Ven. Jinwoo, president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, looks at "sarira" relics of Buddha during a Buddhist ceremony held at a museum on Korean Buddhist history and culture in central Seoul to mark their return after 85 years in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, April 19. Yonhap

Buddhist relics from the 14th century were unveiled to the media Friday, one day after their historic return to Korea after 85 years in the United States.

The Jogye Order, the biggest sect of Korean Buddhism, displayed them after holding a Buddhist ceremony at its museum in central Seoul.

Contained in a replica reliquary for protection, the bead-shaped "sarira" bodily relics of Buddhist monks were so small that some required magnification to be fully appreciated.

These sarira relics are from Buddha himself and two esteemed Buddhist monks, Jigong and Naong, from the 14th-century Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). Several fragments of relics related to two past Buddhas were also included.

After being housed for 85 years by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, one of the three most prestigious art museums in the U.S., the remains were brought home by a delegation of the Jogye Order on Thursday. The return was made under a landmark agreement reached in February, in which the museum agreed to donate the sarira to the Buddhist sect and push for a loan of the reliquary.

"After about a century of separation, the relics of the Buddha have finally returned to their rightful abode," Ven. Hosan, who was a member of the delegation, said.

He said the sarira will be transferred to the site of Heoam Temple in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, where it is believed to have been originally kept.

Korean Buddhist monks look at "sarira" relics of Buddha and two esteemed monks from the 14th-century Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) during a ceremony held at a museum on Korean Buddhist history and culture in central Seoul to mark their return after 85 years in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, April 19. Yonhap

Koreans believe that the sarira and its reliquary were illegally taken out of the country during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45) before being sold to the museum in 1939.

The repatriation follows 15 years of efforts by the Seoul government and the Buddhist community to reclaim both the sarira and the reliquary as a set.

While sarira holds great religious significance, the silver-gilt Lamaistic pagoda-shaped reliquary is considered a masterpiece of the Buddhist art of the Goryeo era.

The museum had refused to return the relics, saying it legitimately purchased them from an art dealer and there is no indication they were ever stolen, looted or forcibly sold.

However, it recently became more flexible on the issue and agreed to donate the sarira in February. (Yonhap)