but to receive donations of food. Master Hsu Yun literally lived out of this bowl, on which is inscribed the name of the temple he belonged to.

According to Buddhist tradition, the alms bowl and the robe are symbols of transmission of lineage from master to successor. Master Hsu Yun’s bowl and robe were transferred to Master Yi Zhao, one of Master Hsu Yun’s surviving disciples. In turn, Master Yi Zhao has loaned Nei Xue Tang these relics for this exhibition. I did not take a picture of the robe, as I felt it would not do justice to the memory of this man. The tattered robe reflected the simplicity and austerity of Master Hsu Yun: unlike the saffron robes we would be used to, his robe was a patchwork of gray and mismatched blues, taken from te clothes of the dead who would no longer need them. It’s really something to be seen up close.

Master Hsu Yun’s relics will be on exhibition until 14th June, so if you want so see it, you have to see it soon (or over this weekend!). Besides that, Nei Xue Tang boasts an over 10,000 artefacts of Buddhist material culture from Asia and Southeast Asia and is well worth the visit. You can also visit their official website for more information.

Tags: Nei Xue Tang, Buddhism, Master Hsu Yun, Vesak Day, Tang Dynasty stele, Guanyin
Photos taken for this post were taken with permission from Nei Xue Tang.