Temple of the tooth, Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, Bahirawakanda Buddha

Today we went to the Temple of the Tooth, where we also attended the ceremony that takes place three times a day. It had been recommended to us, but to be honest, it was probably like recommending to someone from Sri Lanka that they visit a church during a mass.

We took off our shoes at the entrance, then went to the foreigner entrance and from there walked through the entire temple with the worshippers. It was very crowded, and we were quickly ushered along to keep the steady stream of people moving. Along the way, there was a lot of drumming, and offerings in the form of flowers were made, which the temple staff swept into large sacks. I would be interested to know what happens to the contents afterward, but that wasn’t clear.

In the various rooms, sacred scriptures were on display, as well as the Sacred Tooth, a tooth of Buddha, which was, however, kept in a container and thus not visible. Everything was lined with large elephant tusks.

On the first and second floors was a museum where many old artifacts from the temple were on display, including clothing of past kings and photos of the 1998 bombing of the temple.

After we had also looked at the outdoor area with the various incense burners and offering lights, we continued on to the nearby Udawatta Kele Sanctuary, a protected forest area with paved paths. It was well worth it; we saw many large trees, overgrown with vines and other plants. Birds flew around and butterflies fluttered among them.

Since it was just past noon, we took a short break and then visited the Bahirawakanda Buddha—a large white Buddha statue on a mountain.

The climb took a while, but it was manageable, and there were even footpaths here and there.

At the foot of the temple, we took off our shoes again and walked barefoot through the grounds. We hadn’t considered, however, how hot the ground had become, so—much like in the game “the floor is lava”—we tried to walk in the shade as much as possible, much to the amusement of the monks, who found our hopping quite amusing. Further up, there was the mandatory donation again, just like for leaving our shoes behind, then we climbed the stairs up to the shoulders of the Buddha, from where you have a magnificent view of the city and the surrounding mountains.

To wrap things up, we made a detour to the market and stocked up on mangoes, guavas, rose apples, and various samosas.

Since we were by then quite exhausted and loaded down from the market, we decided to take a tuk-tuk back. It bravely fought its way up the steep hill with the two large, fully loaded Europeans. It’s fascinating what these things can manage.