Gangaramaya Temple
Gangaramaya Temple is one of the most important temples in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
This Buddhist temple includes several imposing buildings and is situated not far from the placid waters of Beira Lake on a plot of land that was originally a small hermitage on a piece of marshy land. It has the main features of a Vihara (temple), the Cetiya (Pagada) the Bodhi Tree, the Vihara Mandiraya, the Simamalaka and the Relic Chamber. In addition, a museum, a library, a residential hall, a three storeyed Pirivena, educational halls and an alms hall are also on the premises.
Most notable for tourists is the architecture of the Simamalaka Shrine which was built with donations from a Moslem sponsor to the design of Geoffrey Bawa.
Today Gangaramaya serves not only as a place of Buddhist worship; it is also a centre of learning. The temple is involved in Buddhist welfare work including old peoples' homes, a vocational school and an orphanage. The temple is uniquely attractive and tolerant to congregation members of many different religions. It has also been instrumental in establishing the Buddhist temple on Staten Island (U.S.A.) the Buddhist Center in New York, Birmingham Buddhist Vihara (U.K) and the Buddhist Centre in Tanzania, thereby helping to propagate the Dhamma in other countries.