Some people are still continuing to question the authenticity of the Buddha tooth relic housed in the temple along South Bridge Road.
The tooth relic is stored on the fourth floor of the temple which usually does not allow any photography.
But given the current interest, it has made an exception.
No one is allowed to enter the chamber, but from the outside, you can see the stupa which contains the tooth relic.
The stupa was built using 420 kilograms of gold, donated by devotees who can only visit the tooth relic twice a year - the first day of the Lunar New Year and Vesak Day.
The only other way to see it is through brochures, which could be the reason why people are made more curious about its authenticity.
Some experts have also reportedly questioned whether the tooth is from the Buddha himself.
Liau Ming Ong, a donor, says: "The reverend Fa Zhou have to come out to speak the truth. You cannot simply brush it off and you think it's real, it's real. It's not correct. We have scholars from all over the world, come here to take a look and they look at the size of the tooth, then it's very ridiculous."
Ong Kim Dee, another donor, says: "Since we've donated the money, we need to know the truth, whether this is the truth from a Buddha or any animal, we have the right to know. Everyday we see a lot of local and foreign tourists visit the temple. If one day they find out it is not the truth, then I think it's a joke, it's not very good for Singapore."
Renowned artist Tan Swie Hian had done some research on Buddhism and believes it teaches the pursuit of truth.
He says: "I don't mind praying to a buffalo's tooth provided I'm told it is one. Let me get it right before my prayer. The Buddha's teaching is all about seeing things as they are and this is nothing to do with Buddhism or faith. It is a claim that can be easily, conclusively proven by science."
The founder of Nei Xue Tang, a Buddhist art museum, says he had received similar looking tooth relics when he visited Myanmar previously.
Woon Wee Teng says: "Many monks gave them to me and they told me, of course these teeth are quite similar to the one in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and they told me please, bring them home to Singapore and put in the Museum to display. And of course, I'm very careful. I must do due diligence. What I did was to take them back, to check with the vet, forensic and also I checked with dentists, they're all forensics as well and they confirm that it's a non-human, herbivore's tooth. So I make a decision to not display."
Mr Woon says if the temple has the Buddha tooth, then as a public institution it has the responsibility to show proof.
He adds that the responsibility is even greater if the temple is collecting public money.
Mr Woon says: "We mustn't be seen by the outside world, internationally that we can't tell the difference between a horse tooth and a human tooth. That would be a disaster, it's a lot of embarrassment. I think they should get it right and since it's so clear that it's a herbivore's tooth, then they must rectify it."
And verifying the authenticity of all displays is something the Asian Civilisations Museum takes seriously.
Tan Huism, Deputy Director of Asian Civilisation Museum's Curation and Collections, says: "A museum is a place where we'll display objects that are authentic to the cultures. We decide whether these objects are authentic to their cultures and their timing...through stylistic comparisons with similar objects found at that time and other museums.
"We would then look at the pieces and see how these pieces compare with similar pieces from other museums. Of course you could also do scientific testing."
Within the temple grounds, there are many notices explaining its position on the tooth relic.
It says the suggestion of DNA testing, whilst simplistic, is a practical challenge to conduct.
It adds DNA testing is also invasive and it is unlikely that any Buddhist temple and their devotees would agree to such a test for what they believe to be the Buddha tooth. - CNA/ch
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