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Buddha Tooth Relic Temple



Two days back, I went to visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Sago Lane.

I have always thought that I have quite a strong knowledge of Buddhism, thus I was humbled after an hour of learning in the temple.

To those who are not familiar with this temple, this temple:

is one of the most recently built temple in Singapore
is one of the very few (or maybe the only one in Singapore) which is air-conditioned
sparks controversy on the authenticity of the Buddha tooth housed in the uppermost floor
has some of the golden structures built from gold donated by devotees

for more information, you may want to visit its website at http://www.btrts.org.sg/Eng_Index.html


To me, this temple is really a very good temple, though it may seem boutique to many Singaporeans and may be billed as a temple built to cater to the tourist.

There is a nice museum depicting the life of the Buddha, which non-Buddhists interested in Buddhism may be interested.

On basement 1, from 1200 hrs to 1800 hrs, there is free vegetarian lunch for all, devotees or not. This is a usual practice in temples and for this temple, such free provision of lunch also cater to the poor elderly in Chinatown, an area with a high population of elderly.

All the statues of Buddhas and other deities are beautifully crafted and the layout of the temple is very neat.

Overall, this temple really gives visitors a sense of peace and serenity whenever one comes. I can attest to this view!

From the learning gained at the temple, I was surprised to know that there are actually deities who are protectors for people born in the 12 Chinese Zodiac signs:

a. Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva is the protector of people born in the year of the rat.

b. Akasagarbha Bodhisattva is the protector of people born in the year of the ox and the tiger.

c. Manjusri Bodhisattva is the protector of people born in the year of the rabbit.

d. Samantabadra Bodhisattva is the protector of people born in the year of the dragon and snake.

e. Maha-shtama-prapta Bodhisattva is the protector of people born in the year of the horse.

f. Vairocana Buddha is the protector of people born in the year of the goat and monkey.

g. Acala Buddha is the protector of people born in the year of the rooster.

h. Amitabha Buddha is the protector of people born in the year of the dog and pig.
One can adopt a statue of his protector Buddha/Bodhisattva at $3000 with five names together.
Buddhism may be centuries old, but its relevance is important and still applicable to this present world. In fact, Buddhism may even be more important in today’s world given the huge amount of unrest, delusion and declining morality besetting human kind.

In my opinion, the location of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown, close to the city best epitomizes the reigning importance of Buddhism in this modern world.

Amidst the backdrop of skyscrapers and shopping centres is Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
This colourful palette of city life, cultural life and religious life may be one of the aspects that make living in Singapore interesting and exciting.

Yesterday, I went to the temple again being the first day of the eight lunar month, after the hungry ghost 7th month to pray.

There is a huge lantern in the temple: a tortoise carrying a pagoda with trees surrounding the structure, all man-made.

For $2, devotees may write his or her wish on a piece of paper to be pinned up on the branches of the artificial tree.

In the main hall of the temple, one can see large statues of Buddha and small statues of Buddha decorating the two sides of the grand hall.
All these statues have been adopted according to the answer given to me by one of the attendants: the large statue at $100,000 and the smaller statue at $5000, mainly by the sponsors I believe.

I pinned my wish up on the tree, hopefully it can be realised.

In life, there are always problems, think nobody is free of problems, its just the nature and extent of the problems that is different.

I pray for divine help in problems that are hard to solve.
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