Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

By Mrt:
A few minutes walk from Chinatown, Outram Park and Tanjong Pagar MRT stations.


Address:
288 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058840

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The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum was registered by the Registrar of Societies on 20th February 2003, and as a charity organisation under the Charities Act on 8th January 2004. The Temple is dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha, which means ‘The Compassionate One’, and also called ‘The Future Buddha’.

Level 1: Hundred Dragons Hall and Universal Wisdom Hall .

At the entrance, there is a huge urn where joss sticks are placed in it as a form of respect. Moving into the hall, there are usually activities going on, whereby the monks will lead the ceremony by praying and chanting, while the devotees will be sitting together and chanting along. Some of them were wearing the buddhist long robes (also known as hai qing in chinese). Further in is the hundred dragons hall, whereby the statues of 100 Buddhas are placed at both sides of the hall. The Universal Wisdom Hall is situated behind the Hundred Dragons hall. The statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is located on a lotus in the Universal Wisdom Hall. There are the Zodiac Protectors at the side.



Level 2: Aranya Gallery.

There is a reference library with many self-help books, religious books and sutras. Gifts are also sold there such as keychains relating to Buddhism. There are also religious art exhibitions featuring calligraphy, paintings and sculptures in the gallery. The Depository of Buddhist Texts is also situated there, for example, the Maha-pranjna-paramita Sutra.

Here is one of the exhibitions at the gallery.

Level 3: Samantabhadra Hall - Nagapuspa Buddhist Cultural Museum.

A wide variety of  Buddhist artefacts are displayed on the third level of the temple. It encompasses three branches of Buddhism. The first part is about the life events of Buddha Sakyamuni, from his birth, all the way till his enlightenment and him entering nirvana. The events are told from his perspective and are really meaningful to read. The second part talks about Avalokitesvara and her life stories. And the third part talks about the Future Buddha, (Buddha Maitreya) and his life stories. Their statues and exhibitions are displayed in the gallery too. There is also a relic chamber which contains displays of relics that are being stored properly. Sarira, the sanskrit name for relic, refers to the remains of a body part usually after cremation. In buddhist context, sairira refers to the crystallization of solid remains of especially Buddha Sakyamuni after his cremation.



Level 4: Sacred Light Hall - Buddha Tooth Relic Chamber.

The chamber looks grand and the ambience is is especially light and calm. At both corners of the chamber, there are a few devotees who were holding onto the praying beads, chanting softly or meditating. The gold Sacred Buddha’s Tooth Relic Stupa and the golden tiles are placed in the middle of the chamber. The visitors are only allowed to observe the daily services at the public viewing area through the glass windows, as they are not allowed to enter the inner chamber.

Photography is not alloweed in the chamber. However, you can view the photos of it in this website (link).

Roof.

The scenary at the roof garden is breathtaking. There is an orchid garden, which is an ideal place for photography. The Vairocana Buddha Prayer Wheel is also located there. Visitors will turn the wheel and walk rounds after rounds around the wheel. The turning of the wheel represents the recital of scripture and mantra. It will be more convenient for the visitors to recite sutra, especially those who are illiterate or unable to read the sutra. There is also a pagoda of 10,000 buddhas, which are built around the prayer wheel.



Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is definitely a place worth going! It has a calm ambience, which will put your mind at ease. The admission is free, however, please do not wear sleeveless or revealing clothings as it is a form is disrespect. The museum is rather cold too, hence, it is advisable to bring a jacket and wear long pants to keep yourself warm.

To add on to this, it is situated at Chinatown, which is one of the famous heritage places (Ethnic Quarters) in Singapore. After making a trip down to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, you can have a bite at the food centres nearby and shop at the street market. Goods are sold at low prices in the street market too! (:

Reference Links:

http://www.btrts.org.sg/