The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is located in the beautiful and picturesque Chinatown district of Singapore. It is currently one of the most important Buddhist temples of the town and the only one temple and museum complex which features the history and important relics of Buddha and Buddhism. The young Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is today among the most important tourist attractions of Singapore.
Buddha Tooth Relic TempleThe Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum was designed by the venerable of the temple Shi Fa Zhao who decided that a new, bigger and royal design of Buddhist temple should be conceptualised in Singapore. It would be honoured to house the very important Buddha Tooth Relics, which the Singapore Buddhist Organization has received from Myanmar as a present. The relic was found in a collapsed stupa, a relic storage building having the form of a Buddhist Mandala. After long thinking time on how and where to build this royal temple, the ground has been selected to be the Sago Lane site, which was standing there in Chinatown still empty for a long period. After much contemplation and the consideration of several designs, the venerable decided that a traditional Beijing Tan Dynasty Buddhist temple should be constructed containing altogether four storeys, several pagodas, traditional gardens and more courtyards too. The construction works of Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum started in 2005 and finished in 2007 when the temple had a great opening ceremony.
Upon Tang Dynasty style, we can mean many things in connection with construction methods, materials used and on the applied colours, not to mention the exact form and shape of rooftop, which is also a dominant matter in the Chinese architecture. The Tang Dynasty design normally uses red, green and gold colours. Tang Dynasty temples and monasteries traditionally have many interconnecting courtyards, which can include gardens, pagodas, rest and praying places and gardens used for planting flowers. These are called Sangharama places, the sacred places for the Buddhist monks’ community.
On the fourth floor of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, you will find the Museum part that consists of several rooms, which include the relic room, the history chamber and the eminent Sangha Museum featuring the great work of Buddhist monks all around the world. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum contains all the Buddhist worship places, which they should play. Special importance is given to the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. It took a long time for the temple to find the best sounding bell and drum. The bell is a beautiful traditional Waha region bell, which is famous for its best quality bells in China. This huge bell has a weight of 3 tons and has a strict Tang dynasty design with a perfect sound. The drum had been carved out of single Rosewood and made by a special Taiwanese drum making company. The importance of the drum sounding is as high as the importance of the bell. The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum also has a great theatre. On the second floor of the temple, you will see beautiful traditional calligraphy, Buddhist paintings and special sculptures exhibited. The beautiful Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum houses several rooms dedicated to the relics of Buddha.
If you are interested in Chinese architecture and fine arts then the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is really worth visiting. The complex also features unique trees and plants housed in its unique gardens. The Temple and Museum is open every day from 8 am to 6 pm, the Relic Museum can be visited from 9 am to 6 pm. the Eminent Sangha Museum opens already at 7 am every day.