Mahindarama Buddhist Temple

Mahindarama Buddhist Temple
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Geography
Coordinates
Country	Malaysia
State	Penang
Location	George Town
Culture
Primary deity	Buddha
Important festivals	Vesak
Architecture
Architectural styles	Sri Lankan
History and governance
Date built	1918 (1918)
Creator	A. Pemaratana Maha Thera
Website	mahindaramatemple.com

Mahindarama Buddhist Temple is a Theravada Buddhist temple in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Founded in 1918 and steeped in Sri Lankan traditions, it is one of the few temples in Malaysia where the Buddha's relics are stored. The temple, situated at Jalan Kampar, is also a focal point for the annual Vesak celebrations within the city of George Town.

History

File:Mahindarama Temple main hall, George Town, Penang.jpg

The main prayer hall (Sima Hall), adorned with carvings by Sri Lankan artisans, was originally completed in the 1930s.

Mahindarama Buddhist Temple was established in 1918 by A. Pemaratana Maha Thera, a Ceylonese monk who made a visit on Penang Island en route to Singapore. Whilst in George Town, A. Pemaratana resided within the Batu Lanchang Hokkien Cemetery, where he gave sermons to a handful of devotees. The devotees, led by M. V. Gregory, a fellow Sinhalese, urged the monk to set up a Sri Lankan-style Buddhist temple in Penang.

Two pieces of land, one at the Jelutong suburb and the other at Caunter Hall, were subsequently acquired. The land at Jelutong was determined to be far away from residential areas and prone to flooding, so the land at Caunter Hall was selected for the establishment of the temple. A. Pemaratana thus became the first Chief Monk of the Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, serving until his death in 1927. His legacy can still be seen to this day in the form of the temple's Bodhi tree, said to be a descendant of the original Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment; the tree sapling was brought from then Ceylon and planted after his death in 1927.

As the Caunter Hall site was prone to floods, the temple was relocated in 1925 to its present grounds at Jalan Kampar. A donation drive was then launched, traversing all of Malaya to raise funds for the construction of a new temple building. Over the years, a number of additional buildings were built; a school was completed in 1959, followed by a bell tower in 1971, a library in 1979 and a multi-purpose building in 1991.

In 2001, Mahindarama Buddhist Temple became the first temple in Penang to house the Buddha's relics, which had been received by the temple's Chief Monk, E. Indaratana Maha Thera, in India during the previous year. The two bone fragments of the Buddha are currently displayed within the temple's main prayer hall.