Archive for July, 2007
Authenticity Of Buddha Tooth Relic Still Subject Of Discussion
SINGAPORE: Some people are still questioning the authenticity of the Buddha tooth relic housed in a temple along South Bridge Road.
The relic is stored in a stupa on the fourth floor of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
No one is allowed to enter the chamber, but one can see the stupa from the outside.
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 the tooth relic is through brochures, which could be why people are made more curious about its authenticity.
However, some experts have reportedly questioned whether the tooth is from the Buddha himself.
Renowned artist Tan Swie Hian had done some research on Buddhism and believes it teaches the pursuit of truth.
He said: “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, said he had received similar-looking tooth relics when he visited Myanmar previously.
Woon Wee Teng said: “Many monks gave them to me. They told me these teeth are quite similar to the one in the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. They told me to bring them home to Singapore and put in the museum to display. Of course, I’m very careful. I must do due diligence. What I did was to take them back, check with the vet……dentists - they’re all forensics. They confirmed that these are non-human, herbivore’s teeth. So I make a decision to not display them.”
Mr Woon added that if a temple has the Buddha tooth, then, as a public institution, it has the responsibility to prove its authenticity.
The responsibility is even greater if the temple is collecting public money, he said.
Ong Kim Dee, a donor, agreed: “Since we’ve donated the money, we need to know the truth.”
“The Reverend Fa Zhou has to come out to speak the truth. You cannot simply brush it off and say, ‘if you think it’s real, it’s real’. It’s not correct,” said Liau Ming Ong, another donor.
“We mustn’t be seen by the outside world, internationally that we can’t tell the difference between a horse’s tooth and a human tooth. That would be a disaster….an embarrassment. I think they (Buddha Tooth Relic Temple) should get it right and since it’s so clear that it’s a herbivore’s tooth, then they must rectify it,” said Mr Woon.
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, said: “We would look at the pieces and see how they compare with similar pieces from other museums. Of course, you could also do a scientific testing.”
When contacted, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple’s monk, who was overseas, said he was unable to comment.
But within the temple grounds, there are many notices explaining its position on the tooth relic.
It said the suggestion of DNA testing, while simple, is a practical challenge to conduct.
It added that DNA testing is also invasive and that it is unlikely that any Buddhist temple and their devotees would agree to such a test on what they believe to be the Buddha’s tooth. - CNA/ch/ir
Channel News Asia
Pakistan President’s Plane Fired On
ISLAMABAD : Gunmen fired shots at Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s plane Friday apparently in a crude assassination attempt involving anti-aircraft guns like those used by the Taliban, officials said.
The incident happened as the aircraft took off from a military airbase, but the shots did not hit the aircraft or harm Musharraf, a key US ally who has escaped several Al-Qaeda-linked bids to kill him.
“It was an unsuccessful attempt to shoot down the president’s plane,” one intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Musharraf was flying from the Chaklala military base in Rawalpindi, a garrison city adjoining Islamabad, to the southwestern town of Turbat to visit people affected by recent floods, the military said.
Police immediately surrounded a house in Rawalpindi and recovered from the roof two anti-aircraft guns and a 7.62 mm machinegun with a telescope that was modified for the same purpose, the interior ministry said.
Only the latter weapon had been fired and there were several empty shells at the scene, it said in a statement.
“At the moment there does not appear to be any linkage between the incident and the president’s flight to Turbat. The matter is under investigation by the security services and a definite answer will only be available on completion of the investigations,” the statement said.
Pakistani military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad earlier denied that the shots had targeted Musharraf’s plane. He also denied reports that a rocket was fired.
But intelligence officials dealing directly with the incident insisted Musharraf’s plane was the target of the gunshots.
They said a couple several days ago had rented the house where the guns were found and had since fled.
Security forces arrested the owner of the house and recovered the weapons and crudely-made wooden tripods, one official said.
The guns were “similar to those used by the Taliban in Afghanistan,” said the official.
Neighbour Sheikh Ilyas Goga said he had never seen the house’s owner, a bearded man said to be in his 40s.
“We heard a very loud burst of gunfire near our house but we did not know where it had come from until police raided the place next door,” he told AFP.
Security officials said it was “possible that the incident was against the backdrop of the episode of Lal Masjid,” referring to the ongoing siege of a radical mosque in Islamabad.
Musharraf has incurred the bitter enmity of Islamic militants who oppose his ties to the United States and his support for the overthrow of the Taliban from power in Afghanistan after 9/11.
In October 2006, security forces found rockets aimed at Musharraf’s official residence in Islamabad while an explosion occurred near his army house in Rawalpindi. He said the incidents had possible links to Al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda was blamed for a suicide attack targeting Musharraf’s motorcade on Christmas Day 2003 in Rawalpindi that left 14 people dead. He escaped unscathed.
Less than two weeks earlier he had survived another assassination attempt when attackers blew up a bridge as his limousine passed, but electronic jamming equipment in the car delayed the blast.
Security forces have foiled at least two other major plots to kill Musharraf since he took power from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a military coup in 1999.
In a number of those cases there have been official denials that Musharraf was the target, which were later contradicted.
- AFP
Channel News Asia