Buddhist Tooth Relic Museum

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Went for a wander around the museum last night, however foolishly turned up about half hour before closing time. Luckily as we were turfed out of the Relic Museum we wandered into the nearby Hindu temple in time to watch a ceremony accompanied by drums and painted men. So last evening wasn't a completely wasted venture!

Learning from out mistake we got up earlier, and headed straight for Chinatown for round two of the Tooth Relic museum. Well the temple is absolutely beautiful. Gleaming red and gold walls, hangings and chairs, all focused on three huge golden depictions of Buddha. There was an area to purchase candles and incense as offerings and also scriptures at the desks for devotees to study. The museum begins on a higher level, so we got the lift up and walked into a room filled with different statues depicting various Buddhas in various poses. The story of Shakyamuni Buddha is written on the walls throughout the walk, which is interesting to read - whether you know the story or not. It's always nice to remind yourself =] Some of the statues are gorgeous. When you see all the different interpretations of him in one room, it's quite shocking how many there are. The next room houses several Relics.
Now I don't fully understand what relics are so here's a rough explanation - when Buddha was cremated they collected parts of him and dispersed them out to different places affected by his teachings. They are different coloured bead looking things. They vary from eye relics and tongue relics to heart relics and brain relics. You have to go up in the lift to an even higher level to see the prized Tooth Relic that the museum is named after. We went up - though when we got there i had doubts that we were supposed to! There didn't seem to be any other tourists, only devotees paying respects. It is housed in a huge separate room that you're not allowed into that is all decorated in golden colours, with an eccentrically beautiful casing for the relic itself. There's also a lovely roof garden with a huge prayer wheel.

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