Did you Know? Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple Singapore

Did you Know? - Buddha Tooth Relic Temple Sinagpore

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (新加坡佛牙寺龍華院) is a Buddhist temple and museum complex located in the Chinatown district of Singapore. The temple's monastics and devotees officially practice Chinese Buddhism.

The temple was built based on the Chinese Buddhist architectural style of the Tang dynasty (as well as incorporating slight Tibetan Buddhist influences in certain rooms) to house the tooth relic of the historical Buddha. It is claimed that the relic of Buddha from which it gains its name was found in a collapsed stupa. The size of the tooth - measuring 7.5 cm - is also far too long for a human tooth. The relic can be viewed by the public at the 4th floor of the temple.

The temple had gone through a total of nine proposals before its design was finalized. The abbot rejected a design that was too ‘contemporary’, therefore, deemed out of place in the Chinatown landscape. He also rejected a design with Southern Chinese typology, which is the style adopted by temples with a long history in Chinatown. As such, a temple with Southern China architecture would have been an authentic reflection of the migrant history of Singapore. The design of the temple has a Northern Chinese style with strong influences from the Chinese Buddhist architectural style of the Tang Dynasty.