Buddha Relic temple is located along 288 South Bridge Rd, Singapore 058840.
Before diving into this particular premises itself, it should
be noted that this South Bridge road has an Indian Temple and a Mosque within a
few hundred metres of each other. It’s an impressive site to see such diverse
cultural and religious sites sit so close to one another and remain at peace.
This by itself is a great representation of Singapore’s racial harmony ethos.
With that introduction aside, the Buddha Relic temple has a
modern design and is at least 3 storeys tall, if not more. The temple is open
between 7am to 5pm daily and there is also a museum on the 3rd floor
that opens at 9am. Our suggestion is to visit this temple in the morning around
8.30am on a weekday. That way, there isn’t a crowd and you can go through the
temple at your own pace and when you are finished, you can check out the museum – which is a must
see. Entrance for both the Temple and the museum are free of charge.
The temple is essentially split into two rooms. The first room (if you enter from the South Bridge entrance) is the larger room and it appears to be dedicated to Buddha Maitreya (also known as the Future Buddha who is expected to enter this sentinel world 5.6 billion years after the initial Buddha). The statue is stunning with a golden colour and lots of details. It impressive to learn that the statue is craved out of a 1000-year-old Chinese-juniper-timbre from Taiwan. There is also a small signage on the right-hand side of the hall that describes the statue in greater details, which is worth a read. The walls of this room are lined with small pockets where there are miniature Budhha statues. Nestled between the small pockets are larger pockets every few metres which have a larger Buddha statue. Note: each of the larger statue is different, so keep an eye out.
On the left is Thousand Arm Avalokiteshwara - Guardian diety for persons born in the year of Rabbit and on the right is Acala Vidyaraja - Guardian diety for persons born in the year of Rooster.
In the second room, there are smaller deities along the walls. These deities are specific to different zodiac animals and are beautifully decorated statues. Each have a small signage with its name, description, and options to donate money. If you choose to donate money, then your name will be recited every time when they hold prayers for that deity. (Note that the prayer isn’t instant, it wasn’t clear when it would happen; but it’s a different moment and not instant). The main center deity of this room is the Chintamani-chakra with two more statues to the right and left of it. Once again there is a small signage upon entering the room that describes their significance.
The lift to the museum is located on the right-hand side of
the South Bridge entrance, near the main office. The museum is split into two
themes. The first section is about Budhha Shakyamuni ( essentially Siddhartha
Gautama) and the second section is about Buddha Maitreya (the Future Buddha).
There are numerous carvings and statues made from different materials that have
been sourced from India, Myanmar, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Nepal, Tibet and etc of the
Buddha in both sections with descriptions printed on the walls of the Buddha
story.
Mid-way through the museum is a “Relic Chamber”, which is
essentially the highlight of this temple and perhaps what gives this temple the
name, “Buddha Tooth Relic Temple”. Inside this room, there are numerous exhibits
with small 2D tear drop shaped glass vials that contain relics from Buddha. They’ve
gathered more than the tooth. Here you will see relics of Brain, Skin, Fats, Eyes
and etc. It’s intriguing to see this exhibition and is impressive to recognise
the amount of thought and effort that’s gone into preserving these relics.
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