A rare piece of the parietal bone of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, is seen in Qixia Temple, Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province, before being flown to Hong Kong for public worship, April 25, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

NANJING - A rare piece of the parietal bone of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was flown to Hong Kong from East China's Jiangsu province on Wednesday for public worship.

The Buddha's remains, or sarira, left the Lukou Airport in the provincial capital of Nanjing by a chartered plane at 12:30 pm, marking the first time the sacred remains will be worshipped outside the Chinese mainland since being unearthed in June 2010 in Nanjing.

The remains are scheduled to be enshrined in Hong Kong from April 25 to 30, and will then be sent to Macao for public worship until May 4.

On Wednesday morning, a grand ceremony was held in Nanjing's Qixia Temple where the remains had been enshrined prior to being flown to Hong Kong. Over 1,000 people attended the ceremony, including eminent Buddhist monks from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

The third World Buddhist Forum will be held in Hong Kong from Wednesday to Friday.

The piece of the parietal bone of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, is presented inside a gilded-pagoda in Qixia Temple, Nanjing on April 25, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]