Singapore Buddha's Tooth Is A Fake ?!?

[enci 1]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_139224.html

Is Buddha tooth here the real McCoy?

Some doubt authenticity of the relic housed at new Chinatown temple, with dental experts saying it could not have come from a human

By Tan Dawn Wei & Mavis Toh

WHEN it comes to housing a relic as sacred as a Buddha tooth, devotees spare no expense - as was the case for the new Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in Chinatown.

More than 60,000 donors poured $45 million and 270kg of gold into the four-storey building, where a tooth believed to be one of Buddha's molars now resides in a 3.6m-high stupa made out of worshippers' gold donations.

But now, doubts have been cast over whether this tooth belonged to Buddha - or even a human being. And they range from the historical and political to the anatomical.

Mr Yap Kok Feng, a paralegal executive, wrote to Lianhe Zaobao recently claiming that the relic looks nothing like a human tooth.

When contacted, he said that he had shown a picture of it to dentists who believe it to be a herbivore's.

One of them, Dr Pamela Craig, a senior lecturer at the School of Dental Science at the University of Melbourne, told The Sunday Times she had examined photographs and compared the tooth with teeth from various animal skulls in her comparative dental anatomy department.

'There's absolutely no possibility that it is a human tooth,' said Dr Craig, who specialises in human and animal oral anatomy.

'I'm almost certain that it belongs to a member of the Bos species, probably a cow or a water buffalo.'

Dr Craig said human teeth should be rounded with a short crown and a comparatively longer root, but the picture clearly shows a long crown and a shorter root.

'In this case, looking at a photo is clear enough because it's so obvious that it's not a human tooth. It's like comparing a pear and an apple.'

The Sunday Times also showed a picture of the tooth to four other dentists, including two forensic dental experts. All said the tooth could not have come from a human.

'This is an animal 'cheek tooth', that is, a molar at the back of the mouth,' said Professor David K. Whittaker, a forensic dental specialist at Cardiff University in Britain.

The seemingly uneven biting surface is indicative of grass-eating animals whose teeth have 'a very efficient grinding surface for breaking up coarse plant materials,' he said.

Dr Myra Elliott, a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon with a practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, said: 'Even if human teeth have been fossilised, there's still a pattern. And what is shown in the picture doesn't look like a primate's tooth at all.'

The size of the tooth - measuring 7.5cm - is also far too long for a human tooth, said Dr Anthony Goh, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

'There isn't enough space in the jaw.'

The tooth relic was supposed to have been discovered by a Myanmar monk, the late Venerable Cakkapala of Bandula Monastery, in 1980 while restoring a collapsed stupa at Bagan Hill in Mrauk-U, Myanmar.

He gave the relic to Venerable Shi Fazhao, the abbot of both the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Golden Pagoda Buddhist Temple in Tampines in 2002.

The public can see the tooth only twice a year - on Vesak Day and the first day of Chinese New Year.

When The Sunday Times asked Venerable Shi Fazhao about the tooth, he said in Mandarin: 'To me, it has always been real and I have never questioned its authenticity.'

As for the dental experts' assessment, he said: 'They can say all they want, I don't care what they say. If you believe it's real, then it's real.'

The curious dental structure is not the only bone of contention here.

In another Lianhe Zaobao commentary published on July 6, Chinese Buddhism studies researcher and lecturer Wan Bingyan cited religious and historical texts supporting the popular belief that only two of Buddha's teeth are left in this world.

They are now believed to be at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, Sri Lanka, and the Ling Guang Monastery in Beijing, China.

When a third surfaced in 1998 after a Tibetan monk smuggled it out and handed it to Taiwan's Venerable Master Hsing Yun of Fo Guang Shan Temple, it was fingered by Chinese officials as a fake.

Buddha's relics are venerated by Buddhists worldwide and held up as national treasures in Sri Lanka and China.

China had allowed its Buddha tooth relic to go on tour to Thailand, Hong Kong and thrice to Myanmar at the government's invitation.

Two tooth relic pagodas were later built in Yangon and Mandalay, one housing an ivory replica tooth and the other, donated religious items.

Mr Kyaw Swe Tint, counsellor at the Myanmar Embassy here, said that as far as he knows, there has been no evidence of genuine tooth relics in his country.

'This (the one believed to be housed here) could very well be a fake,' he said.

But Venerable Shi Fazhao said Venerable Cakkapala had given him the tooth; it was a private matter between two people and not between two countries. 'Don't politicise it,' he said.

Would he let an expert examine the tooth in Singapore? He replied: 'It's mine, why should I let you examine it? Why don't you go examine what's in Sri Lanka and China first?'

Venerable B. Dhammaratana, religious adviser of the Buddhist Research Society, explains that different Buddhist societies would subscribe to different versions of Buddha's legends.

'You can't say which is right or which is wrong.'

dawntan@sph.com.sg

mavistoh@sph.com.sg

[GnM 0]

woah~~~!

this is surprising indeed.

what sparked the investigations or research for the authenticity of the tooth relic?

Why now and not before the temple was built?

[storeberry 0]

Hi Enci, i bought two curtains from you and you quoted a higher price than Ikea price. Had tried to contact you for the past two weeks to return the money but to no avail. When I met you to collect the curtains, I told you that I suspected the price is not $55 but you told me anything wrong can find you but it seems that after taking money from me, you disappear. Pls refund me the excess to me. Thanks!

[enci 1]

Hi Enci, i bought two curtains from you and you quoted a higher price than Ikea price. Had tried to contact you for the past two weeks to return the money but to no avail. When I met you to collect the curtains, I told you that I suspected the price is not $55 but you told me anything wrong can find you but it seems that after taking money from me, you disappear. Pls refund me the excess to me. Thanks!

hihi ... hmmm if u pass by jurong area .. i pass u back 4 bucks ...

paiseh was away from Singapore for almost a week

[storeberry 0]

Hi internet banking or atm funds transfer to my ac, I have already email you & sms you, the least you could do is to reply & not MIA, rite?

If you have a DBS / POSB bank, go to the atm under other services > funds transfer > other account > choose DBS Saving plus > key in my account no & then the amt. Hope we can settle this soon!

[zirhk3355 1]

Off-topic! Hehe...

Anyway, to me whether real or not is not impt lah; I dun believe all the stuff we are worshipping to, and/or believe in, are all genuine.

So why question this tooth now? After all, Buddhism is in your heart, not what you see in front of you.

[enci 1]

Mi Ocbc ....

[autumnzy 0]

in the first place, Buddha teach that everything we are experiencing now is just a passing phrase, you dun bring it with u when u are born, u also dun bring it with u when u leave the World-生不带来，死不带去 .

So in the first place, when I heard about the extravagence on the temple... i was speechless.

It just doesn't seems right la...

[storeberry 0]

Mi Ocbc ....

Hi sorry, I know this is off-topic but enci refuse to respond to me thats why have to resort to this.

Hi enci, pls don;t shift responsibility, & I want to close this issue so pls settle it. Or anyone who is buying from enci, would appreciate if you transfer me the money first. And even if you only have ocbc, you can still go to atm & do a inter-bank fund transfer to my dbs ac. Pls do it asap.

[enci 1]

Hi sorry, I know this is off-topic but enci refuse to respond to me thats why have to resort to this.

Hi enci, pls don;t shift responsibility, & I want to close this issue so pls settle it. Or anyone who is buying from enci, would appreciate if you transfer me the money first. And even if you only have ocbc, you can still go to atm & do a inter-bank fund transfer to my dbs ac. Pls do it asap.

u got to tell me how to transfer four dollars to u .. i really have no idea .. i told u i was out from SIngapore for the past 1 week plus .. how to recieve sms ?

its not that I wanna run away a mere four dollars from u ... I am at all hands to pay u the extra four dollars i "over-charged" u.

or can i send u a cheque of four dollars instead ? I have never dealed with inter bank stuffs all my life ...

thanks and kindly advise.

Have a nice day ....

[storeberry 0]

Hi, I thought you never received my sms, how do you know the amount to transfer to me? Strange right? So who is Lyi*g here?

For your own benefit, I will go to a OCBC atm & then post a step by step to do funds transfer so next time if you have a transaction with others you know how to pay or refund money. Cheers..

[renonoob 0]

Hi sorry, I know this is off-topic but enci refuse to respond to me thats why have to resort to this.

Hi enci, pls don;t shift responsibility, & I want to close this issue so pls settle it. Or anyone who is buying from enci, would appreciate if you transfer me the money first. And even if you only have ocbc, you can still go to atm & do a inter-bank fund transfer to my dbs ac. Pls do it asap.

4 dollars only...

[enci 1]

Hi, I thought you never received my sms, how do you know the amount to transfer to me? Strange right? So who is Lyi*g here?

For your own benefit, I will go to a OCBC atm & then post a step by step to do funds transfer so next time if you have a transaction with others you know how to pay or refund money. Cheers..

i saw it only when i back in Sg and on my Hp ... u wanna see my passport ? ??

dun flame ... seek the facts ...

4 dollars only...

4 bucks is not the issue ... even 4 cents, if i over charged, i ought to return .. but dun flame.

she can jus tell me how to transfer using ocbc n i will try to transfer 4 dollars to her .. tat's easy ...

[storeberry 0]

Yes, its not about the four dollars but the <b>integrity</b> of the seller. Not flaming here enci, pls lor, even if you come back, you can jolly well reply my sms. Don't claim that you are busy or have no time as you are the one who has time to start this topic. I couldn't get any reply from you so have to post at your thread.

Back to the topic, agree that whether real or not is not impt, its the human heart that matters. Anyone can boast about their religion or how devot they are but end of the day if it don't tally to their actions, what is there to say?

[enci 1]

Yes, its not about the four dollars but the <b>integrity</b> of the seller. Not flaming here enci, pls lor, even if you come back, you can jolly well reply my sms. Don't claim that you are busy or have no time as you are the one who has time to start this topic. I couldn't get any reply from you so have to post at your thread.

Back to the topic, agree that whether real or not is not impt, its the human heart that matters. Anyone can boast about their religion or how devot they are but end of the day if it don't tally to their actions, what is there to say?

erm .. i came back on a thursday and friday was working again .... saturday half day ... sunday rest, but then no doubt i ought to get back to u but provided if I am free or able to or not .. u emailed me yr wishlist of curtains .. did i manage to send to u immediately ? or only after some time ? why ? becos when I am free .. i will settle all outstanding stuffs on my list.

As mentioned, 4 bucks or 4 cents .. i will return . u really got to tell me how to transfer to u ... if i would have wanted to cheat 4 dollars using my integrity, I guess i would have even calculated the taxi cost or even mrt costs from u right ?

But then, it does not matter ... wat matters is that u happy with the deal then can liao. Anyway, pls pls pls tell me how to transfer 4 dollars to u ? Or if u happen to come to jurong area, do call me and I can pass to u ... i will be aboard from 8th august - 15th August, incase u wanna contact during tat time.

There is nothing to boast about religon or devotion here .... I am not sure if yr actions and "flammings" goes in hand with yr personal faith but we need a clear understanding and conscience b4 commenting.