| Sri Lanka Maha Bodhi Centre | |
|---|---|
 Statue of the Buddha within the temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Sri LankaMaha Bodhi Society |
| District | Chennai |
| Region | Egmore |
| Status | Functional |
| Location | |
| Location | Chennai,India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Part ofa series on |
| Buddhism |
|---|
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TheSri Lanka Maha Bodhi Centre is aSri Lankan Buddhist establishment inChennai,India. It is located inEgmore. It is run by the Sri Lanka Maha Bodhi Society and serves as a monument of friendship between Sri Lanka and India. The current President of the Sri Lanka Maha Bodhi Society isBanagalaUpatissa Thero.
The headquarters of theMaha Bodhi Society is located atColombo.[1] The Maha Bodhi Society of India was founded byAnagarika Dharmapala in May 1891 under the objective of restoring the ancient Buddhist shrines at places such asGaya andSarnath. He founded the Society's first center atBodh Gaya and in various other cities, including the one at Chennai, with the objective of providing shelter, assistance and guidance to the devotees who visit Buddha Gaya annually. The Chennai centre was established with the money borrowed from Sir Kent, in favour of the Maha Bodhi Society—Sri Lanka.[2]
Sri Lanka Maha Bodhi Centre is located at Kenneth lane opposite toEgmore Railway Station. A small temple ofBuddha, namedBuddha Vihar, is situated inside the building of the Maha Bodhi Society of India. It is one of the important Buddhist temples in Chennai. The temple has an 18-ft life-size statue of LordBuddha in a standing posture (Abhya Mudra) in the main hall. The festival of "Vesak" is celebrated annually in the month of May and cultural programmes are held at the centre.[3] The centre also has a freehomeopathic clinic started by the then director of the Chennai Centre, Ven. Ellawala Nandisvara Nayaka Thera, who is also instrumental in building the temple.[4]
On 14 May 2011, Maha Bodhi Nikethanaya, a lodging facility for Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka, was inaugurated in the centre, as part of 2,600th Sri Sambuddhatva Jayanthi celebrations by theSri Lanka Deputy High Commission in Chennai, which commemoratesBuddha's enlightenment.[5] The five-storeyed building was constructed at a cost of₹ 65 million. The building has 32 rooms.[1]
The centre is venerated as a popular temple of "Theravada" worship that is visited by about 120,000 to 150,000 people annually.[2][6]
In 1983, at the peak of theethnic strife in Sri Lanka, abomb was thrown into the premises by unknown persons.[6]
On 24 January 2011, the centre was attacked by an unidentified group of about 10 to 15 persons at around 9:00 p.m. local time. It was thought to be retaliation against the alleged killing of two Indian fishermen by theSri Lankan Navy off theTamil Naducoast in the past two weeks.[7]
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