Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, Singapore

Whenever I visit Singapore with friends, I will often take them to Chinatown. Not only to get a feel for the vibe but also to visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.

This Chinatown area is slightly different from what we are used to in London, Birmingham or even in Manchester. In the UK, Chinatown is mostly restaurants selling Asian food.

Chinatown in Singapore is a mixture of local Chinese and China Chinese cultures, where rows of China Chinese opened restaurants and also food courts/hawker centres selling our local food like ice cream wrapped with bread, laksa, satay, Hokkien noodles and many more. My favourite bak kwa shop – Lim Chee Guan is there.

They offer a range of souvenirs, clothing, crafts, antiques and traditional Chinese wedding items. There are many trendy wine bars and shops selling fresh durian! Also, Sri Mariamman Temple, which was built in 1827 and is Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple, is situated in Chinatown and features a tower ornamented with deities.

When it is nearly Chinese New Year, the streets will convert into ‘Pasar Malam’ where you can get a range of delicious Chinese New Year goodies, like melon seeds, pork slices, waxed duck, sausages, waxed ham and many more. These goodies can only bought a month before Chinese New Year. All the street stalls will close again after 1 – 2 am on Chinese New Year until the following year. Every year, the Chinese New Year countdown will be aired live from there, with fireworks and performances by local artists. Also, not forgetting that during the Mooncake festival, you will see a lot of activities hosted around the area.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum was officially opened on Vesak Day 31^st May 2007. It is located at 288 South Bridge Road, Chinatown, Kreta Ayer district. To get there, it’s a short walk from Maxwell MRT station or alight at Chinatown station and walk for 10 minutes to get there.

This place is free to visit, with over six stories and a basement. The basement is a vegetarian restaurant. I didn’t go down to have to look, but according to my mum, she heard from friends that the restaurant sells very good vegetarian food so it’s worth trying. On the first floor, there is the Mountain Gate, front courtyard, Hundred Dragons Hall, Universal Wisdom Hall and rear courtyard. We only had a brief look on the outside as there was a blessing ceremony (Hungry Ghost Festival) going on.

The next level is the mezzanine which features the Dharma Hall, Eminent Sangha Museum and Ancestral Memorial Hall. This level was also closed due to the blessing ceremony. The second level is the Manjusri Hall, which we didn’t visit. It is a room used for Buddhism and Meditation classes. It also has various Buddhist artefacts and figurines on display and the 600 fascicles of the Maha Prajna Paramita Sutra are kept here.

We only explored the third, fourth and fifth/rooftop levels. The museum is located on the third floor, which you can access via the lift or stairs. It features Buddhas of the World Museum, Samanthabhadra Hall and the Sacred Buddha Relics chamber. It is quite big and has a range of Buddhas from various countries.

The fourth level is the Scared Light Hall outer and inner chamber and features the gold Sacred Buddha’s Tooth Relic Stupa. There is a Vairocana Mandala above this Stupa, with 36 dragons below it with 20 Guardians keeping watch and the floor is lined with gold tiles. On this floor, photographing is forbidden and all shoes have to be left outside the chamber. There is also a shop where you can buy lamps, flowers, rice etc. for donation.

The fifth level can only be accessed by stairs. It features a Ten Thousand Buddhas pagoda, Five Directions Buddhas, Longevity Buddha lights and a rooftop garden. Inside the Ten Thousand Buddhas pagoda, it has the Vairocana Buddha prayer wheel, which is the largest in the world. Revolving scriptures originated from turning the Pitaka. Turning a Sutra is different from reading Pitaka which virtually meant reading the Sutras every day without missing a single word. Turning Pitaka is just reading a few lines at the start, middle, and end portions of the Sutras.

This artefact rim is embossed with esoteric Varocana Mantra. A piece of scripture is placed inside. Every turn of the wheel represents a single recital of the scripture and mantra. This wheel is a convenient way to recite the sutra. My husband and I took many turns! The surrounding garden looks amazing! It’s a great place to relax when the weather is not scorching hot. It is also the only place without air con, but fresh air. The rest of the building has air con and a lift.

It is worth a visit! Make sure you visit during the opening hours! If you get a chance to go to Singapore, do check it out! Let me know if you do!