Sacred Tooth Relic

If any Dental Ninja readers happen to be in Sri Lanka this week, don't miss your chance to visit the Sacred Tooth Relic! Today is the first day of the public exposition which will happen every afternoon until March 16th. Over a million people are expected to visit and pay homage to the tooth, thus invoking blessings of peace and prosperity on the country. More info found in Sri Lanka's Daily News.

What is the Sacred Tooth, you ask? Only the most storied tooth that ever was! Legend has it that after his death, Buddha's body was cremated and somebody retrieved a canine tooth from the pile of ashes. The tooth became a royal possession, and a legend grew that whoever possessed the tooth had a right to rule the land. Consequently wars were fought over possession of the tooth, which I'm sure is exactly what the enlightened one would want.

At one point a King, know as Paandu, decided it would be in everyone's best interest to destroy the tooth. Before he could carry out his plans, a miracle happened and he was converted to Buddhism, and of course he then spared the tooth. The tooth survived other attempts to destroy it and eventually was smuggled to Kandy, Sri Lanka where it resides today.

Here is a picture of the temple housing the canine in Sri Lanka: