Singapore houses a relic of immense value in the eyes of Buddhists – the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha. According to the official version, the Tooth was found in 1980 in Myanmar, and in Singapore a temple was built especially for it, which was accordingly named the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
What kind of tooth is it, you may ask? There is a legend according to which Buddha's disciples found four teeth after his cremation, three of which are kept in Sri Lanka, China, and Mongolia, while the fourth was lost and found in Myanmar only relatively recently. According to another, more "pragmatic" version, there was only one tooth in the funeral pyre, and it is located in a temple in Sri Lanka. In any case, everyone has the right to their own opinion – what to consider truth and what a myth.
To see the Tooth in the Temple in Singapore, you... will not be able to! It is hidden on the fourth floor in a richly decorated casket, which ordinary visitors are not only not allowed to open, but are not even shown at all. However, the temple itself is also interesting to explore; it is very beautiful even without the Tooth.
On the first floor is the Hall of One Hundred Dragons. Here you will see statues of Buddha and Bodhisattvas, and you will also be able to observe Buddhist ceremonies. The second floor is devoted to a museum where unique Buddhist texts are kept and exhibitions related to religion are held. The souvenir shop is also located here. On the third floor there is a museum entirely dedicated to Buddha, where various artifacts describing his life journey are kept.
